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There might be an obvious answer and I apologize for my ignorance if there is but would it be a bad idea to pass on a biglaw summer associate gig to work for the State Supreme Court for your 2L summer? Would a biglaw SA program be okay with a person splitting the summer working for them and the state supreme court?

My thought process is that biglaw SA jobs typically lead to an offer to work for the firm after you graduate so it would be a bad idea to pass on that. But it also sounds really prestigious to work for a state supreme court.

I don't have the offers on the table, it's just a possibility at this point.(I'm going through EIW in a few weeks) But I am curious what people's thoughts are? Anyone else do anything like this? Seems like splitting the summer would be the best idea but I'm not sure if that's possible.

Anonymous User wrote: But it also sounds really prestigious to work for a state supreme court.

Assuming that is true (it's not, but let's assume), what are you hoping to get out of that really prestigious resume line?

SSC internship is NOTHING. Get a biglaw SA.

Probably a clerkship or the right job.

Extern/Interning for a SSC as a summer is not particularly prestigious but it can be a useful experience. Firms won't care so long as full summer with them, whatever they define that as (usually 8-10 weeks). You will probably have to do firm first then SSC.

Thanks for the advice! That's interesting that it's not prestigious. Guess I assumed wrong on that.

Concur with everyone else here. Summer work for judges tends to be highly non-competitive, and also not likely to lead directly to employment - working for a firm (if it's even slightly aligned with your career goals) is the far better choice.

Apply for both & see what your actual options are. How much of a stomach do you have for politics ? Not office politics, but real life screw someone over due to political influences. It happens in SSCs. If offered both, then it may depend on the state & your career objectives.
FWIW: I've read better opinions from some state appellate courts than from the same state's supreme court (because they have the SSC looking over their shoulders).