Top Law Schools

I'm a 1L with no idea how my grades will turn out in January. After 6 weeks, my hopes of being in the top 15% have drifted to just hoping to stay above a 2.5 and not get sent to the remedial law school classes.

Anyways, I clerked for a small, solo attorney firm for about a year before I started law school. The firm had a small staff of about 10 including paralegals, legal assistants, and law student clerks. I hated it, not because of the work but the environment there: constant screaming matches between the solo and paralegal or others, document getting lost by the attorney and he goes around yelling at everyone insisting they lost it, just a real tense environment.

However, the atty is a family friend which is pretty much how I got the job to begin with. I'm like 60% sure if I wrote or called before the summer they might let me return as a law clerk. I'd probably be paid $8/hr which is lower than fast food wages for legal work that actually have major effects on the lives of the clients.

First question, do 1L's typically even work as interns for firms over the summer? My understanding is most do not unless they're at T14 schools because firms view them as more of a liability since they need to train them extensively.

Main question is, should I aim higher or is it a waste of time for a 1L with perhaps mediocre grades to try and get a summer associateship at one of the "real" firms around here? Should I contact this firm and hope for the best or just spend my summer doing whatever; is 1L summer experience necessary or is 2L where it really counts? I suppose I can stand another 3 months there if I have too, plus maybe I've developed enough understanding of the law by that point that my lack of experience won't piss off the solo?

Also, wanna add its a PI firm and I'm not sure I want to go PI; I am more interested in criminal defense.

If you hated it and don't want to work there post-grad, why on earth would you go back 1L summer? Sure, paying firm jobs are pretty rare, but there are still PI and government jobs that most 1Ls take. Do something interesting, pleasant, and that will give you something to talk about during 2L interviews.

mr. wednesday wrote:If you hated it and don't want to work there post-grad, why on earth would you go back 1L summer? Sure, paying firm jobs are pretty rare, but there are still PI and government jobs that most 1Ls take. Do something interesting, pleasant, and that will give you something to talk about during 2L interviews.

If it's the only legal job available for a 1L, assuming I end up in the middle of the rankings; should I bite the bullet and work there for 3-4 months just to stay in the legal field? When I was a 0L, my work was pretty much researching crap online and opening up insurance claims for victims of fender benders; but by the time I return I could probably draft a competent memo, research on Westlaw, etc.

i talked with a skadden partner about 1l summer jobs, and his opinion was that if you can get a job in a firm, even a family-run 2-3 man shop that you get through connections, it's better than researching or doing any of the other crap that most 1ls get.

Anonymous User wrote:

mr. wednesday wrote:If you hated it and don't want to work there post-grad, why on earth would you go back 1L summer? Sure, paying firm jobs are pretty rare, but there are still PI and government jobs that most 1Ls take. Do something interesting, pleasant, and that will give you something to talk about during 2L interviews.

If it's the only legal job available for a 1L, assuming I end up in the middle of the rankings; should I bite the bullet and work there for 3-4 months just to stay in the legal field? When I was a 0L, my work was pretty much researching crap online and opening up insurance claims for victims of fender benders; but by the time I return I could probably draft a competent memo, research on Westlaw, etc.

Sure, if it's the only legal job you can get. But if you go to a school where you have a decent shot at a big firm during 2L OCI, there is almost no chance that it will be your only legal option.

Also 1L summer job doesn't really matter. I didn't get paid or work for a firm and had multiple vault offers during OCI. All they want to see is that you did anything legal related and learned something from it (or rather, that you can talk about it with moderate substance for 5 minutes in an interview).

mephistopheles wrote:i talked with a skadden partner about 1l summer jobs, and his opinion was that if you can get a job in a firm, even a family-run 2-3 man shop that you get through connections, it's better than researching or doing any of the other crap that most 1ls get.

I talked to a Cravath partner who said summer jobs are totally irrelevant, as long as you can talk about it for 20 minutes

Based on my experience and talking with others, I would recommend doing something like a judicial internship for a judge, researching for a professor that you can build a connection with. I would take either of those over this job you talk about.