Removing Pre-Grad Employment from Resume Forum

[Anonymous User]

When is it appropriate to remove pre-law school graduation experience from your resume? I am a 2014 grad so 5th year associate. I am currently working at an entertainment boutique. I am very lucky to be here; I did not have big law on my resume. While I would love to have my 1L judicial externship on my resume, I have the dreaded 2L summer employment at a no-one-knows-who-they-are firm from striking out at big law. So, I'd rather remove that and everything before it. I care about this because I am currently applying to big law firms with dedicated entertainment groups and in-house at studios who usually look at big law associates. Surely the truth will come out; but I'd rather avoid it at the resume screening stage.

Is it reasonable to do that and still say "Experience"? Will firms think I'm trying to hide something or is it really not relevant anymore? Do I have to specify like "Post-Graduation Experience"?

[Bananabatman]

You've been out of school long enough that it's ok to remove it. Nobody will be interested in your 2L summer job at this point.

[Wild Card]

You've been out of school long enough that it's ok to remove it. Nobody will be interested in your 2L summer job at this point.

I see quite a few juniors and midlevels claiming to have "clerked" for judges during the school year. Might be useful to OP to keep that.

[cavalier1138]

You've been out of school long enough that it's ok to remove it. Nobody will be interested in your 2L summer job at this point.

I see quite a few juniors and midlevels claiming to have "clerked" for judges during the school year. Might be useful to OP to keep that.

Do they actually use the word "clerk," or do they say they worked for the judge? I think you could be subject to discipline if you claimed to clerk for a judge because you interned for a semester.

[sparty99]

You've been out of school long enough that it's ok to remove it. Nobody will be interested in your 2L summer job at this point.

I see quite a few juniors and midlevels claiming to have "clerked" for judges during the school year. Might be useful to OP to keep that.

Do they actually use the word "clerk," or do they say they worked for the judge? I think you could be subject to discipline if you claimed to clerk for a judge because you interned for a semester.

Clerk is a term of art, so no you won't be subject to discipline. And yes, they use the term, "clerked."

[cavalier1138]

You've been out of school long enough that it's ok to remove it. Nobody will be interested in your 2L summer job at this point.

I see quite a few juniors and midlevels claiming to have "clerked" for judges during the school year. Might be useful to OP to keep that.

Do they actually use the word "clerk," or do they say they worked for the judge? I think you could be subject to discipline if you claimed to clerk for a judge because you interned for a semester.

Clerk is a term of art, so no you won't be subject to discipline. And yes, they use the term, "clerked."

That's what I mean, though. It's a term of art with a particular meaning for legal employment. Judicial interns aren't judicial clerks.

I assume anyone reading the resume with some degree of care would be able to tell the difference. But it's like leaving the word "summer" out of "summer associate" when listing the job on your resume.

[sparty99]

You've been out of school long enough that it's ok to remove it. Nobody will be interested in your 2L summer job at this point.

I see quite a few juniors and midlevels claiming to have "clerked" for judges during the school year. Might be useful to OP to keep that.

Do they actually use the word "clerk," or do they say they worked for the judge? I think you could be subject to discipline if you claimed to clerk for a judge because you interned for a semester.

Clerk is a term of art, so no you won't be subject to discipline. And yes, they use the term, "clerked."

That's what I mean, though. It's a term of art with a particular meaning for legal employment. Judicial interns aren't judicial clerks.

I assume anyone reading the resume with some degree of care would be able to tell the difference. But it's like leaving the word "summer" out of "summer associate" when listing the job on your resume.

Perhaps, but the people who are making it as if it was a post-judicial clerkship are not trying to make it seem as if they were just an intern. The point is to prepare the resume as if it was a clerkship. Perhaps, misleading, but any advantage they can get is sometimes needed.

[cavalier1138]

Perhaps, but the people who are making it as if it was a post-judicial clerkship are not trying to make it seem as if they were just an intern. The point is to prepare the resume as if it was a clerkship. Perhaps, misleading, but any advantage they can get is sometimes needed.

Ok, and again, isn't misrepresentation one of those pesky rules of professional conduct?

I understand what people are doing here. What I don't understand is the reasoning you're using to say that this isn't misrepresentation.

[sparty99]

Perhaps, but the people who are making it as if it was a post-judicial clerkship are not trying to make it seem as if they were just an intern. The point is to prepare the resume as if it was a clerkship. Perhaps, misleading, but any advantage they can get is sometimes needed.

Ok, and again, isn't misrepresentation one of those pesky rules of professional conduct?

