Does anyone know how the chances for a summer law firm job (the $3000 per week kind) vary through the T14?
My understanding is that for 1L, such a position is nearly impossible unless you are a top student or URM. But when I look at some schools' published data, it seems like almost everyone gets a summer firm job for 2L - Chicago has nearly 90% in firm jobs, Michigan 80%, etc. Are these summer firm jobs the $3000 a week kind? Or how much are they making? And does anyone know the difference in chances in getting a high paying summer firm job from schools like Columbia vs Northwestern?
Summer associate firm job chances from T14s Forum
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cavalier1138
- Posts: 8007
- Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2016 8:01 pm
Re: Summer associate firm job chances from T14s
Look at the combined big firm and federal clerk numbers for each school. Those are a pretty good proxy for summer associate positions in 2L, because almost all of those students had one. And you're correct that a 1L summer position is very, very difficult to land, even from a top school.
But based on your username, you're international, which can add a wrinkle to this process, because you're going to need to convince a firm that you're worth a visa sponsorship. So you might want to check in with other international students at specific schools to hear about their experience.
P.S. Don't forget to read the sub-forum stickies before posting. This forum is for current law students and graduates to discuss employment, not 0Ls with questions about school placement power.
But based on your username, you're international, which can add a wrinkle to this process, because you're going to need to convince a firm that you're worth a visa sponsorship. So you might want to check in with other international students at specific schools to hear about their experience.
P.S. Don't forget to read the sub-forum stickies before posting. This forum is for current law students and graduates to discuss employment, not 0Ls with questions about school placement power.
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icansortofmath
- Posts: 228
- Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2018 2:49 pm
Re: Summer associate firm job chances from T14s
1L summer associate jobs are pretty common. If you want one, above median (maybe top 1/3 toward lower T14? I don't know for sure) is probably enough to land you something if you're a minority/woman/STEM (obviously depending on how many boxes you can convincingly check.) But I did meet 1L white male summers so the positions are out there. That said, there is a lot more randomness in the process and your undergrad matters a lot (a lot of the action happens before any grade is out. A lot of weirdness comes out of that.)
That said, a lot of people do private summers at places like Prudential, Viacom, and big name corps like that and get paid pretty well (not as well as firm summers). Altogether, I think if you're at T14, it's pretty easy to score a summer position that will pay you 10k+ for ~10 weeks of work.
Finally, I think the most important thing about 1L recruiting is that it's practice for the real thing: OCI for 2L summers. Although even at near the bottom of T14, from the excel spreadsheets I've seen, 80+% (closer to 90) of OCI participants get offers from at least one law firm (with the 150+ sort just short of market and other regional firms included), you REALLY don't want to be that 1/10 with no 2L summer job.
That said, a lot of people do private summers at places like Prudential, Viacom, and big name corps like that and get paid pretty well (not as well as firm summers). Altogether, I think if you're at T14, it's pretty easy to score a summer position that will pay you 10k+ for ~10 weeks of work.
Finally, I think the most important thing about 1L recruiting is that it's practice for the real thing: OCI for 2L summers. Although even at near the bottom of T14, from the excel spreadsheets I've seen, 80+% (closer to 90) of OCI participants get offers from at least one law firm (with the 150+ sort just short of market and other regional firms included), you REALLY don't want to be that 1/10 with no 2L summer job.
