1L Summer Employment Forum

[ChinaCat]

How difficult is it to get a 1L summer postion in the legal department at a corporation as a T14 student?

[ChinaCat]

Bump

[ChinaCat]

Bump.

[White Dwarf]

My understanding is that pretty much anything private sector is hard to get 1L Summer, even at a T14.

I only applied to PI jobs though, so take that with a grain of salt.

[usernotfound]

Depends on how hard you try and how many markets you target, but if you target just one market, it's going to be pretty tough.

[dabigchina]

don't count on it unless you have very good grades, are URM (or both), and are geographically flexible

[ChinaCat]

I read that it was significantly easier to do than getting a paid SA position at a firm, is that not true?

[ChinaCat]

Also, don't you interview for 1L summer positions before 1L grades are out?

[hairbear7]

I read that it was significantly easier to do than getting a paid SA position at a firm, is that not true?

Maybe, but getting a paid SA position 1L summer is also incredibly difficult

[ChinaCat]

What about doing something at a small law firm? Maybe unpaid? Is that something people do?

[ChinaCat]

Bump.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Firms aren't supposed to take unpaid interns. You can get a 1L biglaw SA or in-house gig, or work for other varieties of firms, but lots of people do work in the public sector their 1L summer - intern for a judge, or with a USAO/DA/PD/legal aid, or maybe a non-profit of some kind.

[foxes]

agree with what everyone else said. what t14 you're talking about can also matter. i'm at h and roughly 1/3 of the class gets a paid 1L gig, with SAs being more common than in house jobs. it's an anecdote, but everyone i know who seriously looked for a paid job (e.g. were able to be a little flexible in terms of cities, timeframe, etc) got one. idk if that will be the case at other schools since i dont have direct experience, but there's my two cents thrown in.

Also, don't you interview for 1L summer positions before 1L grades are out?

in general, yes.

[ChinaCat]

Firms aren't supposed to take unpaid interns. You can get a 1L biglaw SA or in-house gig, or work for other varieties of firms, but lots of people do work in the public sector their 1L summer - intern for a judge, or with a USAO/DA/PD/legal aid, or maybe a non-profit of some kind.

I see. What about paid internships at small firms? Do they exist? If so, are they generally easier to get than 1L biglaw SAs?

[PeanutsNJam]

If you interview well and you're at median or higher you should be able to land a 15-30/hr gig at an in-house or smaller firm or something. Lots of people at non-T14 near median get paid in-house summers. You have to apply everywhere and interview well though.

[JGMotorsport]

Too many variables.

What kind of school are we talking?
Ties? <------IMPORTANT
Grades?

I go to a top 30 regional school, I got a 1L Law Clerk/SA (whatever you wanna call it) that pays very very well. Most of my friends have jobs lined up for the summer, most with small law firms (but this area is primarily small law), some with non profits, some with utility companies and very few with corporations.

Most of the ones in corporations, had experience, or a science background that meshed with the corporations product, i.e. Engineers working for Intel.

It seems kind of late to be starting this now?

To answer your question about paid internships at small law firms, that is why ties are important, and why you should understand the, only, actual leverage you have right now. Westlaw. It's expensive and you likely have it unlimited and for free (subtracting that pesky tuition bill of course). You can Shephardize, use ALRs, Search etc. at a rate they can't using Free research engines like Fastcase or whatever their State Bar offers. You probably have Bloomberg if it's a corporate practice which is great for regulatory issues.

Welcome to the real world.