When do summer jobs tend to give offers to return? Forum

[Anonymous User]

1L here. Was lucky enough to land a big law SA position through a diversity initiative. So far, I'm very excited to be joining the firm this summer, and everyone has been welcoming. I will be the only 1L. There will be, of course, way more 2L's there, and the firm has a near 100% offer rate for them.

I've perused these boards quite a bit, and some people have said that despite firms almost always offering 2L's @ the end of the summer, 1L SA's are not a guarnatee to return the next summer. However, I would really like to return to my firm (assuming I actually like it/they like me and of course keep my grades up/make journal). Plus, I am not interested in going through the stress of OCI, being that my firm has a good reputation, does good work, and is located where I want to live. Plus, OCI conflicts with the rest of my summer once my SA job concludes. Long story short, I want to avoid OCI altogether, including signing up/bidding, but will only do so if I have an offer to return.

So my question is: when do jobs usually let summers know they are welcome to return? Is it halfway through the summer, near the end, or into the fall as they observe their other incoming candidates? Thanks!

[jingosaur]

A lot of offices will give their 1L summers an offer to return on their last day or during their final review.

[Anonymous User]

You should know before OCI woulds start, but if they don't give you an offer, OCI trumps any other summer plans. Goal of law school is to get a job.

[Anonymous User]

You should know before OCI woulds start, but if they don't give you an offer, OCI trumps any other summer plans. Goal of law school is to get a job.

OP here. I absolutely agree. However if they do give me an offer, it would be nice to have the extra time before school starts to travel and not have to do it. I know of a 2L who summered at a different big firm and they did not ask him to return until after school had started, which seems really late. I do like my firm ultimately and would be fine with staying again (assuming everything goes well this summer). One of the partners somewhat hinted that I should let them know whether I plan to do OCI or not and returning plans would be discussed at a later date. So I guess I'll sit tight and see how it goes!

[SFSpartan]

You likely will not have information re: your offer before you have to submit bids for OCI, so I would plan on doing it. Then, if you do get an offer, your OCI experience will be a breeze, as you'll be able to do interviews without worrying about whether you'll have a job or not. Speaking from experience, that's a great position to be in, as you'll likely interview better if you are calm.

Also, I'd caution against putting all of your eggs in one basket, which is essentially what you are doing if you immediately accept an offer to stay at your 1L summer firm. That isn't to say that you shouldn't take the offer if they give it to you. But that decision should be made only after you have evaluated all of your options.

[Anonymous User]

You likely will not have information re: your offer before you have to submit bids for OCI, so I would plan on doing it. Then, if you do get an offer, your OCI experience will be a breeze, as you'll be able to do interviews without worrying about whether you'll have a job or not. Speaking from experience, that's a great position to be in, as you'll likely interview better if you are calm.

Also, I'd caution against putting all of your eggs in one basket, which is essentially what you are doing if you immediately accept an offer to stay at your 1L summer firm. That isn't to say that you shouldn't take the offer if they give it to you. But that decision should be made only after you have evaluated all of your options.

Op here. You are right about the calm interviewing. I had a callback after I got my offer and it was probably th best interview I ever had in terms of nerves and overall mood.

[Yea All Right]

You likely will not have information re: your offer before you have to submit bids for OCI, so I would plan on doing it.

This is the important part. Just assume you're doing OCI for now.

[Anonymous User]

Is the same true of 2L summer associates? Wondering if I'll have to worry about OCI.

[Anonymous User]

Is the same true of 2L summer associates? Wondering if I'll have to worry about OCI.

I'm wondering the same thing as well. I'm going to a midlaw/regional biglaw firm in an ties-sensitive market (and I would gladly accept a full time offer from them) but I would hate for them to get word of me doing OCI or applying to other markets while waiting to hear back about an offer.