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As the title indicates, I am in need of some advice regarding clerking for a Solo Practitioner during summer as a rising 3L. Is this a dark-spot on your resume that will hurt future employment outside of LS? For some background, I am at a T2(~60) and am therefore precluded from any big-law that seems to be the norm on TLS. The locale in which I seek to practice has no mid or big-law per se with the exception of a single mid. So there seems to be no pretentiousness that is often present with big law.

I accepted the position as I received a few dings prior and was in desperate need of securing a job for the summer. The work is stimulating and I am getting my feet wet with numerous tasks such as motions and other pleadings. In this respect, I would think that the experience would be a positive mark on my resume as most LS internships are meaningless grunt work. But I do worry that some firms may look down on this experience as inferior just for the fact that it is with a solo practitioner.

Any input is appreciated.

First off, high standards for employment =/= pretentiousness.

Second, I don't see why this would be a black mark. You said your market is all small law firms. A lot of those guys are basically just solo practitioners minimizing their overhead by working as a group. I highly doubt a group of a few attorneys looks down on solos.

AllTheLawz wrote:First off, high standards for employment =/= pretentiousness.

Second, I don't see why this would be a black mark. You said your market is all small law firms. A lot of those guys are basically just solo practitioners minimizing their overhead by working as a group. I highly doubt a group of a few attorneys looks down on solos.

To your first remark, allow me to clarify.

I was attempting to say that big firms are more likely to see this experience and automatically pass on my resume without at least giving my work product a look. What you are saying is true. I was alluding to them passing judgment instinctively without digging deeper.

Thanks for the response.

I can't speak to the hiring biases of every firm lawyer, but I seriously doubt anyone would view this as a "dark spot" on your resume. It seems like good experience to me. In fact, your summer job--if you've described it accurately--compares favorably with more "prestigious" summer jobs like RA'ing for a professor or working as a "policy intern" at a non-profit.

As you know, you're going to have to scratch and claw for a job because of the status of your law school. You're going to need to convince employers that you can be a productive lawyer. Getting your hands dirty in solo-practice litigation is a good start.

Prospect wrote:

AllTheLawz wrote:First off, high standards for employment =/= pretentiousness.

Second, I don't see why this would be a black mark. You said your market is all small law firms. A lot of those guys are basically just solo practitioners minimizing their overhead by working as a group. I highly doubt a group of a few attorneys looks down on solos.

To your first remark, allow me to clarify.

I was attempting to say that big firms are more likely to see this experience and automatically pass on my resume without at least giving my work product a look. What you are saying is true. I was alluding to them passing judgment instinctively without digging deeper.

Thanks for the response.

Big firms aren't even going to read your resume to find this out.