Working as a Summer Associate When Not in Law School
Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 5:51 pm
I have a question about summering at a law firm. Before I explain my circumstances and ask my question, I want to make something clear: I know that what I'm about to suggest is illegal. I am not looking for lectures on morality, right-and-wrong, or legal ethics. I just want to know if I'm overlooking any risks with my strategy.
Three years ago, I completed one year at a T20 law school. My grades were fine, but I dropped out for various personal reasons. Since dropping out, I've worked in temporary jobs. I've toyed with the idea of returning to law school, but I've decided that I do not want to be a lawyer. All the possible career paths in the law (public interest, big law, mid law, government) do not appeal to me.
There is, however, one phase of legal employment that I find appealing: working as a summer associate at a big law firm. If you work for 12 weeks, you get $36K. That's more than I make now when working 40 weeks a year. Given my current lifestyle, I can easily live off that income.
I have friends from law school who summered at big firms. Invariably, their experiences were awesome. It's mostly partying. I'm confident that I can easily do whatever actual work I'm assigned.
The problem, of course, is that I am not in law school. So how can I possibly land a SA spot? I have a plan. I am going to fake a first-year transcript from a T14 law school. (Just assume, for the sake of this question, that I have access to the technology that will allow me to do this.) I will give myself good grades—I'm thinking around top 15%. (I fear that top-of-the-class grades would be suspicious.) I will then mass mail big law firms and offices that do not come to my school's OCI. I will then, hopefully, get callbacks and offers.
I will then work at the firm over the following summer. At the end of the summer, I will decline the firm's offer for one reason or another (e.g., fictional clerkship, fictional fiancee in a city where the firm doesn't have an office, whatever). I'll then repeat the process the following cycle, creating a new first-year transcript (perhaps from a different T14—see below), and then mailing it to firms that I had not contacted the previous cycle.
I'm 28 now. I figure I can continue this cycle for at least six or seven years. Here are some concerns I have:
1. There will likely be other SAs at the firm who went to my 1L "law school." For that reason, I'm thinking of picking a big law school. So, for example, GULC would be better than Cornell. That way, it will be more plausible that the other summers from "my school" wouldn't have met me. Do you think that could work?
2. I'm assuming that firms don't do background checks on summer associates. Is that right? I'm sure they do checks when you're hired as an actual attorney but, as explained above, I never intend to get that far.
3. I won't have an email address from a law school. I intend to use my gmail address for all communication. Do you think that will raise any red flags?
4. Do firms actually check references? I'm thinking of picking a random professor (someone who teaches 1L classes) from my T14 law school as a reference, because I'm assuming that the firm would want to see a law-school-related reference on the list. This won't work, of course, if firms actually bother to contact references for summer associates.
Can you think of anything I'm overlooking? What else could result in me getting caught?
Three years ago, I completed one year at a T20 law school. My grades were fine, but I dropped out for various personal reasons. Since dropping out, I've worked in temporary jobs. I've toyed with the idea of returning to law school, but I've decided that I do not want to be a lawyer. All the possible career paths in the law (public interest, big law, mid law, government) do not appeal to me.
There is, however, one phase of legal employment that I find appealing: working as a summer associate at a big law firm. If you work for 12 weeks, you get $36K. That's more than I make now when working 40 weeks a year. Given my current lifestyle, I can easily live off that income.
I have friends from law school who summered at big firms. Invariably, their experiences were awesome. It's mostly partying. I'm confident that I can easily do whatever actual work I'm assigned.
The problem, of course, is that I am not in law school. So how can I possibly land a SA spot? I have a plan. I am going to fake a first-year transcript from a T14 law school. (Just assume, for the sake of this question, that I have access to the technology that will allow me to do this.) I will give myself good grades—I'm thinking around top 15%. (I fear that top-of-the-class grades would be suspicious.) I will then mass mail big law firms and offices that do not come to my school's OCI. I will then, hopefully, get callbacks and offers.
I will then work at the firm over the following summer. At the end of the summer, I will decline the firm's offer for one reason or another (e.g., fictional clerkship, fictional fiancee in a city where the firm doesn't have an office, whatever). I'll then repeat the process the following cycle, creating a new first-year transcript (perhaps from a different T14—see below), and then mailing it to firms that I had not contacted the previous cycle.
I'm 28 now. I figure I can continue this cycle for at least six or seven years. Here are some concerns I have:
1. There will likely be other SAs at the firm who went to my 1L "law school." For that reason, I'm thinking of picking a big law school. So, for example, GULC would be better than Cornell. That way, it will be more plausible that the other summers from "my school" wouldn't have met me. Do you think that could work?
2. I'm assuming that firms don't do background checks on summer associates. Is that right? I'm sure they do checks when you're hired as an actual attorney but, as explained above, I never intend to get that far.
3. I won't have an email address from a law school. I intend to use my gmail address for all communication. Do you think that will raise any red flags?
4. Do firms actually check references? I'm thinking of picking a random professor (someone who teaches 1L classes) from my T14 law school as a reference, because I'm assuming that the firm would want to see a law-school-related reference on the list. This won't work, of course, if firms actually bother to contact references for summer associates.
Can you think of anything I'm overlooking? What else could result in me getting caught?
