Few options available for 1L summer. What would you do? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I have a 3 options available to me for my 1L summer that I am contemplating and am not sure which way to go, looking for advice. I haven't secured offers at all 3 but for personal reasons I feel that I have a good (albeit not guaranteed) shot at all of them. Obviously I am not taking anything for granted, this is really more of a thought exercise.

I have a tech background and came to LS wanting to do patents, but I'm no longer sure if I want to 100% commit myself to that anymore. I want to give patent litigation a fair chance, but am also very interested in trademark/copyright/trade secret litigation, as well as litigation generally. I want to pick a 1L summer job that will give me good practical/research/writing experience, but also send the right signal to a future employer at OCI.

These are my options:

1) State trial judge. Very busy district with the potential to work in a commercial litigation specialty division. I think this would be the most interesting experience if I were living in a vacuum. (for purposes of this discussion, please ignore the fact that a judge's offer is binding)

2) In-house at Company A's IP division. Company A is a big company with a strong IP practice. I think it would be primarily working on patent prosecution and strategy, which I do NOT want to do long term, but I think it would be a good educational experience if I wanted to go into patent litigation and would give me tons to talk about in OCI. Also, it's paid which would alleviate a lot of financial pressure over the summer.

3) In-house at Company B. I think this program is a rotational program, so I would have the chance to work in IP as well as general corporate. This would probably be the most well-rounded experience, but maybe the least prestigious? (I don't really care about prestige, but I know some OCI employers do). I don't really want to do corporate (although of course, I would happily give it a fair shake), but I feel this would give me some IP experience without sending a signal to OCI employers that I only want to do IP. I have experience with this company's product in my tech career, which makes this appealing to me. Also paid, which is nice.

I have also sent out some apps to a Federal District court, but that I would take any of those in a heart-beat and also I don't actually expect to get an offer there, so I'm leaving that out of this discussion.

Thanks in advanced!

[Anonymous User]

Employers generally won't care about prestige as long as you can communicate that you did substantive work during the summer, and I would really use that as a basis for picking an internship. Obviously not everyone will agree, but saying "I spent my summer writing memoranda and briefs for XYZ Legal Aid Society" looks better than saying "I spent my summer shadowing IP lawyers in a corporate setting." That being said, since you're looking to expand your exposure to practice areas, the rotational program in Option #3 would probably be most useful for you - both to get exposure in areas that you're interested in, as well as to rule out areas you might not want to do. Option #1 would also be good for you, mainly because so many different types of issues come up through a state trial court and it's a good way to learn a little about a lot.

[RaceJudicata]

I’d pick option 3. Paid and most varied experience. I wouldn’t do the state judge.

[gregfootball2001]

I'd also go with 3 - pay, in-house (so immediately beginning a network), and varied experience.

(for purposes of this discussion, please ignore the fact that a judge's offer is binding)

I've seen this a few times now on this board. Someone in-chambers feel free to chime in if I'm wrong, but you're a 1L. An offer from a judge isn't binding. Chances are the offer is coming from the clerks anyway (at the federal level, anyway). There are many others that can take your place, and the judge will not particularly care or blackball you for the rest of your career if you ask for time or turn him down. Of course, try not to renege right before you start or anything, but you can certainly ask for time to think about an offer.

A clerkship is different than an internship. Getting a clerkship is a competitive and personal process, so it is often said that you should accept an offer immediately if one is given. Your circumstances are different. Don't worry so much.

And on that vein - don't worry so much overall. If you have some legal experience during your 1L summer, you'll do fine at OCI. Grades are much more important.

[foregetaboutdre]

Pick 3

[albanach]

I have a 3 options available to me for my 1L summer that I am contemplating and am not sure which way to go, looking for advice. I haven't secured offers at all 3 but for personal reasons I feel that I have a good (albeit not guaranteed) shot at all of them. Obviously I am not taking anything for granted, this is really more of a thought exercise.

I have a tech background and came to LS wanting to do patents, but I'm no longer sure if I want to 100% commit myself to that anymore. I want to give patent litigation a fair chance, but am also very interested in trademark/copyright/trade secret litigation, as well as litigation generally. I want to pick a 1L summer job that will give me good practical/research/writing experience, but also send the right signal to a future employer at OCI.

I like the two commercial positions. I would try and get a better picture of what legal work you will get to do as a 1L summer. The most important thing is to have something substantive to talk about at OCI. Will you get invited onto client calls? Will you get into the depths of a client matter? Or will you just be asked to research a couple of issues and write some memos?

I'd pick whichever looks to be the most engaging. You'll enjoy your summer more, and you'll have more interesting things to talk about.

[minnbills]

While the state court internship will definitely give you the most "fun" summer (I did this; sitting in on trials for a few months was a lot of fun) the corporations will look better on your resume.

Unless you really want to do IP, which it sounds like you do not want to do, I would go with the most prestigious option because that will provide the biggest boost in your next job hunt.

[Anonymous User]

OP here.

Looks like (3) is the consensus, which I’m realizing makes a lot of sense for the reasons explained here and some personal reasons.

Unfortunately 3 is my least certain option so I’m going to start hustling haha. Having said that, if i were forced to choose between 1 and 2, is one better than the other? I like 2 because it will let me see if I actually enjoy IP or not, but if I don’t, I’m worried about the signal it will send to oci employers.

I think 1 and 2 would still offer good chances for writing samples (1 obviously being a judge and I think at 2 I’d be working on memos and patent apps)

[AZ123]

Take the paying offer. What you did your 1l summer won't matter in the long run (as long as there is at least some substantive legal work that you can talk about in future interviews).

[RaceJudicata]

Wait, you don’t even have these jobs? Come back when you have offers.

[Anonymous User]

Wait, you don’t even have these jobs? Come back when you have offers.

This.

[Roy McAvoy]

It really won’t matter for OCI or long term. I’d do either of 2 or 3 because they’re paid and will help you with your network. Even if you don’t want to do pros it will be helpful and good for you to have experienced. I effectively did 2 my 1L summer and it was great, but it sounds like our goals are a bit different. PM me if you want to chat.

[Anonymous User]

Wait, you don’t even have these jobs? Come back when you have offers.

I have offers to some of these positions, but I suppose I've revealed I don't have one to 3.

[totesTheGoat]

Do 2. Your 1L summer is useful for either ruling in or ruling out patent pros as an option going forward. Besides, you're gonna be a better patent litigator if you draft a couple OA responses during your 1L summer. You could also mention that you're interested in litigation to your summer mentor and see what happens.

Then you can use what you learn this summer to decide what to do next summer (when it somewhat actually matters to your career what type of work you choose).

A bit of a warning on option 3. Especially as a 1L intern, "rotational" usually means "do a bunch of makework/clerical projects for different teams in the legal department." The idea that you can ramp up and do meaningful work for 3 different teams in 10 weeks is a joke. You're also going to be bouncing between working with different people, leading to the networking gains of the internship being attenuated. In 2L with a guaranteed offer, these issues aren't as big of a deal, but in 1L they kill the best parts of the internship: 1) being able to talk about substantive legal work at OCI and 2) getting to know a few attorneys well enough that they'll remember you when you send them an email a year later looking for a job.

[gregfootball2001]

Take the paying offer.