Best jobs for 1L's Forum

[thisislife49]

What kind of positions should a 1L be looking for when it comes to their first summer? Clerkships, externships, etc.? Pro's and con's of all from current or graduated students would be great!

[downinDtown]

For corporate/transactional focus:
Paid firm SA >>>>> Paid position in-house >> Paid anything >> Research Assistant (ideally for professor in transactional area) >> Anything you can get for legal WE (including externship) >>>>>> Anything else

For litigation focus:
Paid firm SA >>>>> Paid litigation-related position >> Judicial clerkship (Federal > State > Local) >> Research Assistant (ideally for professor in litigation area) >> Anything you can get for legal WE (including externship) >>>>>> Anything else

For PI focus:
Paid firm SA = funded PI position (depending on preference/goals this could be bumped up) >> Any PI position (try for any funding/scholarship still) >> Research Assistant (ideally for professor in area related to PI/criminal/enviro/underserved, etc. someway/somehow) >> Anything you can get for legal WE (including externship) >>>>>> Anything else

For gov't focus:
Paid firm SA > Paid agency position (Federal > State > Local) >>> Any gov't agency position (Federal > State > Local) >> Anything you can get for legal WE (including externship) >>>>>> Anything else

In whatever focus you choose, you can always go down the ladder, but it's a lot harder to climb up. 1L summer priority should be to get paid, avoiding as much debt as you can, and getting legit WE (in an area that you are either interested in or not sure if you are interested in to make sure you do/don't like it). Also, if your summer isn't completely full, you can also take some classes in an area/elective that interests you to show OCI employers that you're interested in a specific area. Take the best job you can get and have stories about things on your resume to tell during interviews for "why X firm" and "why X type of law." Also, try to have a consistent message/theme if you're focused on transactional vs. litigation because, for example, some people question your desires and truthfulness if you have all litigation experience but are interviewing for a corporate job.

P.S. don't tell BigLaw firms you want to save the world. You can do pro bono after they hire you, but they want to hear that you'll work your butt off and make them lots of $$$$.

TL;DR: For litigation/corporate: Paid firm SA > Paid elsewhere > RA > unpaid Legal WE > anything else. See above for gov't and PI.

Edit: Fixed order of job preference on one line and spelling error.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Moved to correct forum.

[objctnyrhnr]

I actually was just talking to somebody the other day and I strongly recommended a position in the local DA's office as [generally] an extremely strong 1L summer choice, for most potential post-grad aspirations (even if unknown).

if you want to be a DA -- obvious

if you want to be a PD -- do PD stuff for the rest of LS and tell them you knew you liked criminal law, tried to be a DA, and hated it. they'll eat that up

if you want to do biglaw -- just get good grades. a DA's office internship will allow you to produce a decent writing sample.

if you want a clerkship -- you can talk about how you want to do it to advance your objective of being a prosecutor

if you want anything else -- you'll learn very valuable research, writing, and advocacy skills ,and you'll come out of it with at least one strong writing sample.

I am not saying everybody SHOULD do it, but if one does not already have a niche market they're looking into, and one can't get a coveted paying summer position, I do believe it is a safe choice.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Eh, some PD offices won't like any DA experience. Not all, but they're out there.

[thisislife49]

Thanks all for the advice. I just want to gain some knowledge now (before my 1L starts) so I'll be ready come job application time.

Keep the advice coming!

[transferror]

The problem with the DA and most government orgs is they lag way behind in the hiring process.

OP: much of your job search will depend on timing. Generally, Fed Judicial Internships and biglaw SA's will be the earliest apps and hiring processes. You will start sending those apps in December. Some competitive state and fed stuff will have early deadlines (Manhattan DA's and some DOJ), but mostly the government deadlines are later. Some in-house positions and small/mid law is still posting on simplicity. Because you're submitting apps in waves and everyone moves at different clips in the hiring process, your offers will most likely be staggered. You may have several interviews in the same week and have one offer on spot, one wait two weeks to offer, and one wait a month to offer. You probably aren't going to be able to see how the full cycle plays out, you will have deadlines on the offers.

Don't worry too much about getting the "perfect" 1L summer job, just get something that interests you and it's a bonus if it's paid. Or depending on POV, get something that's paid and it's a bonus if it interests you. Either way, the big decision comes 2L summer.