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Top 5% after first semester at WUSTL/USC/Vandy. I'll graduate with relatively little debt. Long-term hoping to be an AUSA at a particular USAO - one of EDVA/NDIL/NDCA. I have no ties. Planning to clerk then do private practice for a few years, ideally somewhere that'll give me early trial/substantive experience and/or former AUSAs to work with.

I've got an internship offer from the dream office, and an SA offer from a firm in my home city that would pay on the ~140k scale and would otherwise be a good fit long-term re: work/life balance, early responsibility, and partnership prospects. Everyone says 1L summer doesn't matter, and I know it won't for 2L hiring. But is the chance to prove myself/network with the office, thinking five years ahead, too good to pass up?

1. Should this be an easy decision one direction or another?

2. If you were around in '07 and outside the T14, were top 10-15% still getting 2L SA/permanent offers? Is it a big risk to not take the SA while it's in hand?

3. Should I give much weight to the prospect of early substantive experience at a non-prestigious firm? Or should I be pretty exclusively targeting biglaw white collar defense?

Some law schools' summer breaks are long enough to do a full 10-week internship + another short internship. Or some firms will let you shorten a 10-week internship to 9 weeks, for example.

Can you do both?

See if you can split your summer. Failing that, see if the USAO ever allows for externs during the school year. Failing that, I'd probably say do the SA 1L summer and ask the USAO if you can intern 2L summer, with a 2 week touchback at your 1L firm.

Based on your plans, you'll be headed to private practice before you hope to go the AUSA route, so focus on setting yourself up well for private practice.

Can't split. The office does offer semester internships, though.

The exception to "1L summer doesn't matter" is for law firms. Doing a 1L summer at a firm doesn't always guarantee an offer, it depends on the firm, but it makes it far more likely. A lot of 1Ls do USAO summers in the big districts, it's not that special, if you like the midlaw firm and might be interested in practicing there I would take it.

The regional midlaw vs. major-market biglaw decision is a lot more about where you want to live than about AUSA prospects. The former will probably be better in its area, the latter in its area. Working at a regional firm 1L summer will not preclude doing biglaw 2L summer.

I'm an AUSA, and I'd take the SA. I don't think being an intern at the dream office, now as a 1L, is worth passing on a paid SA gig. Depends on the office program, but especially at bigger USAOs, you may not get a ton of networking out of being an intern. And while I think the majority of AUSAs I know did intern with a USAO during law school, I don't think it's required, and certainly not at the office you get hired by. Interning at a USAO, and during the school year, will tick that box (to the extent that it's even a box that matters).

(I'd also caution against setting your heart on a specific office, but that's more subjective.)