1L, no summer job yet and starting to panic Forum

[blackmooncreeping]

.

[target]

Start looking for RA positions, and look into the possibility of taking summer classes.

[mephistopheles]

RA is tcr

[Anonymous User]

RA is tcr

Anything remotely legal at this point is TCR. And not summer classes.

In all honesty, just start calling places to volunteer yourself to. Apps can only do so much. You need to start calling places.

[TTRansfer]

Posted that last comment anon by accident

[thesealocust]

Most 1L summer jobs aren't advertised.

[blackmooncreeping]

RA is tcr

Anything remotely legal at this point is TCR. And not summer classes.

In all honesty, just start calling places to volunteer yourself to. Apps can only do so much. You need to start calling places.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't even apply to very many firms and focused mainly on PI and judicial internships. My total lack of success to this point makes me think that there is something severely wrong with my resume and/or cover letters that I am sending out and I'm just not seeing it.

[target]

RA is tcr

Anything remotely legal at this point is TCR. And not summer classes.

In all honesty, just start calling places to volunteer yourself to. Apps can only do so much. You need to start calling places.

Oh, I didn't mean only taking summer classes. I mean if OP has to be a RA, then take some classes over the summer wouldn't be the end of the world.

[somewhatwayward]

It is worth having OCS check your resume and cover letter just to be sure but honestly it is probably about there being too many law students rather than anything about your app that is turning people off. It is a numbers game. Edit your resume and cover letter as OCS or someone else with expertise suggests and keep applying to anything & everything legally related and you will find something. Also look into research assistant positions with professors at your school or schools near where you are living this summer. If possible, work with a professor who wants you to research stuff related to the field of law you hope to pursue bc it will help with your narrative for future job interviews, but if that's not possible, it's okay. You can always say you RAed to improve your research and writing skills even if you researched something esoteric.

TL;DR: have someone look at your resume & CL; apply to masses of places (follow up w calls); and pursue RA positions.

PS: The 2L & 3L job search is like 100x more stressful and difficult than the 1L job search.

[TTRansfer]

RA is tcr

Anything remotely legal at this point is TCR. And not summer classes.

In all honesty, just start calling places to volunteer yourself to. Apps can only do so much. You need to start calling places.

Oh, I didn't mean only taking summer classes. I mean if OP has to be a RA, then take some classes over the summer wouldn't be the end of the world.

True enough.

The OP needs to seriously start calling places. Call the DA, call some local insurance defense shops, call some local plaintiffs shops . . . Just get on the phone and start cold calling asking about hiring. It's April.

I think that RAing would be the best option right now, but I can't say for sure.

[Agent]

+1 to RA. And if you could spare the time, you might also try knocking on doors of local practitioners who have a connection to your school (alumni, 2L/3L part-time clerks, friends of faculty, etc.). I've seen it work better than calling. Also, I'd avoid any study abroad programs.

[Pokemon]

Did you apply to judges, including state judges?
150 apps and one interview is a relatively bad ratio so definitely ask OCS, though as some people said, it might not be your application.
Keep on applying to places but do not neglect classes at this point in the semester.
Look for RA positions, and clinics at your school.
Realize that you might even get a job in late May, June, and OCI employers will not know that it took you that long. I kind of regretted last year that I accepted the first job that made me an offer in late March, and received interviews + another job in May and even June.

Good luck...

[Anonymous User]

In-house at a large company.

Get a copy of the "Directory of Corporate Counsel" from your career office and find all the businesses with entries the city in which you're interested. Scan the contacts for people who went to your law school or undergrad. Contact those people first. I did half formal letters (stationary) & half cold-calls (calls: "Hi, I'm ____ at ____ law school. I found your name in _____ and I want to come work for you this summer." I was blunt and it worked in my favor.).

I was top-1/2 at a t-14 but only one place asked for my grades. When I got my first offer the guy said, "oh, by the way, you aren't failing out are you?"

