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Hi all, I'm hoping I can get some advice on my situation. I'm attending a t20 and accepted an offer in late March to work with a state judge (District Court of Appeal). It was never my first choice and the job is unpaid, but I got a late start on the 1L summer job hunt due to a family crisis. Consequently, I felt it was best to accept whatever came my way.

Fast forward to May, a friend put me in touch with a boutique firm in a practice area that is basically exactly what I want to do out of law school. I met with the managing partner thinking it was just for the sake of networking, but surprisingly the partner said the firm is interested in hiring me for a paid position this summer. I'm not sure what to do now. The judicial internship is scheduled to begin in two weeks, whereas the firm said "we would prefer you start sooner rather than later." Some of my friends are telling me to take the firm internship and subsequent reputation hit / wrath from career services, others are telling me to honor my initial commitment. I'm leaning toward the latter, but I'm torn mainly because 1) the firm's work actually interests me, 2) this is a paid internship, and 3) this could lead to full-time paid employment after law school.

How much could reneging harm my future interests or reputation (either locally or back at school)? Is it worth it to take the firm gig all things considered, e.g., bad economy, debt, better chance of a job out of law school?

Thanks.

If money is an issue, then I think you can renege without feeling bad about it. People should not work for free.

ITE, I would probably opt for the paid gig that could lead to permanent employment. CSO never helps anyone find a job anyway, so their perception of you matters little when your debt is staring you in the face after graduation.

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all, I'm hoping I can get some advice on my situation. I'm attending a t20 and accepted an offer in late March to work with a state judge (District Court of Appeal). It was never my first choice and the job is unpaid, but I got a late start on the 1L summer job hunt due to a family crisis. Consequently, I felt it was best to accept whatever came my way.

Fast forward to May, a friend put me in touch with a boutique firm in a practice area that is basically exactly what I want to do out of law school. I met with the managing partner thinking it was just for the sake of networking, but surprisingly the partner said the firm is interested in hiring me for a paid position this summer. I'm not sure what to do now. The judicial internship is scheduled to begin in two weeks, whereas the firm said "we would prefer you start sooner rather than later." Some of my friends are telling me to take the firm internship and subsequent reputation hit / wrath from career services, others are telling me to honor my initial commitment. I'm leaning toward the latter, but I'm torn mainly because 1) the firm's work actually interests me, 2) this is a paid internship, and 3) this could lead to full-time paid employment after law school.

How much could reneging harm my future interests or reputation (either locally or back at school)? Is it worth it to take the firm gig all things considered, e.g., bad economy, debt, better chance of a job out of law school?

Thanks.

Mostly likely, the only thing that will happen is that your school will wag their finger at you. Who gives a fuck? Take the firm job.

The judge will be salty, but it is unlikely that he will remember in 3 years when you could possibly put your name on documents before that judge -- 2 years of law school, 6 months to take bar + get results, 3 months to be sworn in, 3 months before judge looks at first matter you worked on (obviously, it will probably be longer). It is extremely unlikely that the judge will be motivated to actively take steps to screw you. He's not going to call up firms about you.

I can only speak to my judge, but he would not care at all about an intern reneging. Chances are you were going to have very little contact with the judge anyway, and he probably doesn't even know who you are unless the particular judge is involved in the hiring process.

I would make sure there won't be consequences. I remember my T-20s CSO told us something like if we reneged on a judge we wouldn't be allowed to participate in OCI.

I would probably check with CSO. If they're just going to be pissed, then it's up to you. If there will be actual consequences then you need to weigh those.