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Law schools typically don't let students work during 1L.

blackmamba8 wrote:Law schools typically don't let students work during 1L.

I figured that it was sort of possible to work a very limited amount of hours. I was offered work study funds as well by my school to work like 2-3 hrs a week so I wanted to just get some opinions.

There used to be in a be an aba rule but I think it was rescinded a few years ago.

Pretty sure the ABA rule is still in effect. You can work while enrolled in a full-time program as a 1L as long as your hours are capped at 20 hrs/week. You should be fine, but if you want to be safe (beyond looking up the current ABA policy so you're not just listening to a lazy internet stranger who is too lazy to do the research for you), you can always contact your school and ask about their policy. There's not a bit of harm in asking for the school's specific policy.

UVA2B wrote:Pretty sure the ABA rule is still in effect. You can work while enrolled in a full-time program as a 1L as long as your hours are capped at 20 hrs/week. You should be fine, but if you want to be safe (beyond looking up the current ABA policy so you're not just listening to a lazy internet stranger who is too lazy to do the research for you), you can always contact your school and ask about their policy. There's not a bit of harm in asking for the school's specific policy.

Not since 2014 as far as I know.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=244513

UVA2B wrote:Pretty sure the ABA rule is still in effect. You can work while enrolled in a full-time program as a 1L as long as your hours are capped at 20 hrs/week. You should be fine, but if you want to be safe (beyond looking up the current ABA policy so you're not just listening to a lazy internet stranger who is too lazy to do the research for you), you can always contact your school and ask about their policy. There's not a bit of harm in asking for the school's specific policy.

I have asked them and they said that 1Ls can work up to like 12-15 instead of 20.

Do you think it's doable to study/go to classes & work part-time or should I strictly focus on school instead of leave my internship?

I have had convos with law students and they gave differing opinions on this. I know how important 1L grades are but I also want to maintain connections with my internship, who could potentially connect me with the US Attorney's Office for future internships.

redbulls2595 wrote:

blackmamba8 wrote:Law schools typically don't let students work during 1L.

I figured that it was sort of possible to work a very limited amount of hours. I was offered work study funds as well by my school to work like 2-3 hrs a week so I wanted to just get some opinions.

It might, I'm not sure. I remember reading something about it not being allowed, and when I toured my UG's law school they said they didn't allow it, but it might vary from place to place. I'm sure you'd be fine just doing 4 hours a week though when it comes to staying on top of your school work and all that.

Npret wrote:

UVA2B wrote:Pretty sure the ABA rule is still in effect. You can work while enrolled in a full-time program as a 1L as long as your hours are capped at 20 hrs/week. You should be fine, but if you want to be safe (beyond looking up the current ABA policy so you're not just listening to a lazy internet stranger who is too lazy to do the research for you), you can always contact your school and ask about their policy. There's not a bit of harm in asking for the school's specific policy.

Not since 2014 as far as I know.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=244513

You're right, that seems to supersede, but really it still suggests my advice. The ABA is allowing schools to decide if/when/how much they want their 1Ls to work part-time, so going to the school and asking for clarification is probably the best bet.

how much are they paying you? it's probably not worth it tbh

redbulls2595 wrote:I know how important 1L grades are but I also want to maintain connections with my internship, who could potentially connect me with the US Attorney's Office for future internships.

What's the deal with this part? Are you interning at a USAO?

Regardless, I don't recommend working for at least your first semester, until you get into the swing of things. Your internship connections will not vanish in the space of a year, and if you're ultimately aiming to be an AUSA, that won't happen for at least a few years after graduation.

anyriotgirl wrote:how much are they paying you? it's probably not worth it tbh

For the part-time session, it's simply $200 biweekly but at least I'll have some sort of income to rely on even if it's a little amount

cavalier1138 wrote:

redbulls2595 wrote:I know how important 1L grades are but I also want to maintain connections with my internship, who could potentially connect me with the US Attorney's Office for future internships.

What's the deal with this part? Are you interning at a USAO?

Regardless, I don't recommend working for at least your first semester, until you get into the swing of things. Your internship connections will not vanish in the space of a year, and if you're ultimately aiming to be an AUSA, that won't happen for at least a few years after graduation.

No I'm not interning at a USAO but I have met several attorneys within my local USAO office through my job & my coworkers have close relationships with them as well - I'm not aiming to be an AUSA but it'd be nice to work there for a summer, but thanks for your opinion! Appreciate it!

redbulls2595 wrote:No I'm not interning at a USAO but I have met several attorneys within my local USAO office through my job & my coworkers have close relationships with them as well - I'm not aiming to be an AUSA but it'd be nice to work there for a summer, but thanks for your opinion! Appreciate it!

Not to belabor the point, but why? If you know you aren't interested in being an AUSA, why wouldn't you focus on interning somewhere that you are interested in working? Or at least somewhere in the same ballpark?

UVA2B wrote:

Npret wrote:

UVA2B wrote:Pretty sure the ABA rule is still in effect. You can work while enrolled in a full-time program as a 1L as long as your hours are capped at 20 hrs/week. You should be fine, but if you want to be safe (beyond looking up the current ABA policy so you're not just listening to a lazy internet stranger who is too lazy to do the research for you), you can always contact your school and ask about their policy. There's not a bit of harm in asking for the school's specific policy.

Not since 2014 as far as I know.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=244513

You're right, that seems to supersede, but really it still suggests my advice. The ABA is allowing schools to decide if/when/how much they want their 1Ls to work part-time, so going to the school and asking for clarification is probably the best bet.

I was simply saying that the ABA doesn't have a rule anymore. You said you were pretty sure they did. So I showed that the rule was eliminated a few years ago.

It doesn't "seem to supersede." It does supersede. You're right schools now have rules but no idea if they check.

Just trying to clarify here because posters here still say that the ABA has a rule and that is incorrect. Finding a thread here from 2014 that was on the subject with DF posts was a bonus.

blackmamba8 wrote:Law schools typically don't let students work during 1L.

Law schools won't let 1Ls work four hours per week? That seems a bit paternalistic

FWIW, I worked a lot more than four hours/week during 1L spring, and while my grades dropped slightly from the fall, I ended up fine

GoneSouth wrote:

blackmamba8 wrote:Law schools typically don't let students work during 1L.

Law schools won't let 1Ls work four hours per week? That seems a bit paternalistic

FWIW, I worked a lot more than four hours/week during 1L spring, and while my grades dropped slightly from the fall, I ended up fine

But you may have gone to a school where your grades dropping a bit during 1L didn't have a massive effect on your future career options. OP's post history says they're going to Rutgers, which means the difference in job outcomes between median and below/above median is pretty stark.

cavalier1138 wrote:

GoneSouth wrote:

blackmamba8 wrote:Law schools typically don't let students work during 1L.

Law schools won't let 1Ls work four hours per week? That seems a bit paternalistic

FWIW, I worked a lot more than four hours/week during 1L spring, and while my grades dropped slightly from the fall, I ended up fine

But you may have gone to a school where your grades dropping a bit during 1L didn't have a massive effect on your future career options. OP's post history says they're going to Rutgers, which means the difference in job outcomes between median and below/above median is pretty stark.

True, though I worked even more 2L spring and my grades didn't drop at all, so maybe the 1L drop wasn't caused by the work. Also four hours is basically nothing. If it was 10 hours, I'd understand