Attend a Tier 4 Law School and get a Big Law Clerkship
Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2016 12:47 pm
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Hey, congrats on the job. But just to be clear, did you clerk or were you a summer associate? Was there the expectation that you would get an offer to come back, and then a full-time offer?karl.jackson wrote:Hello all,
I cannot help but notice all of the Ivy leaguers on this post whining about where they will end up this summer, so I decided to offer up a bit of inspiration to all my of my fellow fourth Tier brothers and sisters. This past summer (my 1L summer) I clerked with a 180k law firm in a major city while attending a fourth tier law school. Although it is quite difficult, definitely harder than if I were at any Tier 1-2 school, it is possible if you put in the right amount of work effort towards your grades and networking.
The recipe is quite simple. First, during first semester 1L year dedicate all of your time to your studies. Second, during your second semester dedicate most of your time to school and network with the rest.
Study and network? Shit, I wish I had thought of that.karl.jackson wrote:Hello all,
I cannot help but notice all of the Ivy leaguers on this post whining about where they will end up this summer, so I decided to offer up a bit of inspiration to all my of my fellow fourth Tier brothers and sisters. This past summer (my 1L summer) I clerked with a 180k law firm in a major city while attending a fourth tier law school. Although it is quite difficult, definitely harder than if I were at any Tier 1-2 school, it is possible if you put in the right amount of work effort towards your grades and networking.
The recipe is quite simple. First, during first semester 1L year dedicate all of your time to your studies. Second, during your second semester dedicate most of your time to school and network with the rest.
Yeah.usernotfound wrote:Study and network? Shit, I wish I had thought of that.karl.jackson wrote:Hello all,
I cannot help but notice all of the Ivy leaguers on this post whining about where they will end up this summer, so I decided to offer up a bit of inspiration to all my of my fellow fourth Tier brothers and sisters. This past summer (my 1L summer) I clerked with a 180k law firm in a major city while attending a fourth tier law school. Although it is quite difficult, definitely harder than if I were at any Tier 1-2 school, it is possible if you put in the right amount of work effort towards your grades and networking.
The recipe is quite simple. First, during first semester 1L year dedicate all of your time to your studies. Second, during your second semester dedicate most of your time to school and network with the rest.
You might want to consider not using your full real name on here. It took me all of 3 seconds during a break from bar studying to see that the firm you worked at has a pretty good alumni base from your TTTT school, so good job working those connections and good luck to you moving forward.karl.jackson wrote:I was a summer associate. The firm I worked at use summer clerk and summer associate interchangeably.
To your second question, yes. The expectation I had coming in was to learn as much as possible and do well to receive a offer to return during my 2L summer and then hopefully get a return offer. At the end of my clerkship I was told that the firm is considering extending me an offer for a return visit next summer, and hopefully I can turn that into a permanent offer thereafter.
There were three people from my class of 300 that received Big Law internships after there 1L year. All I am saying is it is possible, and potential students should not be hung up on statistics. Honestly, a person should know who he or she before saying big law is for him or her. The question is are you willing to put in the time and effort regardless of what school you are coming from.A. Nony Mouse wrote:No one has ever said that 4th tier students can't get biglaw jobs. The point is just to warn people that the statistical likelihood of getting such a job from such a school is low. What is your class rank, and how many other people from your school got 1L summer SAs? How did you get the position - mass mail or through OCI?
Working hard is important (i.e., you will have zero chance of biglaw at a Tier 4 if you don't work hard), but my point was to say that "working hard" is going to be a default, and therefore not really a big part of what will get a Tier 4 student, specifically, into a biglaw summer associate position. For a Tier 4 specifically, it has to be assumed they worked hard; so the big deciding factors become whether or not they're networking a lot, and whether or not they're lucky enough to find the right person/firm to network with, and whether or not they're lucky enough to get someone to take them seriously despite where they've gone to school.karl.jackson wrote:I think its more like 50% working hard and 50% luck/networking. Honestly I got lucky and met the right person, and it didn't hurt that I met the firms academic standard. Be that as it may, I recently transferred to a Tier 1 because I learned how important the prestige of a school is in Big Law.elendinel wrote:Yeah.
I mean anything's possible, and I don't want to take away from your getting that summer associate position, OP, but once you're past a certain ranking (certainly well before you get to Tier 4), I think it's really more like 60% luck, and then 10% working hard and 30% networking like your life depends on it. People here don't act like it's impossible because they literally think it's impossible; it's to dissuade the "Well if he could do it, I probably can too" mentality, and to try to get people realistic about what their actual odds will be.
Second the advice to not use your real name. I heard through the grapevine (not TLS) that you're coming to UT. Welcome aboard!bwh8813 wrote:You might want to consider not using your full real name on here. It took me all of 3 seconds during a break from bar studying to see that the firm you worked at has a pretty good alumni base from your TTTT school, so good job working those connections and good luck to you moving forward.karl.jackson wrote:I was a summer associate. The firm I worked at use summer clerk and summer associate interchangeably.
To your second question, yes. The expectation I had coming in was to learn as much as possible and do well to receive a offer to return during my 2L summer and then hopefully get a return offer. At the end of my clerkship I was told that the firm is considering extending me an offer for a return visit next summer, and hopefully I can turn that into a permanent offer thereafter.
You're a literal idiot. I hope someone outs you and you get no-offered.karl.jackson wrote: There were three people from my class of 300 that received Big Law internships after there 1L year. All I am saying is it is possible, and potential students should not be hung up on statistics.
karl.jackson wrote:There were three people from my class of 300 that received Big Law internships after there 1L year. All I am saying is it is possible, and potential students should not be hung up on statistics.
As a 0L, this is very helpful. Thank you. Resubmitting my app to local TTTT because of this post.karl.jackson wrote:I think its more like 50% working hard and 50% luck/networking. Honestly I got lucky and met the right person, and it didn't hurt that I met the firms academic standard. Be that as it may, I recently transferred to a Tier 1 because I learned how important the prestige of a school is in Big Law.
In all seriousness, do you think a situation in which TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN out of THREE HUNDRED students don't get 1L internships is actually inspiring? Or is it more of a huge warning sign to anyone remotely thinking about attending that type of school?karl.jackson wrote:First, I expected some haters to emerge. Second, 1L internships are the exception not the rule.pancakes3 wrote:You're a literal idiot. I hope someone outs you and you get no-offered.karl.jackson wrote: There were three people from my class of 300 that received Big Law internships after there 1L year. All I am saying is it is possible, and potential students should not be hung up on statistics.
lolpancakes3 wrote:You're a literal idiot. I hope someone outs you and you get no-offered.karl.jackson wrote: There were three people from my class of 300 that received Big Law internships after there 1L year. All I am saying is it is possible, and potential students should not be hung up on statistics.