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Below median T20, looking at IP lit, practically certain to strike out at OCI.

I have ties in California, the South and the Mountain West and will gladly mass mail every other market in between. I'm also not that picky on the size of the firm. I just want to be fairly certain that if these firms are accepting 2L SA's, they are also offering jobs. In other words, I don't want to mail every rinkydink firm that will gladly take a summer clerk, but that is not looking to grow. How do I differentiate? Or is it kind of understood that if they accept a 2L SA, there is an implicit understanding that a full-time job is potentially on the table?

And just out of curiosity, how small is TOO small for you when considering firms to mass mail?

wbaseball4ever wrote:Below median T20, looking at IP lit, practically certain to strike out at OCI.

I have ties in California, the South and the Mountain West and will gladly mass mail every other market in between. I'm also not that picky on the size of the firm. I just want to be fairly certain that if these firms are accepting 2L SA's, they are also offering jobs. In other words, I don't want to mail every rinkydink firm that will gladly take a summer clerk, but that is not looking to grow. How do I differentiate? Or is it kind of understood that if they accept a 2L SA, there is an implicit understanding that a full-time job is potentially on the table?

And just out of curiosity, how small is TOO small for you when considering firms to mass mail?

Unless you know someone at the firm you won't be able to tell by perusing websites etc. But, there's certainly no implicit understanding that a full-time hire is a possibility just because you spent a summer there. I summered (clerked) at a mid-size (50ish attorneys) firm and it was made very clear that, absent a need arising (which wasn't expected) there would be no offer of permanent employment. This is a questions to ask in an interview.

As for whether there is any firm too small to mass mail, the answer is "no." However, if you're looking for something to lead to permanent employment, you probably have more of a shot with firms that have 25+ attorneys. I say this because, the bigger the firm, the easier it is financially for them to take on a new associate (generally speaking), even if there is no pressing need for one. I've certainly had friends who worked at small firms, impressed the hell out of their colleagues, and the firm made room for them to come aboard. A lot of it is luck though. Best of luck.