1L SA - ramifications of not accepting an offer? Forum

[Anonymous User]

If someone gets a 1L SA, how will it impact the following?

1. Will other firms be suspicious/not want to interview a candidate during OCI who had a 1L SA and presumably an offer?
2. Will firms in larger markets like Chicago and New York question the desire of the student to work in their market if the SA was in a smaller market?
3. Will the SA in question's host firm be unhappy/revoke an offer if they find out the person is doing OCI?
4. Would not accepting an offer with the 1L firm burn that bridge with the firm, as well as the market of the firm?

[cron1834]

No, no, no, no. Just be extremely polite and do good work and you'll be fine whether you accept or not.

[jbagelboy]

I felt that one or two firms in one market were skeptical of my 1L SA in a different market, and that may have contributed to their decision. But then again it could have been any number of factors. I’m not going to say a 1L SA has no impact, it depends on the specific circumstances and how you spin it.

As for 3, a 1L SA firm will not be upset that you are doing OCI; they fully expect it. If you don’t return, I wouldn’t characterize it as burning a bridge, but sure, your offer will be rescinded and they will be skeptical if you try to come back later.

[SplitMyPants]

1) Absolutely not. Having the 1L SA and associated offer is a great sign to other firms that another reputable firm invited you back after essentially an 8-week interview.
2) Chicago is different because it is so insular, and I cannot speak to it much. But with New York, they will not care as long as you have some canned, at-all-thought-out response to "Why NYC?" My resume screamed my home-secondary (including 1L SA) and it was fine in NYC.
3) Absolutely not. Firms expect you to do OCI. They obviously want you to come back, but any reputable firm will not bat an eye at doing OCI. One would hope that future attorneys should be reasoned, pragmatic, and informed in their decision making, after all.
4) Certainly not with that market. Depends on the specific circumstances re: the firm. More often than not I would guess no. However, anecdotally, I suspect I would have a tough go of it if I tried to return to my 1L SA firm if lateraling back home later on. But things like that are going to be circumstantial.

[Anonymous User]

With regard to your second question: I can't speak to New York (though it seems that they don't care based on anecdotal evidence from friends), but I did a 1L SA in my home-state secondary/tertiary market, and had to answer a lot of questions about it when interviewing with Chicago offices during OCI. I had a pretty good story about why I spent 1L summer in the smaller market, and why I wanted to be in Chicago going forward, so I don't feel that it held me back, but it was definitely something that i was pressed on in every interview. So as long as you have a somewhat compelling story as to why you want to be in Chicago long-term, spending a summer in another market won't prevent you from getting an SA spot in a Chicago office during OCI.

[Anonymous User]

With regard to your second question: I can't speak to New York (though it seems that they don't care based on anecdotal evidence from friends), but I did a 1L SA in my home-state secondary/tertiary market, and had to answer a lot of questions about it when interviewing with Chicago offices during OCI. I had a pretty good story about why I spent 1L summer in the smaller market, and why I wanted to be in Chicago going forward, so I don't feel that it held me back, but it was definitely something that i was pressed on in every interview. So as long as you have a somewhat compelling story as to why you want to be in Chicago long-term, spending a summer in another market won't prevent you from getting an SA spot in a Chicago office during OCI.

Would a good answer be "I couldn't get a 1L SA in your city"?

[Anonymous User]

Bump. Have all the same questions as OP...specifically, would Chicago/NYC firms understand that 1L SA jobs are hard to come by, so someone might accept a position in a smaller market because it's the only offer he/she gets?

[UVA2B]

Getting SA experience, even in a smaller market, will be better than not getting that experience in NYC/Chicago. You'll need to be able to answer why you decided you want to be in NYC/Chicago instead of that smaller market convincingly, but that's really not hard. NYC/Chi knows why you want to be in NYC, so something as simple as "I realized in working in [smaller market] that I really want to be in a more robust legal market."

[thesealocust]

I did a 1L SA at a boutique firm in D.C., which was my home town, and wound up doing a 2L SA at Davis Polk in NYC.

If someone gets a 1L SA, how will it impact the following?

1. Will other firms be suspicious/not want to interview a candidate during OCI who had a 1L SA and presumably an offer?

No, not at all. It's also not a huge boost. On the other hand, most 1L SAs are very narrow, for local candidates, those with connections, etc. so firms don't see it as a huge plus either. It's not like you learn a ton during 12 weeks at the bottom of the food chain.

2. Will firms in larger markets like Chicago and New York question the desire of the student to work in their market if the SA was in a smaller market?

No, quite the opposite. 1L SAs are often more common in smaller markets because all smaller markets have a hard time attracting students... because they're small. Big cities are expensive, but on the whole more people want to work there, and the big firms know it.

3. Will the SA in question's host firm be unhappy/revoke an offer if they find out the person is doing OCI?

No.

4. Would not accepting an offer with the 1L firm burn that bridge with the firm, as well as the market of the firm?

Nope.