1L Summer Job Search C/O 2017 Forum

[JustHawkin]

Well 1L's its mid-October and that means its time to start thinking about summer employment.

ITT: share strategies, advice, the mechanics of drafting targeted cover letters, tips etc.

It's too early to be stressing about this but it's not to early to start asking questions and formulating an idea of what type of job you want this summer.

Best of luck to us all!


1L Job Hunt Guides and Threads
The 1L Job Hunt: A Guide For 0Ls
1L Summer Job Search (2012-13 thread)
The Official 1L Summer Employment Thread (2011-12 thread)
How to land a 1L SA

[Anonymous User]

You should spend the absolute minimum amount of time caring about this as possible. 1L summer means literally nothing and 1L grades mean literally everything. I literally watched traffic court all 1L summer and got 3/5 v5 offers plus a ton of others.

The only three mistakes you can possibly make:
1. Not doing anything law related at all 1L summer
2. Spending more than ~10 hours total on the 1L job search. Grades are literally everything, a flashy 1L gigs with shitty grades is just shitty grades
3. Getting a stressful 1L job/one that actually requires more than like 20-30 hours of real work a week. Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

[pancakes3]

Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

Elaborate, please.

[thisiswater]

checking in. unsure if i am looking for something new or staying where i am working now but will probably apply for 1L SAs and then let those results decide my fate

[PvblivsScipio]

3. Getting a stressful 1L job/one that actually requires more than like 20-30 hours of real work a week. Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

Disagree 100%. I landed a full-time, paying (albeit not much) gig at a very small firm. I was able to pay rent, have spending money, and got some serious hands on lit experience (which was a great talking point during OCI interviews when I could talk intelligently about what I've done and about my Motion to Compel I used as a writing sample). Prepping for OCI is not that stressful. I mean really, almost no firm wants cover letters. It doesn't take long to work on your resume. And you can research firms as you go. You literally have all summer to work on it, and I never felt like I didn't have enough time or felt stressed out.

In fact, I'd urge others to find a job at a small firm. I'll admit it can be hit or miss, some small firms really suck. But even then, you can quit after the summer and making money is nice. Plus, small firms have no resources so you'll inevitably get to cut your teeth on work you really shouldn't be doing.

[sesto elemento]

In for the jerbs.

[Sheriff]

Im a 1L also. Can't decide if I would like to work at a small firm, or clerk 1L summer.

I'm leaning toward clerking. I feel like I would get more substantive experience. Many big law employers I have spoken with agree.

Of course, this is all assuming I strike out in my pursuit of a solid 1L SA position.

Thoughts?

[BlueLotus]

I'm a 3LOLer. Wait until Christmas break, for the love of all things holy. If you want a firm job, Big Gov, etc., your 1L grades matter more than anything else. It's just not worth it to stress about jerbs when you should be single-mindedly focused on finals. There will be PLENTY of places still willing to hire you (i.e. take your free labor) in mid-December. I didn't even start applying until mid-January and I was jerbed by February 1 by a wonderful immigration agency.

Every year there's always that person on TLS who sends out 200+ apps at the stroke of midnight on December 1. Don't be that guy.

[BigZuck]

3. Getting a stressful 1L job/one that actually requires more than like 20-30 hours of real work a week. Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

Disagree 100%. I landed a full-time, paying (albeit not much) gig at a very small firm. I was able to pay rent, have spending money, and got some serious hands on lit experience (which was a great talking point during OCI interviews when I could talk intelligently about what I've done and about my Motion to Compel I used as a writing sample). Prepping for OCI is not that stressful. I mean really, almost no firm wants cover letters. It doesn't take long to work on your resume. And you can research firms as you go. You literally have all summer to work on it, and I never felt like I didn't have enough time or felt stressed out.

In fact, I'd urge others to find a job at a small firm. I'll admit it can be hit or miss, some small firms really suck. But even then, you can quit after the summer and making money is nice. Plus, small firms have no resources so you'll inevitably get to cut your teeth on work you really shouldn't be doing.

That anon didn't say OCI is stressful duder. They said it's a time suck.

And it is, especially if you go to a school where you have to write a lot of cover letters (which seems to be the case for lots of firms in secondary markets). You also have to figure out a bidlist/strategy and do research on firms. Maybe it depends on where you go to school but at least for me at UT I was surprised how much of a time suck it was.

I also found OCI to be super stressful, but YMMV.

As for 1L jobs, I'd mass blast some 1L SA apps on December 1st and then be done with it until after finals. When and if you are inevitably dinged from those you can focus on PI/gov apps after the new year.

