Resources for In-House Internships? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all - looking to see if there were any tried-and-true websites for applying to big-company general counsel internships (IE big banks, other large companies, etc). If there are no standard sites used, do you just have to go to individual company websites and search that way? If so, what are companies that usually hire summer associates for their general counsel's office?

[Anonymous User]

Also curious - especially regarding any companies known to have summer associate programs that they tend to hire from post-graduation

[Anonymous User]

Also curious - especially regarding any companies known to have summer associate programs that they tend to hire from post-graduation

Exactly. Anyone have any insight here?

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[RedGiant]

Also curious - especially regarding any companies known to have summer associate programs that they tend to hire from post-graduation

HP definitely has a large and robust entry-level in-house hiring program. I would also look at large investment managers (Fidelity, State Street, alternative IMs) and, as you mentioned, the investment banks. Search for "Junior counsel" or "corporate counsel" and jobs will come up. Network like hell with alumni that you identify on LinkedIn.

Re internships, your best bets are ventureloop.com, indeed.com, LinkedIn. Check all of them every few days starting in January and continuing through April. A lot of in-house places hire very late.

I would also add--don't just search for "intern". Search for "paralegal" too, because a lot of places will turn a paralegal job into a summer intern job for you. So you literally apply to the paralegal job and say, "I realize this posting was for a paralegal job, but I was wondering if you would consider a summer intern instead?"

[JenDarby]

indeed.com, goinhouse.com and individual corporate websites are how I have found both my in-house positions (including a big bank summer position during law school)

LinkedIn seems to increasingly have more postings, but generally what I see is for more experienced postings

I second the advice to continue looking through spring as hiring can be very late

[1styearlateral]

More companies are beginning to hire out of law school because then they can train their associates from the start rather than having to acclimate biglaw refugees. There was an article in the NYLJ or something about this not too long ago. I think, though, this is generally limited to Fortune 500 companies that have large legal departments, who can afford to bring on someone who has no clue what they're doing (as opposed to a startup that needs an experienced attorney). Look at places like the Big 4, media/advertising companies, and large property management companies (Cushman, Related, Vornado, etc.). I've seen internship listings for these companies all the time and know people who accepted FT positions there right after law school.

[Anonymous User]

I've seen internship listings for these companies all the time and know people who accepted FT positions there right after law school.

So these people knew after law school that they were going to get hired for full-time position or did they know before graduation? How did they increase their chance of getting the offer? I am also working as an intern in-house so I am wondering if this is a possibility for me.

[JenDarby]

I've seen internship listings for these companies all the time and know people who accepted FT positions there right after law school.

So these people knew after law school that they were going to get hired for full-time position or did they know before graduation? How did they increase their chance of getting the offer? I am also working as an intern in-house so I am wondering if this is a possibility for me.

Depending on the place, there can be a TON of inertia in-house. For myself and many friends we were offered or asked to stay on part time during 3L and from then through either continually extended contract periods, immediate full time offers, etc we all just never left (until some of us actively started applying elsewhere for various reasons).

If you can make yourself an asset then they will try to keep you on board. Show a willingness to do the work others might not want to do. Carve out a place for yourself in the department where your leaving would burden others. And with any job, fit in as a person so people WANT to keep you around and will go to bat for you.

[Anonymous User]

I've seen internship listings for these companies all the time and know people who accepted FT positions there right after law school.

So these people knew after law school that they were going to get hired for full-time position or did they know before graduation? How did they increase their chance of getting the offer? I am also working as an intern in-house so I am wondering if this is a possibility for me.

Depending on the place, there can be a TON of inertia in-house. For myself and many friends we were offered or asked to stay on part time during 3L and from then through either continually extended contract periods, immediate full time offers, etc we all just never left (until some of us actively started applying elsewhere for various reasons).

If you can make yourself an asset then they will try to keep you on board. Show a willingness to do the work others might not want to do. Carve out a place for yourself in the department where your leaving would burden others. And with any job, fit in as a person so people WANT to keep you around and will go to bat for you.

Thanks. I am the quoted anon.

[1styearlateral]

I've seen internship listings for these companies all the time and know people who accepted FT positions there right after law school.

