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Hi all, I have a question similar to one that's been asked a few times on here regarding 1L SAs, but a bit different in that I'm specifically interested in applying for firms that may not be traditionally considered "big law" in the sense that they aren't V100 (though they are NLJ 250 firms).

I happen to be from a secondary, parochial market that hires a significant number of 1L SAs. Unfortunately, doing a bit of research seems to reveal that the firms in this market that do hire 1L SAs don't seem to have offer rates as high as traditional big law firms in the primary markets. Further, they don't pay as much as traditional big law SAs would (approx. $1200-1500/week but in a low COL area).

Are the benefits to be gained by such a job similar to an SA job at a larger firm in a major market? And should I be worried about the lower offer rate sinking my chances at OCI if I decide to pursue bigger markets for 2L summer?

Thanks for the help!

I had a 1L SA in the type of market you describe. I went for NYC this year and it turned out fine. I think you should go for it, because it really helped me learn about various practice group areas, which led to having better conversations with attorneys during interviews. I also did not know about my offer status untily OCI was over, and it didn't hurt at all.

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all, I have a question similar to one that's been asked a few times on here regarding 1L SAs, but a bit different in that I'm specifically interested in applying for firms that may not be traditionally considered "big law" in the sense that they aren't V100 (though they are NLJ 250 firms).

I happen to be from a secondary, parochial market that hires a significant number of 1L SAs. Unfortunately, doing a bit of research seems to reveal that the firms in this market that do hire 1L SAs don't seem to have offer rates as high as traditional big law firms in the primary markets. Further, they don't pay as much as traditional big law SAs would (approx. $1200-1500/week but in a low COL area).

Are the benefits to be gained by such a job similar to an SA job at a larger firm in a major market? And should I be worried about the lower offer rate sinking my chances at OCI if I decide to pursue bigger markets for 2L summer?

Thanks for the help!

$1200-1500 a week is about $1200-1500 a week more than most law students earn during their first summer. This is a great opportunity if you can land it. Don't worry about offer rates; very few 1l's are going to go into OCI with a job offer already in hand, and firms know that 1L summer very rarely leads to a full time offer. Biglaw SA's are almost all about school and grades. Hopefully you have the first down and from here on out your focus should be on the second. And if all you get for your 1L summer is this secondary market SA you should definitely take it.

This depends on what market you will target as a 2L during OCI. If you want to work in a market other than NYC and you have extensive ties to this smaller market, you might want to establish some ties in the city you would prefer to be in after school.

If you want NYC then I don't think this is as much of an issue.

I think 1L SAs are a great opportunity. I'm an outlier but I received an offer to return to my firm I summered at. Found the 1L SA was a boost at every firm I interviewed with, because I could demonstrate I at least had some understanding of how a firm works and others felt confident to give me an offer because a previous firm did.

Received major market offers from vault firms but chose a secondary market NLJ250 for a variety of other reasons.

So, if you can get it, go for it. You might find you really like the smaller market like I did. Or not. But you'd have an idea.

Don't worry if you don't get one. It's absolutely not a make or break. It's just competitive/arbitrary/based on strong ties.

These types of SAs are substantially more common for a reason - they're trying to lure strong/connected candidates away from major cities and lockstep salaries. Absolutely worth considering, especially because they're much easier to land if you're the right candidate then a 1L SA and a lockstep firm.