Just finished 1L..cant find a summer internship...HELP Forum

[Tenderloin1981]

I was in a very similar position two months ago (I just finished my 2L year). What I did was what TLS forum people told me to do--making cold calls. Make a list of small firms/solo practitioners/non-profit organizations based on whatever the google searches, CA State bar searches, LexisNexis, the Career Office or classmates can help you come up with.

Practice with a classmate or friend who is good with phone calls. I practiced with my friend who is on the law review's development staff, and we practiced challenging/embarrassing/rude scenarios, which really immunized me from the fear of rejection. I made rounds and rounds of cold calls. I got my summer associate offer a month ago from a consulting firm (solo practitioner, whom I called, referred me to her friend). Best of luck to you!

[random5483]

I know it might be too late for this, but consider taking some summer classes (if it is not too late already). Doing something over the summer is better than nothing. Look for part time summer work and a Fall internship. Having something on your resume, even if it is only a Fall internship, will help with the 2L summer job search. Yes, big law hiring (and fed courts) starts in August for 2L summer, but many of the smaller employers hire 2L summer positions later in the year. Having some experience in the Fall might help you land something for your 2L summer.

[BoriquaEsquire]

It's so strange to me that this happened. My school's OCS told us in October that if we didn't have a job by March we should go to OCS and work one-on-one with a counselor everyday until we got a job. They also made it mandatory that all 1L's get OCS counseling at least once so that a counselor could look at our resumes. They would have never let someone who wanted a summer job slip through the cracks. OCS set me up so well that I had four job offers by January despite being a B-/C+ student.

For anyone who's wondering, I ended up taking a job at a State Department of Law across the country because I wanted to travel and the state paid for housing and airfare.