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Hi all,

I know it's a little too soon to start thinking about internships for 1L summer - but I've been talking with a few people on the Hill and was wondering... would it be worthwhile to pursue a legal internship with a House or Senate Committee? I have a few connections on the Hill who might be able to assist me with getting a law/policy internship (e.g. not administrative work - already did my time for that...) - and was curious if it would be worthwhile following up with these connections.

Obviously, ITE, 1L summer associate positions with a firm are completely out of the picture... but given that traditional advice is to intern for a judge, public agency (e.g. DOJ, Public Defender, etc.) or a non-profit, I was wondering if going up the Hill route would be a wise idea. Working for a federal court would obviously be ideal, but I'm sure they are rather difficult to get. Committee-wise, Judiciary would obviously be ideal, but there's no guarantee as I'm sure a million people will be applying for those jobs.

I'm at a non-T14 school (somewhere down in T1) - looking to go into litigation after graduation. Not expecting to go into government work immediately after graduation but hopefully the opportunity will present itself somewhere down the line. What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

I don't know anyone who has had a legal internship with a House or Senate Committee, so this is just my speculation. It sounds like a very prestigious position that would be helpful in a lot of ways. However, if you are looking for biglaw during 2L and after graduation, some firms may assume that you are interested in government/political work down the road rather than staying with them. I have no idea if the prestige factor would outweigh that.

Also, working for a federal court 1L summer is not that difficult to get.

bump

If you have a heavyish political background, and you want to work in a city other than DC, then yes, it might be a problem. I was in a similar situation, and had an opportunity to intern for a committee, and turned it down because I knew everything on my resume would scream beltway politics, and I was not interviewing in DC. And still, I got a ton of questions as to why I was no longer interested in politics.

If you want to be in DC, do it for sure.