Pre-clerkship SAs Forum

[Anonymous User]

Rising 3L doing a fed clerkship right after graduation. Interested in pre-clerkship summer positions at firms but the landscape is unfamiliar and old threads don't say much. Anybody know what the timelines are for application and what firms offer these programs? Assuming mostly boutiques or lit-only firms (MTO, Susman, etc.)? Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Goldman Ismail in Chicago has a program like this. I applied in January via Symplicity and had a screener about a week later. Ended up doing a zoom callback and got the impression there was another round of interviews after with certain partners, but I got rejected before that. Seems like a great firm if you're interested in litigation particularly in products liability/pharma defense. It's a pretty new program, but I know they have made return offers.

[Anonymous User]

I have a friend who did one of these--I think he applied in August to a few places, around the time firms are doing 3L recruiting, but I think the exact timing is going to be firm-dependent. Worst case, you can send an email to their recruiting contact on their website to see if they'd be interested in taking you and what the recruiting timeline might be.

I will say, though, that my friend was pretty miserable balancing his SA work and bar prep, which he had to fit in in the mornings and after work, so just keep in mind that you'll have an extra 200-300 hours of work to space out over the summer.

[GavinMcG]

Go ahead and apply now or in August after your 2L summer ends. Interviews are happening already, but I don't think you're "late" in any way—I applied several weeks after my summer program ended, and got multiple offers. Might have even been better, having had more time to reflect on what I liked and didn't about my 2L summer and what that meant I was looking for.

[Anonymous User]

I have a friend who did one of these--I think he applied in August to a few places, around the time firms are doing 3L recruiting, but I think the exact timing is going to be firm-dependent. Worst case, you can send an email to their recruiting contact on their website to see if they'd be interested in taking you and what the recruiting timeline might be.

I will say, though, that my friend was pretty miserable balancing his SA work and bar prep, which he had to fit in in the mornings and after work, so just keep in mind that you'll have an extra 200-300 hours of work to space out over the summer.

You don’t want to deal with bar prep and work a random 3L SA gig. It’s a miserable experience and there is basically no career benefit.

[ignorantfoot33]

I'm currently suffering through bar prep right now. I generally assumed bar prep would be easy if I treated it like a 9 to 5/6, but it is genuinely exhausting. Law school only sort of prepares you for this, and there's just a ton of dumb elements you have to cram into your head. I cannot imagine trying to do even a reduced SA workload on top of this. I would definitely talk to some recent grad friends (after they've sat for the bar) about whether a pre-clerkship SA at the same time as bar prep is a good idea. Try to find someone else who's done it to ask as well.

[Anonymous User]

Did a 3L summer, it was great, the bar sucks but is basically brainless, you get to try a new firm, and you save some cash for your time on the government payroll. I think it’s not the only good way to spend that summer but I’d encourage you to go for it if that sounds appealing.

[Anonymous User]

I'm currently suffering through bar prep right now. I generally assumed bar prep would be easy if I treated it like a 9 to 5/6, but it is genuinely exhausting. Law school only sort of prepares you for this, and there's just a ton of dumb elements you have to cram into your head. I cannot imagine trying to do even a reduced SA workload on top of this. I would definitely talk to some recent grad friends (after they've sat for the bar) about whether a pre-clerkship SA at the same time as bar prep is a good idea. Try to find someone else who's done it to ask as well.

You’re studying too hard, try to relax. You have to really put some effort in to fail the bar assuming you did decently at a good school. You don’t need to do anywhere near all of the bar prep stuff to pass.

[ignorantfoot33]

I'm currently suffering through bar prep right now. I generally assumed bar prep would be easy if I treated it like a 9 to 5/6, but it is genuinely exhausting. Law school only sort of prepares you for this, and there's just a ton of dumb elements you have to cram into your head. I cannot imagine trying to do even a reduced SA workload on top of this. I would definitely talk to some recent grad friends (after they've sat for the bar) about whether a pre-clerkship SA at the same time as bar prep is a good idea. Try to find someone else who's done it to ask as well.

You’re studying too hard, try to relax. You have to really put some effort in to fail the bar assuming you did decently at a good school. You don’t need to do anywhere near all of the bar prep stuff to pass.

That is a fair criticism of my schedule, but my point still stands. If I tried to pair a SA and even half the studying I'm doing right now, I know I would burn out. That being said, it's possible that for you, having the "real world" experience of a 3L SA may help keep you grounded and help prevent you from stressing too much. It's worth having conversations with folks who have done it before to make sure it's something that fits your personality/schedule.

[Anonymous User]

Did a 3L SA position prior to starting an Article III clerkship. The firm required a minimum of 7 weeks. I just scheduled my start date for early May and made sure I had all my finals done prior to starting. This gave me a little over 5 weeks to focus solely on bar prep and I passed with zero issue. But I was also doing a couple hours of prep a night during the SA position. It makes bar prep a bit more stressful than necessary, but I also realized a lot of my classmates were basically goofing off until mid to late June anyway.

That said, I would think long and hard about why you want to do a 3L SA position. For me, I realized after my 2L SA position that I did not want to be in a major market given my stage in life (older student with a spouse and young children). In August of my 3L year, I made a list of firms in a smaller market near mine and my spouse’s families that had offered me during 2L OCI (but I had turned down). I planned to start at the top of the list and go down asking if they would be open to having me as a 3L SA. Luckily my top choice had a similar experience a couple years prior that worked out, they interviewed me again, and made the offer which I accepted immediately. Spending the summer there confirmed it was the right place for me and while it isn’t as well-known or as “prestigious” as the major market firm I subsequently turned down, they are still somewhat well-known in the legal community and highly regarded, especially in their market.

If you get a return offer to a big law firm in your targeted market, I think the benefit of doing a 3L SA position is minuscule besides money and risks getting your offered pulled (if you are applying to other big law firms in the same market). A place like Susman Godfrey makes sense because they only require 4 weeks and 3L pre-clerkship hires are common there. Similarly if you are looking at another market due to personal reasons, I think it is justified. I would still communicate with your 2L firm to make them aware and see if they have any issues. Just be respectful and explain that while you are happy with X firm, you want to see how the experience at a litigation boutique compares with being at a full service firm/you are considering a different market due to XYZ personal reasons. Chances are, they won’t have an issue with it.