Public Interest to Big Law Forum

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AAlaw97

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Public Interest to Big Law

Post by AAlaw97 » Mon May 24, 2021 3:08 pm

I’m new to TLS, so I’m not entirely confident my question fits this forum. I’m an incoming first generation law student at BU. I’m looking into pursuing BL right after law school, but I’m finding it difficult to navigate/ figure out the right path to get there. My biggest strife is that I’ve been heavily involved with public interest and public policy work, so I’m not sure how I can successfully make that transition.

As a first gen student, I’m mostly worried about two things: finding mentors who might be able to support me with this transition and not having enough experience to really understand BL jobs. I’m looking at this post as a starting point, and I look forward to seeing people’s opinions, thoughts, and suggestions.

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cavalier1138

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Re: Public Interest to Big Law

Post by cavalier1138 » Tue May 25, 2021 10:48 am

I wouldn't worry about not understanding the substance of biglaw practice. Pretty much no one comes in with a substantive understanding of anything.

But your focus right now should be on school. Biglaw is far from guaranteed out of BU, and your 1L grades will have far more impact on your ability to get that job than your ability to "transition" from PI jobs.

crazywafflez

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Re: Public Interest to Big Law

Post by crazywafflez » Tue May 25, 2021 10:02 pm

Agreed with Cav. Really, don't sweat it.
I had only public interest type stuff on my resume prior to law school and nobody cared.
Do well your first year- you've gotta grind (at least top half) to get BL from BU. Post again after getting your grades after second semester and we will try and help ya more then.
Do the best you can, go to OCI when the time comes and at the end of the year go talk with career office (they usually suck but worth a shot). If you strikeout at OCI, no worries (I did), start hustling and cold emailing folks. BU is a good school; do well and work hard.

AAlaw97

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Re: Public Interest to Big Law

Post by AAlaw97 » Wed May 26, 2021 3:21 pm

crazywafflez wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 10:02 pm
Agreed with Cav. Really, don't sweat it.
I had only public interest type stuff on my resume prior to law school and nobody cared.
Do well your first year- you've gotta grind (at least top half) to get BL from BU. Post again after getting your grades after second semester and we will try and help ya more then.
Do the best you can, go to OCI when the time comes and at the end of the year go talk with career office (they usually suck but worth a shot). If you strikeout at OCI, no worries (I did), start hustling and cold emailing folks. BU is a good school; do well and work hard.
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been doing my best talking to current students and researching the best way to study for law school. I know it’s going to be a ton of work but I’m excited and looking forward to it! I really just hope burn out and impostor syndrome don’t get the best of me. Again, I really appreciate this!

crazywafflez

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Re: Public Interest to Big Law

Post by crazywafflez » Wed May 26, 2021 6:58 pm

Burn out is real. Try and do a balanced job, but treat law school like you'd treat a fulltime job and you should be fine.
Don't have imposter syndrome- you are just a a capable as any of the folks there and even if you are dead last in your class it doesn't mean you don't deserve to be there or that you are dumb. Law school is a lot about grinding and issue spotting etc., but luck plays into it too. Breath and do the best you can. No way to really prepare for it (that I know of). I guess just read.
There are other parts of these forums that will help give study plans (I think arrow's is somewhere in here) that I'd recommend. Best of luck!

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