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Background: 1L; Asian; CLS; top 1/3. 1 year non-legal/prestigious WE.

Good News: I just got an offer for an RA position. It's 10 weeks and pays 6.2k after-tax, which is significantly better summer funding for 4.9k after-tax. Paid 1L summer is rare per se--especially given non-URM/great grades. It's also literally across the street. I cannot express how great it would be to not stand on the NY subway platform in summer heat in business wear.

Problem: I only have until next Friday to accept.

Consideration 1: I had screeners from a V10 in TX and Skadden NY, which dishes out screeners like candy. They also rejected me already. I put in ~50 apps to in-house and firm positions. I also have ~10 rejections so far. I think the V10 in TX may give me a CB based on the screener. Also, most firms are silent so far.

Consideration 2: I want to get the hell out of NY to TX/IL. Given my lack of ties, 1L employment--even PI stuff--in those states would give me a convincing narrative come EIP time. I get staying in NY to do V5 level corporate work, but beyond that, I'd rather take the lower COL and run.

Questions:

1. I want to keep my hat in the ring for firms, but should I just give it up and take this job? My odds are obviously slim at best with firms, and this would allow me to just focus on studies to pull up my grades--though I was very focused and dedicated last semester and I don't get the feeling that it made all that much of a difference.

2. Is it appropriate to ask for an extension on the deadline? If so, how far can I push it? Ask for 1 week, 2 weeks, more? I do not know this professor outside of this job application.

3. Should I, regardless of this job offer, try to do 1L summer in TX/IL? How necessary is it to get those states with no ties? If it helps, I think I can pull my grades up to top ~20% assuming I get the same doctrinal grades and an A-/A in my elective with a easier curve. I'd also put myself as a slightly below average interviewer.

4. If I take this job, will reneging have any effect beyond burning a bridge with this professor? For 40k at a firm, I would probably do it. I know that reneging with judges for externships is a huge deal, but maybe this is not like that?

If you have no ties to Texas or Illinois and want to be a summer associate there after 2L, it would help you to work there this summer, sure. But the question you should be trying to answer first is why there? Do you have any familiarity with the legal markets in the Chicago, Houston, Dallas besides that there are firms there and the cost of living is lower? There are great reasons to move to and work in these places but just that they're not New York is not one of them.

Relatedly, this not a thing:

I get staying in NY to do V5 level corporate work, but beyond that, I'd rather take the lower COL and run.

It makes no sense to stay in New York if you can get an offer at SullCrom but to head to Houston because you only got Debevoise. Vault rankings have their place but you shouldn't be making decisions about the trajectory of your career based solely on them.

Frankly, you seem like you're both over- and under-thinking your situation. You've considered a lot of details but you need to step back and do some fundamental thinking about where you actually want to live and what you want to do. It'll be hard to determine what you should do until you figure out what you want.

If you do decide you want to go the unpaid route in one of these secondary markets, which would be a good move because as you say getting a 1L SA job isn't easy, you need to get on applying to those jobs ASAP. As for the RA job, you can probably ask for a week extension, but if you want to ask about the specific professor, PM or post in the CLS thread.

RSN wrote:If you have no ties to Texas or Illinois and want to be a summer associate there after 2L, it would help you to work there this summer, sure. But the question you should be trying to answer first is why there? Do you have any familiarity with the legal markets in the Chicago, Houston, Dallas besides that there are firms there and the cost of living is lower? There are great reasons to move to and work in these places but just that they're not New York is not one of them.

Relatedly, this not a thing:

I get staying in NY to do V5 level corporate work, but beyond that, I'd rather take the lower COL and run.

It makes no sense to stay in New York if you can get an offer at SullCrom but to head to Houston because you only got Debevoise. Vault rankings have their place but you shouldn't be making decisions about the trajectory of your career based solely on them.

Frankly, you seem like you're both over- and under-thinking your situation. You've considered a lot of details but you need to step back and do some fundamental thinking about where you actually want to live and what you want to do. It'll be hard to determine what you should do until you figure out what you want.

If you do decide you want to go the unpaid route in one of these secondary markets, which would be a good move because as you say getting a 1L SA job isn't easy, you need to get on applying to those jobs ASAP. As for the RA job, you can probably ask for a week extension, but if you want to ask about the specific professor, PM or post in the CLS thread.

PM'd.

Chicago is a big enough market that you won't need ties if you have a good resume.
I've heard that Dallas and Houston are a bit more particular about ties, so making inroads there during IL summer could be of modest benefit to your 2L SA applications there.

I agree with RSN but also think that, if you don't know a lot about what you want, CoL is as good a reason to pursue a market as any. Realistically most of your peers will put just as little thought into choosing firms, but let prestige guide most of their decisions.

Don't have any advice to offer re your 1L summer employment but my sense is top 20-30% at CLS does not need ties for TX biglaw as long as you can convince people that you reeeeeally want TX.