UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[TigerBeer]

On the topic of summer 1L jobs...

According to this page (http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/career/1Lstats.htm ), more people found jobs in Charlottesville than any other city by far. Would you say this is due mostly to self-selection, or is it just tough to get a summer job outside of Cville? I'd love to spend my 1L summer in San Francisco, but only 2 people did that last year.

There were also more academic jobs than jobs of other types. Out of curiosity what would be some examples of these?

Thanks a ton everyone, appreciate it! This thread has been great.

I can only speculate on this. However, I know that I'd like to have a local job because my apartment is leased on a 12-month term and I'm paying for it for the summer whether I do an internship here or elsewhere.

There's also the Legal Aid Justice Center which is designed to provide legal services to disadvantaged residents of the area, and they're based here in C-ville, to be close to the university I'm sure. They have a variety of programs covering child advocacy, child health advocacy, immigrant advocacy, an "institutionalized persons project" that brings civil rights initiatives on behalf of prison inmates whose constitutional rights are violated, and several clinics that are run in conjunction with UVA Law. They offer quite a few opportunities to do pro bono work during the year and I'm sure a bunch of 1Ls end up doing work there during the summer as well. A couple LAJC projects are on grounds this week doing Public Service OGI interviews, and I know a bunch of 1Ls applied for them.

Plus anyone who wants to stay in C-ville can become a research assistant for a professor over the summer. I'm sure those account for a whole bunch of those "academic jobs" and every single one of those is right here in C-ville at the law school.

Thanks. Good point about your lease, that'd probably be a big motivator for me to stay local as well too.

[SweetnessUVA]

I hear rumors of Law School-sorority mixers. This can't be true, right?

[thesealocust]

edit: never mind

[TigerBeer]

All 1L 'academic jobs' are in Cville, they're all research assistant (RA) positions with professors, and most of them are 'job of last resort' for 1Ls. It doesn't make them 'bad' (they pay, you get a good connection, they won't hurt your chances at other work later one) - but most people attempt to find other legal work over the summer first. There are exceptions - some people have a particular interest in a topic/professor that compels them to become an RA prior to seeking other work.

Back of the envelope, I'd say close to 100% of the people who RA stay in Charlottesville 1L summer, and 95% of the people who don't RA do not.

How competitive is it to find a summer job outside Cville? I imagine if I want to go to SF I'd be competing with Hastings, Stanford, and Berkeley grads right, so fairly tough?

Also, does this mean you are basically guaranteed a 1L summer job? And you're saying that being an RA doesn't look worse on your resume than working for a DA's office or something like that, right?

[dgouzoul]

And you're saying that being an RA doesn't look worse on your resume than working for a DA's office or something like that, right?

General consensus seems to be that as long as you do something legal related that you can talk about at 2L OCI, you're fine. Just don't mop floors at BK lounge

[YCrevolution]

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[YCrevolution]

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[D Brooks]

You'll have to try harder to find a job outside of C'ville/DC/the South (and ideally you'll spend some of your winter break in SF at networking events, and possibly scoring interviews), but I don't think it will necessarily be harder to get the job (although you'll want some prior connection to SF and California).

What types of networking events?

[YCrevolution]

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[D Brooks]

You'll have to try harder to find a job outside of C'ville/DC/the South (and ideally you'll spend some of your winter break in SF at networking events, and possibly scoring interviews), but I don't think it will necessarily be harder to get the job (although you'll want some prior connection to SF and California).

What types of networking events?

A lot of firms seem to have winter holiday mixers. Things like that.

That law students with no ties to the firm can just show up to?

[YCrevolution]

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[D Brooks]

Basically. You may need to RSVP, but the info is usually posted on their websites or disseminated through emails.

Thanks for the info. Sometimes this site is just a big drain on time but finding little gems of information like the one you just shared makes up for it.

[slider]

Basically. You may need to RSVP, but the info is usually posted on their websites or disseminated through emails.

Thanks for the info. Sometimes this site is just a big drain on time but finding little gems of information like the one you just shared makes up for it.

+1

[D Brooks]

5 housing options I need to check out during ASW? Shoot.

[oneforship]

5 housing options I need to check out during ASW? Shoot.

good Q

[D Brooks]

5 housing options I need to check out during ASW? Shoot.

Vanwinkle, kohinoor, JSUVA, thea...(something or other)? Anyone?

[Kohinoor]

5 housing options I need to check out during ASW? Shoot.

Vanwinkle, kohinoor, JSUVA, thea...(something or other)? Anyone?

Jeffersonian, Ivy, Arlington Courthouse, Arlington Condos, Barracks Road. It is rather academic to be checking out housing options in those complexes that late in the game. Check craigslist the week before you come and choose 5 apartments and look at those.

[vanwinkle]

5 housing options I need to check out during ASW? Shoot.

Vanwinkle, kohinoor, JSUVA, thea...(something or other)? Anyone?

Jeffersonian, Ivy, Arlington Courthouse, Arlington Condos, Barracks Road. It is rather academic to be checking out housing options in those complexes that late in the game. Check craigslist the week before you come and choose 5 apartments and look at those.

+1, if you wait for ASW to start looking at these places you'll mostly be SOL. I got this condo after ASW but I consider that luck. In fact, I'm already helping someone else on TLS rent one for next fall, so that's one less unit available by the time ASW rolls around.

[D Brooks]

Things that annoy me:
1) 34872 applicants ED'ing to UVA
2) housing scramble bc of ED admits
3) UVA not sending out $$ offers until late March thus delaying people who are trying to decide
4) being WL'ed by Chicago.

/rant.

[oneforship]

How often do you use the library as opposed to studying in your apartment?

[showNprove]

How often do you use the library as opposed to studying in your apartment?

I almost never study in the library.

[RVP11]

Some people, like me, never study at the library. Some people always do.

Unless you were a library studier in UG, I don't suggest it.

[vanwinkle]

How often do you use the library as opposed to studying in your apartment?

I can't study in my apartment. I just can't. This makes living so close to the law school handy.

[billyez]

Has anyone started hearing from the Jeffersonian? I'm jumping the gun here since I was explicitly told that I should be told in March whether I'll stand a chance but I'm just wondering. I wish there more places with a furnishment option.

[Kohinoor]

Has anyone started hearing from the Jeffersonian? I'm jumping the gun here since I was explicitly told that I should be told in March whether I'll stand a chance but I'm just wondering. I wish there more places with a furnishment option.

Identified for suicide watch during wait for grades.