This thread seems premature but gun on, gunners (in b4 30 against 1)

[Sheriff]

Speaking of Dec.1, is there any benefit to doing the "resume blast" described above on that date, as opposed to waiting until finals are over?

We don't have grades yet, so I don't quite understand how or why this would be an advantage since we would (presumably) have to amend our application with a transcript.

EDIT: Sorry if this question seems naive. I'm a first time 1L

[nick417]

You should spend the absolute minimum amount of time caring about this as possible. 1L summer means literally nothing and 1L grades mean literally everything. I literally watched traffic court all 1L summer and got 3/5 v5 offers plus a ton of others.

The only three mistakes you can possibly make:
1. Not doing anything law related at all 1L summer
2. Spending more than ~10 hours total on the 1L job search. Grades are literally everything, a flashy 1L gigs with shitty grades is just shitty grades
3. Getting a stressful 1L job/one that actually requires more than like 20-30 hours of real work a week. Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

This is bad advice.

First, grades are the most important thing because they get you the initial interview for 2L summer. HOWEVER, your experience is what lands you the job. You will be competing with students at your law school who got similar grades and OTHER law schools. Also, the first question I received at every interview for OCI was "how was it working for a federal judge this summer" and "what did you do". Thus, it is very important where you work this summer AND should be a top priority.

Second, if your interest is litigation, then working for a Judge is a very good option. It should expose you to many areas of law AND increase your understanding of what happens in lawsuits. Also, you can better understand what was actually going on in civil procedure. Also, if you do well, it gives you a highly respected person as a reference.

But please, don't listen to the advice about not caring. To land a job in this legal market you need both GRADES and EXPERIENCE. One without the other is worthless. Grades get you the interview, Experience lands you the job. They work hand-in-hand. Thus, it is important to land a really good and valuable summer job.

[BlueLotus]

Speaking of Dec.1, is there any benefit to doing the "resume blast" described above on that date, as opposed to waiting until finals are over?

We don't have grades yet, so I don't quite understand how or why this would be an advantage since we would (presumably) have to amend our application with a transcript.

the time spent doing a resume blast on december 1 could be better utilized by doing practice exams. when it comes to 1HELL, time is money.

again, there is no advantage. there will be tons of great internships available long after december 1.

[Anonymous User]

I have been building myself a list of firms that hire 1Ls and there were definitely some that strongly preferred 12/1 for apps based on my research. YMMV.

[BigZuck]

Speaking of Dec.1, is there any benefit to doing the "resume blast" described above on that date, as opposed to waiting until finals are over?

We don't have grades yet, so I don't quite understand how or why this would be an advantage since we would (presumably) have to amend our application with a transcript.

EDIT: Sorry if this question seems naive. I'm a first time 1L

It's law school bro, you don't ask why the hoops exist, you just jump through them unthinkingly.

Someone will come along and give an anecdote about applying like December 26th or something and snagging multiple 1L SAs. But conventional wisdom says apply as close to December 1st as humanly possible. It's also what a lot of firms stress on NALP.

Grim reality is that you'll probably need grades to get one and the grimmer reality is you probably won't get one even if you get good grades. But stop asking why. If you wanted things to make sense or for the powers that be to employ processes in a logical way then you chose the wrong graduate program/profession. Just jump.

[arklaw13]

You should spend the absolute minimum amount of time caring about this as possible. 1L summer means literally nothing and 1L grades mean literally everything. I literally watched traffic court all 1L summer and got 3/5 v5 offers plus a ton of others.

The only three mistakes you can possibly make:
1. Not doing anything law related at all 1L summer
2. Spending more than ~10 hours total on the 1L job search. Grades are literally everything, a flashy 1L gigs with shitty grades is just shitty grades
3. Getting a stressful 1L job/one that actually requires more than like 20-30 hours of real work a week. Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

I think this is true for the most part unless you're going for a specific market. In that case, your best bet is to get something in that market, no matter what it is.

Another exception would be if you're targeting one of the southern markets where firms typically hire 1Ls. Then some effort is warranted.

[BigZuck]

Speaking of Dec.1, is there any benefit to doing the "resume blast" described above on that date, as opposed to waiting until finals are over?

We don't have grades yet, so I don't quite understand how or why this would be an advantage since we would (presumably) have to amend our application with a transcript.

the time spent doing a resume blast on december 1 could be better utilized by doing practice exams. when it comes to 1HELL, time is money.

again, there is no advantage. there will be tons of great internships available long after december 1.

