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nice humble brag. If your smart enough to get that good of a gpa you are smart enough to realize that most firms that pay wait for grades. Therefore, your chances of getting something paid dramatically go up with your GPA. Furthermore, if you strike out on getting something paid there are still numerous positions out there left to fill for the summer. As long as you are doing something legal related you will be fine.

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Probably the latter. I'm a 1L so I don't really know what would be best a 2/3L would probably be better able to answer that question.

ZXT427 wrote:Grades just came back and I got a 3.91 (totally shocked, btw). I go to a school ranked 40-60ish in a fairly good legal market. I haven't done a single thing with regards to finding summer employment. Obviously, I figured I should start getting my resume in order. What would you recommend that I should be doing this late in the game to secure a good summer job?

Also, I would really love to get paid. I can get a summer job at the firm I've clerked at for the past 2 years, but it is a family job. Would it look bad to work at the firm since I've already worked here and my relative is a named partner?

Mass mail all firms, all judges that do stuff you are interested in, all County/District attorney's offices, all other judges. all nonprofits. That would be the order I did it in, but depends on what your interests are. Gratz on GPA.

I would def work at the family firm if you need it as a fallback, and I am not totally sure just how firms react to working at firms where it seems your relatives are in charge... But with a 3.91 GPA it may look a bit like you have the right stuff to get grades but are lazy/entitled/sheltered in just working at the family firm again.

1. terrible humblebrag. Seriously. Re-read the subject of this thread and then proceed to slap yourself in the face

2. No it's not too late. It's early january so it's no big deal. Just send out apps soon and youll land something

Lacepiece23 wrote:nice humble brag. If [b]your[/b] smart enough to get that good of a gpa you are smart enough to realize that most firms that pay wait for grades. Therefore, your chances of getting something paid dramatically go up with your GPA. Furthermore, if you strike out on getting something paid there are still numerous positions out there left to fill for the summer. As long as you are doing something legal related you will be fine.

Not too late. Big firms don't seriously consider 1Ls until after grades have been released in my experience. Feel free to mock your classmates that spent all Christmas break sending out apps without grades. Obviously your ability to do this depends on you landing a solid job, which means its time to start your mass mailings. Emailing the Recruiting Partners at firms worked well for me, and saved me a ton of time over actual mailings (21st century).

With a 3.91, to the extent your app is late, they'll happily bump you to the front of the line.

Congrats on killing it. Not too late too apply but temper your expectations. Well paid 1L summer jobs are exceedingly rare unless you're a minority or have significant skills unrelated to law school (re: you're an engineer).

Working at your relative's firm is perfectly fine. No one actually cares what you did over 1L summer; it's a conversation starter for OCI, nothing more. No one will ask how you got the job nor will they care. The ability to utilize connections is recognized as a valuable skill in the legal profession, you don't get points for pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

Re: Resume and cover letters -- Earlier is better. There are dozens of online resources you can consult to make sure the substance of your resume and cover letter conform to accepted standards in legal recruiting. Have a family member or friend proofread what you've written for technical errors if your career counselors aren't available by e-mail while classes aren't in session.