I understand what people are doing here. What I don't understand is the reasoning you're using to say that this isn't misrepresentation.

No, because "clerkship" is a term of art. There is no misrepresentation. Also, if they include the dates, then it is up for the employer to determine when that was.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I also should say I actually clerked post-grad so I don’t have to fudge anything, lol. I just like that my externship shows a connection to another judge.

[cavalier1138]

Perhaps, but the people who are making it as if it was a post-judicial clerkship are not trying to make it seem as if they were just an intern. The point is to prepare the resume as if it was a clerkship. Perhaps, misleading, but any advantage they can get is sometimes needed.

Ok, and again, isn't misrepresentation one of those pesky rules of professional conduct?

I understand what people are doing here. What I don't understand is the reasoning you're using to say that this isn't misrepresentation.

No, because "clerkship" is a term of art. There is no misrepresentation. Also, if they include the dates, then it is up for the employer to determine when that was.

Ok, let me try again (even though this is a moot point for OP):

Because "clerkship" is a term of art in the legal profession, representing to other members of the legal profession that you were a clerk when you were actually an intern would be a misrepresentation. Right? What am I missing here? The phrase "term of art" isn't a talismanic protection for lies.

[sparty99]

Perhaps, but the people who are making it as if it was a post-judicial clerkship are not trying to make it seem as if they were just an intern. The point is to prepare the resume as if it was a clerkship. Perhaps, misleading, but any advantage they can get is sometimes needed.

Ok, and again, isn't misrepresentation one of those pesky rules of professional conduct?

I understand what people are doing here. What I don't understand is the reasoning you're using to say that this isn't misrepresentation.

No, because "clerkship" is a term of art. There is no misrepresentation. Also, if they include the dates, then it is up for the employer to determine when that was.

Ok, let me try again (even though this is a moot point for OP):

Because "clerkship" is a term of art in the legal profession, representing to other members of the legal profession that you were a clerk when you were actually an intern would be a misrepresentation. Right? What am I missing here? The phrase "term of art" isn't a talismanic protection for lies.

Hey, honestly I can't help you. There are many people on this site who act like everything is a violation of the professional rules of conduct. This instance is not one of them. There are many names and not names for these programs, including externships, judicial internships, legal clerkships, or no formal name. How people wish to describe this experience is not a concern to the people who are calling it a clerkship even though it was during the school year.

[Elston Gunn]

To answer the question OP actually asked, I think it’s fine to leave off law school employment. I don’t think there’s an implication that a resume will include literally all experience. It is supposed to be concise and to convey what is relevant. Present your employment history in the best (truthful) light.

[nixy]

Hey, honestly I can't help you. There are many people on this site who act like everything is a violation of the professional rules of conduct. This instance is not one of them. There are many names and not names for these programs, including externships, judicial internships, legal clerkships, or no formal name. How people wish to describe this experience is not a concern to the people who are calling it a clerkship even though it was during the school year.

This is dumb because anyone who cares about clerking knows that something you do during the school year isn't clerking, and listing it as clerking makes you look disingenuous. It's a turn-off. People who have clerked roll their eyes when someone does this.

But OP, especially since you have clerked, I don't think listing a connection to another judge based on a 1L internship would add anything significant - you'll be fine if you omit it and the rest of your law school experience. Personally I'd probably list the experience even with the no-name firm rather than not list any of it, but that's just a personal choice.

[QContinuum]

I don't see a downside to leaving everything in, unless OP needs to free up space on their resume to keep it within the 1-2 page limit. OP's a fifth-year associate - no one's going to care about whether OP struck out of 2L OCI a half decade ago.

I also don't see a downside to taking things out, for the same reason. No one at this point is going to care about what OP did during their 1L/2L summers a half decade ago. 2L SAs are important because they're a typical prerequisite for landing BigLaw employment after graduation; they aren't important in and of themselves.

[JOThompson]

I'm six years out of law school and still list my pre-graduation externships and internships. The actual experience listed isn't very useful, but it's helpful to show ties/interest in the region. That said, if I was trying to fit everything onto a one page resume, I'd almost certainly cut that information first. At this point I'm targeting federal jobs, and I understand that it's acceptable to have a resume that's over one page there.

[boredtodeath]

I'm a midlevel associate and I only have my post-graduation experience on my resume. No recruiter I've worked with or firm I've interviewed with has ever told me that was unusual.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a midlevel associate and I only have my post-graduation experience on my resume. No recruiter I've worked with or firm I've interviewed with has ever told me that was unusual.

Good to know. I need the space for like, publications and admissions and stuff like that which feels more relevant than a 2L summer position.