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Hey guys, I just go to a school ranked in the middle of the second tier and have yet to apply to any summer internships. I have been doing some reading on here and it seems that I am WAY behind where I need to be to secure a good internship. I always figured I would wait until grades came out because I've heard they are a big decider in what internship you get. Do I still have a chance to get a good summer internship (not necessarily paid, but somewhat prestigous)? My school is graded on a 3.0 curve and I am sitting at a 3.77.

good god start applying now. apply to every judge you can, every prosecutor's office, and lawfirms. Do not hesitate, do not waste that gpa.

Related question, I go to a TTT and was ranked in the top 1/4. I didn't apply for any internships but I work as a paralegal PT, would it be ok to just work through my summer as a paralegal or should I send out apps for an internship?

In the Northeast.

To me that beats being an unpaid summer intern. As long as it is working in the law, all is good.

BTW: Are you doing the duties of a paralegal or you are a paralegal?

Dale wrote:To me that beats being an unpaid summer intern. As long as it is working in the law, all is good.

BTW: Are you doing the duties of a paralegal or you are a paralegal?

I am a paralegal.

Extension_Cord wrote:Related question, I go to a TTT and was ranked in the top 1/4. I didn't apply for any internships but I work as a paralegal PT, would it be ok to just work through my summer as a paralegal or should I send out apps for an internship?

In the Northeast.

And your firm won't change your title for the summer?!

IAFG wrote:

Extension_Cord wrote:Related question, I go to a TTT and was ranked in the top 1/4. I didn't apply for any internships but I work as a paralegal PT, would it be ok to just work through my summer as a paralegal or should I send out apps for an internship?

In the Northeast.

And your firm won't change your title for the summer?!

Change it to what? Do I want them too?

Extension_Cord wrote:

IAFG wrote:

Extension_Cord wrote:Related question, I go to a TTT and was ranked in the top 1/4. I didn't apply for any internships but I work as a paralegal PT, would it be ok to just work through my summer as a paralegal or should I send out apps for an internship?

In the Northeast.

And your firm won't change your title for the summer?!

Change it to what? Do I want them too?

I mean... If I were you I would ask them to change it to "Summer Associate" at the same pay for the summer.

you are a 1L, right? it's definitely not too late, but you should start getting apps out just for the piece of mind of not having to worry about finding something throughout the whole semester. as long as its legal related it's fine, and with your GPA you should have no trouble finding something.

I talked to my advisor today and one thing they brought up was the possibility of interning for a congressman. I would find that to be very interesting I think, but would it be as good of a resume builder as working for a judge of some sort?

This might have been a joke, in which case it flew over my head (not surprising), but do not paralegal your 1L summer. If you need money, then ask the firm to do it PT so you can volunteer PT at a non-profit or assist a prof. Attorneys at OCI will not be impressed by a "I was a paralegal this summer."

Edit: and then still do not talk about it at OCI. Just talk about Legal Aid, being a Research Asst., etc.

MrKappus wrote:This might have been a joke, in which case it flew over my head (not surprising), but do not paralegal your 1L summer. If you need money, then ask the firm to do it PT so you can volunteer PT at a non-profit or assist a prof. Attorneys at OCI will not be impressed by a "I was a paralegal this summer."

Edit: and then still do not talk about it at OCI. Just talk about Legal Aid, being a Research Asst., etc.

Yeah, the whole point of "doing something legal" your 1L summer is to show that you were using legal analysis. 2L employers won't want someone who was making binders all summer.* Even if that's what you end up doing much of the time, try to get your firm to use you for a bit more so you have at least a memo or something to discuss during OCI (and obvi have them change the name to "Intern" if not "SA").

*I was a paralegal for 2 years pre-LS. I know what you do!