I'm so glad I didn't resign myself to an RA position or working at the library because, frankly, I wouldn't have received sweet offers as a 2L if I hadn't been able to sell my "client-side experience" so hard. I had to decide between a mid-law firm job and the in-house gig and wen't with the in-house gig. Never regretted it.

Edit: also, call up local solo practitioners that are alumni. Ask if "anybody local has a big case going on and may need some help with research." An alumni directed me to a guy who became my backup. He had one case going to the state supreme court and another going to federal district and I was going to write memos for him. Some small shops won't want to "hire" anyone, but will pay you by the hour to write a memo because they are interested in the free westlaw and lexis research you'll be able get as a law student. Just float it like: "I just need to produce one, high quality piece of research so I have something to show at 2L OCI . . . help me help you." If you do good work, they'll undoubted feed you more work. Ask to attend depositions with them and such and it will eventually "turn in to" a summer associateship.

Edit 2: Here's how I got that firm offer. also, think of the least sexy practice areas (i duno . . . government contracts, insurance defense, divorce, residential real estate transfers, immigration law, antidumping, state and local tax, municipal law, probate), the practice areas that virtually no law students know about or wants to do and gets little recognition in the practice group hierarchy. Find out the firms on Chambers and Partners that have good practices in that area and directly email the practice group head and say: "listen, I really want to do only residential real estate transfers, and I know your firms is the best, and I want to come work for you because residential real estate transfers is the absolute coolest shit on the planet"). The practice group head will think: finally, someone expressing interest in real estate transfers, it's about time residential real estate transfers gets the respect it deserves. He'll want to hire you and go to the other partners and be like: "look securities, look civil lit, look real estate finance, look international law, you all get a lot of summer associates every year and I don't get any, I've kept my mouth shut for but this year I want a person and it's going to be this guy." I guarantee that 60% of the time, this works every time.

[Lasers]

doing RA/research position is TCR.

i didn't get a 1L job until about end of april, and i ended up getting 2. keep looking and applying; anything legal is all that is necessary and won't hurt you at all during OCI.

[Anonymous User]

Not trying to hijack this thread but I have a question regarding 1L jobs. So I met with a prosecutor a few weeks ago (maybe 3?) and she offered me the job at the interview and pretty much said they take whoever they interview. She said she had one more week of interviewing and would then send an e-mail the following week with whatever we were assigned to. She wrote down my availability and it all seemed very final. She told me when I would be starting and everything. However, I haven't gotten an e-mail with said assignment and am confused?

Did I misunderstand being offered the job? Or is she just not being on top of it? I want to e-mail her and clarify it based on the fact that I've shot down a few interviews since then. Now I'm second guessing. And I'm not an aspie or anything; I'm just wondering if I was so nervous that I misunderstood her. (For reference, I've been on other interviews and never had this happen...where I think I've been offered the job and then...nothing.) So, how can I e-mail her regarding the assignments without seeming completely crazy if I wasn't offered? I just want to clarify it without seeming stupid or paranoid.

[Lasers]

Not trying to hijack this thread but I have a question regarding 1L jobs. So I met with a prosecutor a few weeks ago (maybe 3?) and she offered me the job at the interview and pretty much said they take whoever they interview. She said she had one more week of interviewing and would then send an e-mail the following week with whatever we were assigned to. She wrote down my availability and it all seemed very final. She told me when I would be starting and everything. However, I haven't gotten an e-mail with said assignment and am confused?

Did I misunderstand being offered the job? Or is she just not being on top of it? I want to e-mail her and clarify it based on the fact that I've shot down a few interviews since then. Now I'm second guessing. And I'm not an aspie or anything; I'm just wondering if I was so nervous that I misunderstood her. (For reference, I've been on other interviews and never had this happen...where I think I've been offered the job and then...nothing.) So, how can I e-mail her regarding the assignments without seeming completely crazy if I wasn't offered? I just want to clarify it without seeming stupid or paranoid.

you sure you not aspie?

all kidding aside, just say you what you think happened as you understood it, and ask about the status of the offer. i've had misunderstandings before; you should contact her (either email or call) as soon as possible in case this turns bad.