1L SA mass blast broham. Internships? Sure, wait. But they shouldn't wait on 1L SA apps.

[Anonymous User]

If you want a 1L SA position, you absolutely should take the time and apply on December 1st. What others are saying is true: Grades are most important. BUT, these applications should not take you that long. I did all mine in about 15 hours( probably) - if you can get this done this month (no reason to wait) then you will easily have 15 hours to spare. If you don't have 15 hours to spare right now...you are doing it wrong.

This is especially true for Texas. If you are from Texas please send out your SA applications on December 1st. I had 1L SA positions, and when I spoke with recruiting, they said it is definitely beneficial to be in on that day. I had all my "callbacks" for 1L SA positions over winter break, as will you if you do it right.

There is no reason to wait till end of November to do this (even though I did). Get your resume ready to go, look up sample cover letters and get them ready now. If you are primarily looking for some non-paying work, then who cares, don't worry about it till winter break. Getting a 1L SA will absolutely help you when 2L OCI comes around - especially if you have an offer from that firm already.

[FSK]

Here's some 2L wisdom: mass-mailing doesn't take very long if you're efficient. Use mail-merge, NALP, etc. you can start preparing now.

[cannibal ox]

I'd mass blast some 1L SA apps on December 1st and then be done with it until after finals.

Tagging this topic and planning on following this advice.

[pancakes3]

Form letters for mass mail or pseudo-form letters?

Basically I have no clue how to mass mail. Learn me please.

[sinfiery]

I wish someone made this more clear to me but: OCI does not require a letter of recommendation. 1L summer is seriously a joke if you're going that route.

This is bad advice.

First, grades are the most important thing because they get you the initial interview for 2L summer. HOWEVER, your experience is what lands you the job. You will be competing with students at your law school who got similar grades and OTHER law schools. Also, the first question I received at every interview for OCI was "how was it working for a federal judge this summer" and "what did you do". Thus, it is very important where you work this summer AND should be a top priority.

Second, if your interest is litigation, then working for a Judge is a very good option. It should expose you to many areas of law AND increase your understanding of what happens in lawsuits. Also, you can better understand what was actually going on in civil procedure. Also, if you do well, it gives you a highly respected person as a reference.

But please, don't listen to the advice about not caring. To land a job in this legal market you need both GRADES and EXPERIENCE. One without the other is worthless. Grades get you the interview, Experience lands you the job. They work hand-in-hand. Thus, it is important to land a really good and valuable summer job.

The only important thing about your 1L summer is that you can create a narrative of what you did so you can respond to an interview question for 3=8 minutes. Nothing else matters about it, at all. *(For OCI)

[filibuster]

Don't worry about 1L summer. You don't need to work for a judge to do litigation, or validly express interest during OCI. I landed offers from various firms, including a litigation boutique without doing anything related to litigation during my 1L summer. Whatever you do during 1L summer (make sure it is legal), you will be able to create a fine narrative for OCI. Get good grades, keep ya focus!

[Kratos]

Here's some 2L wisdom: mass-mailing doesn't take very long if you're efficient. Use mail-merge, NALP, etc. you can start preparing now.

Jesus Christ this. I don't understand how people act like mass-mailing is some gigantic time sink. You write one. Then every other one you write basically just plugs firm specific facts into that form. Besides, you can start researching firms now and making cover letters dated on Dec 1 or 15 or whenever the firm wants you to send it. You can even make e-mail drafts now as well. That way on Dec. 1 you just click and a shit ton get sent. Also, everybody needs to stop pretending like one day doing several hours of mass-mails is somehow gonna bomb your grades.

[checkers]

tag

[Anonymous User]

Prepping for 2L OCI is more important than anything and it is a suprisingly enormous time commitment

Elaborate, please.

OCI prep is honestly one of the most tedious, annoying, and time consuming things you'll do in law school. It sounds easy, but trust me, it's not. Researching firms, OCI interviewers, markets, offer rates, practice areas, firm strengths, notable clients, prestigious cases, the list goes on. While Chambers and NALP are helpful for some of these, not all firms are on those sites, and many firms are good at hiding relevant information that's important in regards to OCI/a career there.

I can't tell you how confusing it gets when every single firm begins to look exactly the same after awhile. I know of multiple people who walked into screeners saying "Hello! I've really been looking forward to speaking about Firm X," immediately followed by the realization that this is Firm Y. Talk about awkward.