Committing to a 1L Firm Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey all. 1L at a MVPD school and I am lucky to have done exceptionally well my first semester (I am almost certainly within the top few folks in the class). I technically qualify for diversity positions but nobody is putting me on any firm marketing materials...

Over the last two weeks, I've had 7 callbacks at biglaw firms, but so far I have only heard back from one with a deadline fast approaching. The firm for which I have an offer is in a secondary market where I have connections and I think I'd have a good experience, but they pay secondary market rates and I am not sure if I see myself returning for 2L/post-grad.

I know nobody can really read the tea leaves here, but I'm looking for guidance on whether I should accept this offer or hold out for the more "prestigious" firms (I've interviewed with a couple of V10s). I am by no means complaining about having a firm offer given how rare I know they are for 1Ls, but I can't help but be less than thrilled about having sat in so many callbacks for top firms to end up at a more "average" firm. All perspectives appreciated!

[Fireworks2016]

Nobody will care where you spent your 1L summer, and if you’re tippy top at MVP, then you’ll have plenty of options after 2L OCI.

I’d take the gig. Even “secondary market” BL money is pretty nice as a law student.

FWIW, my firm and probably most others are anxious to wrap up 1L hiring so I wouldn’t be confident about new positions being posted

[The Lsat Airbender]

- If the secondary city is even moderately cheaper than NYC (and especially if you have family there) then you might well come out ahead on $$$. At least do the math so you know what your tradeoffs are.

- There's basically zero "prestige" value to 1L summering at a V10 above and beyond "good grades at a T14", which put you on the inside track for getting a V10 offer anyway. Agree with Fireworks on this point

- Getting your feet wet in the secondary market could help you move back there in the future. Or it might pleasantly surprise you and you'll realize you want to be there for 2L.

- If you confirm your suspicion that you don't want to return for 2L, you'll simultaneously stop caring about a return offer which will make the remainder of your summer even chiller than a 1L firm job already is

[Anonymous User]

Do the secondary market. I ended up where I am now because I did my 1L summer in a secondary market and discovered that I liked the legal culture/lifestyle there a lot more than in larger markets. At the time I had no real intention of working there long-term, it was just the offer I had, but it was a real fork in the road in not just my career but my life. Worst case scenario it's not for you and you work elsewhere next year with firm experience on your resume and some money in your pocket.

[Anonymous User]

Flip side of this that people are sorta overlooking is that law school grades are fickle and maybe it is worth ensuring you get the best offer possible prior to OCI on the chance your grades fall.

That said, there aren't many incredibly grade sensitive firms that you can lock in on one semester of grades MTO and WLRK both hire 1Ls (exclusively via diversity pipeline programming). Susman / Kellogg are the only 2 of the boutiques that have summer programs and AFAIK, neither hires 1Ls.

I believe that Covington DC and DPW NY are the "best" conventional big law firms to do 1L programming, but both are attainable with decent but not tippy top grades, so will still be on the table if your grades have fallen a little by the time you re-recruit for 2L.

The other thing you should maybe be considering (if you are interested) is exploring the clerkship route. Obviously don't know your priors, but there are absolutely conservative circuit judges who would hire a 1L from MVP with one semester of tippy top grades for a 2027/2028 type clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

Flip side of this that people are sorta overlooking is that law school grades are fickle and maybe it is worth ensuring you get the best offer possible prior to OCI on the chance your grades fall.

That said, there aren't many incredibly grade sensitive firms that you can lock in on one semester of grades MTO and WLRK both hire 1Ls (exclusively via diversity pipeline programming). Susman / Kellogg are the only 2 of the boutiques that have summer programs and AFAIK, neither hires 1Ls.

I believe that Covington DC and DPW NY are the "best" conventional big law firms to do 1L programming, but both are attainable with decent but not tippy top grades, so will still be on the table if your grades have fallen a little by the time you re-recruit for 2L.

The other thing you should maybe be considering (if you are interested) is exploring the clerkship route. Obviously don't know your priors, but there are absolutely conservative circuit judges who would hire a 1L from MVP with one semester of tippy top grades for a 2027/2028 type clerkship.

Keker hires summers too -- but probably not 1Ls.

[Anonymous User]

I accepted the offer and am mostly just happy to have the interviewing behind me at this point.

The other thing you should maybe be considering (if you are interested) is exploring the clerkship route. Obviously don't know your priors, but there are absolutely conservative circuit judges who would hire a 1L from MVP with one semester of tippy top grades for a 2027/2028 type clerkship.

I'm definitely interested in clerking, but my resume is decidedly not conservative. Obviously I've got five more semesters to go, but as someone who came in with pretty generic biglaw/whatever-district-clerkship-I-could-get type goals, the options I (potentially) have now are pretty overwhelming to wade through.

Thanks everyone!