1L summer job: DOJ v. BigLaw SA Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am interested in a wide array of law and am currently deciding between an internship at the DOJ which I thought could be really exciting and a paid 1L SA position at a V100.

I feel like the DOJ job would be really fun and interesting while I'm not as sure what to expect from the SA position. Is the question ridiculous and the answer obvious or would a mild interest in federal government work be enough to turn down BigLaw summer offer for 1L summer? Thanks!

[Danger Zone]

Get paid.

[goldeneye]

No question. Get the money.

If you want DOJ, taking firm job now won't hamper that.

[rad lulz]

Get paid.

[Anonymous User]

I would take the DOJ if you will be in a position to get an SA 2L. I was able to land a DOJ honors spot mostly because I consistently expressed interest with my component and got to know a lot of people: worked at the DOJ 1L, split between DOJ SLIP and biglaw 2L, and did an externship in the same general area during 3L. If that's something that interests you, I would think that it's worth the pay difference for 1 summer, especially since the DOJ honors program is likely to expand (the hiring freeze ended).

[goldeneye]

I would take the DOJ if you will be in a position to get an SA 2L. I was able to land a DOJ honors spot mostly because I consistently expressed interest with my component and got to know a lot of people: worked at the DOJ 1L, split between DOJ SLIP and biglaw 2L, and did an externship in the same general area during 3L. If that's something that interests you, I would think that it's worth the pay difference for 1 summer, especially since the DOJ honors program is likely to expand (the hiring freeze ended).

Potentially 25k is not something to turn down.

[CanadianWolf]

What leads you to believe that the DOJ summer internship will be "really exciting" ?

Do you need money ?

Either choice should lead to significant professional relationships if that ultimately becomes your career path.

Without any more info. about you & your situation, the better choice seems to be the paid SA position with the Vault 100 law firm; too much of a sacrifice to choose otherwise, in my opinion.

[Anonymous User]

What leads you to believe that the DOJ summer internship will be "really exciting" ?

Do you need money ?

Either choice should lead to significant professional relationships if that ultimately becomes your career path.

Without any more info. about you & your situation, the better choice seems to be the paid SA position with the Vault 100 law firm; too much of a sacrifice to choose otherwise, in my opinion.

OP here: I would be working in a department I always found interesting, and federal government is something I am equally interested in compared to BigLaw. If anything, I'm hoping this summer will either confirm that I enjoy or hate one or the other. I want to know which one would be harder to get in the long run if I did not choose it this summer. As for money... 25k sounds amazing and it definitely would help me maintain my debt free law school experience thus far, but it's not going to kill me to not have the money either. So the money is tempting for me because it's money... But I am more concerned about future job prospect/experience. Especially because a few people who did this SA program at my school have secured employment second summer and after graduation in this particular case.

[justinp]

Being a summer associate (emphasis on summer) is the best job in the world and you should spend as much time playing baby lawyer on a biglaw salary as you possibly can.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW OP, I am in a similar boat, though with the SEC instead of DOJ. I'm choosing BigLaw - as the posters above have mentioned, it's not like BigLaw would be a bad learning experience, and you'd essentially be paying about $2-3k a week ($400-600 a DAY) for the privilege of working at the DOJ. When put into those concrete numbers, I just found it too hard to justify working for the Govt.

[Anonymous User]

I was in your position 1L summer. I was deciding between a firm gig and an internship with a government agency I am very interested in. I was fairly confident that I would have the opportunity to work at a firm my 2L summer so I took the gov. job.

Short-term - firm money is great but the fact that you have these options means that two months of biglaw pay isn't necessarily something to write home about. Long term I think the government experience will open more doors for me when I leave biglaw.

I think it depends on your level of interest in the government job as a full time gig further down the road and your confidence in landing a firm gig during 2L summer.

[mephistopheles]

failing as a 1l sa is much worse than coasting through a govt thing. the stigma could screw you for a 2l sa

[Anonymous User]

failing as a 1l sa is much worse than coasting through a govt thing. the stigma could screw you for a 2l sa

OP here: uhhh... What is "failing" to you? Do they expect 1Ls to do complicated work they shouldn't understand? I'm hoping if I landed these gigs I would be competent enough to handle either job. And the DOJ office I spoke to didn't seem to think I would be "coasting.". In fact, they seemed to think I would be working pretty damn hard, but what would I know - I'm only a 1L.

[mephistopheles]

failing as a 1l sa is much worse than coasting through a govt thing. the stigma could screw you for a 2l sa

OP here: uhhh... What is "failing" to you? Do they expect 1Ls to do complicated work they shouldn't understand? I'm hoping if I landed these gigs I would be competent enough to handle either job. And the DOJ office I spoke to didn't seem to think I would be "coasting.". In fact, they seemed to think I would be working pretty damn hard, but what would I know - I'm only a 1L.

being no-offered for any of a variety of reasons. govt jobs are different. in most interviews following a 1l sa, you'll be asked if you were offered. it's possible to wiggle out of a no offer into offers (i know anecdotally), but it's much harder. there's less expectation in govt summer jobs.

[mephistopheles]

you'll be treated as a 2l sa in most ways, and there's no allowance for shitty work product. a big plus is you get interesting nonstandard assignments because the standard shit goes to 2ls who they are trying to groom

[goldeneye]

Getting no offered as a 1l is not worth not taking the job. It's very easy to explain away but chances are it won't happen so don't worry.

[hellojd]

Getting no offered as a 1l is not worth not taking the job. It's very easy to explain away but chances are it won't happen so don't worry.

Yeah agreed. This would be a dumb reason to not take the 1L SA gig.

[rad lulz]

Getting no offered as a 1l is not worth not taking the job. It's very easy to explain away but chances are it won't happen so don't worry.

Yeah agreed. This would be a dumb reason to not take the 1L SA gig.

This

[Anonymous User]

OP here: Just to confirm, are you all saying it is likely I would get an offer or that it's not likely? I get that you are all saying it would be worth it regardless of the result though.

[Tiago Splitter]

OP here: Just to confirm, are you all saying it is likely I would get an offer or that it's not likely? I get that you are all saying it would be worth it regardless of the result though.

It's fairly likely you'll get an offer to return and even if you don't it's not a big deal.