So these people knew after law school that they were going to get hired for full-time position or did they know before graduation? How did they increase their chance of getting the offer? I am also working as an intern in-house so I am wondering if this is a possibility for me.

Depending on the place, there can be a TON of inertia in-house. For myself and many friends we were offered or asked to stay on part time during 3L and from then through either continually extended contract periods, immediate full time offers, etc we all just never left (until some of us actively started applying elsewhere for various reasons).

If you can make yourself an asset then they will try to keep you on board. Show a willingness to do the work others might not want to do. Carve out a place for yourself in the department where your leaving would burden others. And with any job, fit in as a person so people WANT to keep you around and will go to bat for you.

This is pretty much TCR. My classmates did not go into their internships with the expectation that they would be hired post-grad, but they did a good enough job and were liked enough to be offered FT. People hire others they enjoy working with.

Some internships straight up disclaim that there is no opportunity to be hired after law school, but in the instances where there is no disclaimer, I think there is a strong opportunity to turn it into a FT offer if you want. There are plenty of pros and cons to going straight in house but I think for the most part most in house positions prefer (or even require) some in house experience in addition to firm experience.

[Anonymous User]

I've seen internship listings for these companies all the time and know people who accepted FT positions there right after law school.

So these people knew after law school that they were going to get hired for full-time position or did they know before graduation? How did they increase their chance of getting the offer? I am also working as an intern in-house so I am wondering if this is a possibility for me.

Depending on the place, there can be a TON of inertia in-house. For myself and many friends we were offered or asked to stay on part time during 3L and from then through either continually extended contract periods, immediate full time offers, etc we all just never left (until some of us actively started applying elsewhere for various reasons).

If you can make yourself an asset then they will try to keep you on board. Show a willingness to do the work others might not want to do. Carve out a place for yourself in the department where your leaving would burden others. And with any job, fit in as a person so people WANT to keep you around and will go to bat for you.

This is pretty much TCR. My classmates did not go into their internships with the expectation that they would be hired post-grad, but they did a good enough job and were liked enough to be offered FT. People hire others they enjoy working with.

Some internships straight up disclaim that there is no opportunity to be hired after law school, but in the instances where there is no disclaimer, I think there is a strong opportunity to turn it into a FT offer if you want. There are plenty of pros and cons to going straight in house but I think for the most part most in house positions prefer (or even require) some in house experience in addition to firm experience.

What would be the cons of going in house right away?

[Anonymous User]

indeed.com, goinhouse.com and individual corporate websites are how I have found both my in-house positions (including a big bank summer position during law school)

LinkedIn seems to increasingly have more postings, but generally what I see is for more experienced postings

I second the advice to continue looking through spring as hiring can be very late

Any key search terms to find summer associate positions? Obviously summer associate and law clerk are among them, but these can often lead to more results. I'm assuming if these are the search terms you used and I have used them and have come up with nothing, there is nothing yet available?

[Anonymous User]

Hey all - looking to see if there were any tried-and-true websites for applying to big-company general counsel internships (IE big banks, other large companies, etc). If there are no standard sites used, do you just have to go to individual company websites and search that way? If so, what are companies that usually hire summer associates for their general counsel's office?

Indeed. Landed a 1L internship with GE GC office and GE Ventures via that; also gain interviews with Sandisk and GM/Ford via that as well. Solid resource.

[skedaddle]

What would be the cons of going in house right away?

This is my perspective having worked as a non-attorney in BigLaw and in-house for over a decade. I just started law school this year and I'm hoping to go back in-house after I graduate.

1) Since the Law School -> BigLaw -> In-House track is so much more common, some companies will only hire attorneys with law firm experience. This is either because it feels familiar to the rest of the team, because some attorneys feel that there are skills one can only learn in a law firm, or because someone at the company wants to be able to say that all the company's in-house attorneys came from prestigious law firms.

2) The same reason that a lot of companies don't hire straight from law school - in a big firm there are more resources available to help you out as a new associate. There are plenty of other attorneys to learn from and a wealth of work product that you can use as a jumping off point for your own work.

3) Law firms give new associates clear, defined tasks and their responsibilities build over time. That was not my experience in-house. I was suddenly expected to know a little bit about a lot of things. If you don't have a business background (I didn't) it's especially difficult, because the legal team generally also acts as a sounding board on business decisions.