[Pokemon]

Not trying to hijack this thread but I have a question regarding 1L jobs. So I met with a prosecutor a few weeks ago (maybe 3?) and she offered me the job at the interview and pretty much said they take whoever they interview. She said she had one more week of interviewing and would then send an e-mail the following week with whatever we were assigned to. She wrote down my availability and it all seemed very final. She told me when I would be starting and everything. However, I haven't gotten an e-mail with said assignment and am confused?

Did I misunderstand being offered the job? Or is she just not being on top of it? I want to e-mail her and clarify it based on the fact that I've shot down a few interviews since then. Now I'm second guessing. And I'm not an aspie or anything; I'm just wondering if I was so nervous that I misunderstood her. (For reference, I've been on other interviews and never had this happen...where I think I've been offered the job and then...nothing.) So, how can I e-mail her regarding the assignments without seeming completely crazy if I wasn't offered? I just want to clarify it without seeming stupid or paranoid.

Just e-mail her.

[Agent]

Someone out this person so that I can read and link others to the rest of their posts. I think this is great advice (aside from questionable use of WL & LN). Nice of anon to type it out.

In-house at a large company.

Get a copy of the "Directory of Corporate Counsel" from your career office and find all the businesses with entries the city in which you're interested. Scan the contacts for people who went to your law school or undergrad. Contact those people first. I did half formal letters (stationary) & half cold-calls (calls: "Hi, I'm ____ at ____ law school. I found your name in _____ and I want to come work for you this summer." I was blunt and it worked in my favor.).

I was top-1/2 at a t-14 but only one place asked for my grades. When I got my first offer the guy said, "oh, by the way, you aren't failing out are you?"

I'm so glad I didn't resign myself to an RA position or working at the library because, frankly, I wouldn't have received sweet offers as a 2L if I hadn't been able to sell my "client-side experience" so hard. I had to decide between a mid-law firm job and the in-house gig and wen't with the in-house gig. Never regretted it.

Edit: also, call up local solo practitioners that are alumni. Ask if "anybody local has a big case going on and may need some help with research." An alumni directed me to a guy who became my backup. He had one case going to the state supreme court and another going to federal district and I was going to write memos for him. Some small shops won't want to "hire" anyone, but will pay you by the hour to write a memo because they are interested in the free westlaw and lexis research you'll be able get as a law student. Just float it like: "I just need to produce one, high quality piece of research so I have something to show at 2L OCI . . . help me help you." If you do good work, they'll undoubted feed you more work. Ask to attend depositions with them and such and it will eventually "turn in to" a summer associateship.

Edit 2: Here's how I got that firm offer. also, think of the least sexy practice areas (i duno . . . government contracts, insurance defense, divorce, residential real estate transfers, immigration law, antidumping, state and local tax, municipal law, probate), the practice areas that virtually no law students know about or wants to do and gets little recognition in the practice group hierarchy. Find out the firms on Chambers and Partners that have good practices in that area and directly email the practice group head and say: "listen, I really want to do only residential real estate transfers, and I know your firms is the best, and I want to come work for you because residential real estate transfers is the absolute coolest shit on the planet"). The practice group head will think: finally, someone expressing interest in real estate transfers, it's about time residential real estate transfers gets the respect it deserves. He'll want to hire you and go to the other partners and be like: "look securities, look civil lit, look real estate finance, look international law, you all get a lot of summer associates every year and I don't get any, I've kept my mouth shut for but this year I want a person and it's going to be this guy." I guarantee that 60% of the time, this works every time.

[Anonymous User]

talk to some of your professors who teach areas that you're interested in and find out if they have any research opportunities for the summer. I didn't think this would work but I emailed my favorite professor and said I would work for free for him and he offered a paid research job. I was freaking out before this since it was the beginning of April and all i had received were rejections from companies and a few firms.