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Above median K-JD at a lower T14 interested in litigation.

What are the best non-SA 2L Summer Jobs to maximize my chances of getting BigLaw after 3L?

Hiring isn't over. Keep mass mailing and target midlaw too.

Anonymous User wrote:Hiring isn't over. Keep mass mailing and target midlaw too.

I am, but as the government deadlines approach I want to know what other options I should focus on.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Hiring isn't over. Keep mass mailing and target midlaw too.

I am, but as the government deadlines approach I want to know what other options I should focus on.

Not sure what other options you're expecting. If you strike-out, you're screwed. There isn't a magic convention where recruiters go and hire 3Ls.

Mass-mailing is your best bet. You can try reaching out to alumni from your school who are at biglaw, but for 3Ls that won't be particularly helpful. Most 3L hiring is reserved for people looking to "trade up".

Sorry to say, but you should apply to gov positions or maybe midlaw then look into lateraling a few years down the road.

Clerkships.
Big fed
Lose your lit interest and go Corp or bk (still a crapshoot for 3l hiring, but prob better than lit).

Yeah there isn't a job during 2l summer that will help you pull biglaw. You need to hustle your face off to get a SA now, because if you don't, 99% chance the biglaw ship has sailed for you.

According to the career services office at my T10, your outlook isn't nearly as bad as some of the other posters here are suggesting.

My interest was corporate, but they strongly recommended looking at BigFed financial regulators (SEC, CFPB, CFTC, etc.). I imagine you could get similarly prestigious and relevant experience at a wider range of agencies if you're interested in general litigation. When you apply during 3L you can just say that you ultimately decided against working in the public sector.

Big Fed summer job could land you a 3L spot. Obviously not easy, but I know people who did it.

Otherwise, I'd spend a lot of time trying to clerk. Firms like hiring clerks.

I was hired into biglaw during Dec/Jan of my 2L year! Don't give up hope, keep mass mailing, check Simplicity ALL THE TIME. (I never would have checked because it was during finals, but the head of my school's OCI tipped me off to a perfect job for my background.) Don't give up hope.

Side note--randomly, a lot of my friends who are partners in biglaw now worked in midlaw for a few years, lateralled to biglaw where their skillsets were well beyond the biglaw kids, because they got more experience, and they profited. Like I said, don't give up hope.

Anonymous User wrote:I was hired into biglaw during Dec/Jan of my 2L year! Don't give up hope, keep mass mailing, check Simplicity ALL THE TIME. (I never would have checked because it was during finals, but the head of my school's OCI tipped me off to a perfect job for my background.) Don't give up hope.

Side note--randomly, a lot of my friends who are partners in biglaw now worked in midlaw for a few years, lateralled to biglaw where their skillsets were well beyond the biglaw kids, because they got more experience, and they profited. Like I said, don't give up hope.

just curious - biglaw in which market?

Anonymous User wrote:interested in litigation.

Have you expressed this in interviews? This may be your issue. My general feeling from my peers is that litigation is slow right now. If you're able to get callbacks, then I'd say for now express that you're interested in litigation AND corporate. Once you get your SA, then you can change your mind. If you don't anticipate that the firm will place you in litigation after you graduate, you'll still have a huge advantage in lateraling to a firm if you've done an SA.

Edit: maybe the game has changed a lot in the last few years, but it's definitely not too late to snag a 2L SA right now. Just have no shame and mass mail literally every firm (sometimes even ones that you already had a screener with).