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I understand that with NALP firms you need to get your resume on their desk on 12/1. Realistically speaking though, chances are that the summer job I find won’t be with one of these big firms. So my question is, when does one apply to smaller firms? After your rejections are in? After you have grades? 12/1?

Same question for judicial internships and public service positions (or are these mostly in the form of job listings, in which case obviously it would tell you the deadline?)

On that note, how much of the job search is “cold-calling” firms with resume/cover letter and how much is actually applying for listed positions?

Sorry for the rambling thoughts, I’m just a 0L trying to wrap my head around this.

Bump. Can anyone provide a brief overview of what 1L SA positions are all about? I know they're nearly impossible to get, but some people do get them, and I'm curious about how that works.

1. You need to define what you mean by smaller firms.

2. Hiring 1L's is a luxury for those firms that have 1L programs. One can justify a 1L program in that it helps firms identify top students for 2L OCI. That said, even most big firms have cut back on this luxury. Those few big firms that take 1L's take very small classes.

3. Generally speaking, if a big firm can't afford a luxury, smaller firms can't either. Typically, smaller firms have more limited resources and will spend their recruiting budget (if they have one) on lateral transfers. In the event that a smaller firm is looking to hire straight out of law school, it will spend its resources on 2L's.

4. Of the *mid-sized* firms (very loosely defined as 30 to 100 lawyers paying less than $160k) that take 1L's, it seems to me that they wait a little longer to kick off recruiting season. I had one tell me in an interview that they know they can't compete with the big firms and they let the big firms take their choice of students and then the mid-sized shop looks at what is left. In this environment, they are recruiting above their normal standards. This particular firm requested applications from studnets in the Top 40% and was flooded with apps from students in the Top 10%.

5. The mid-sized firms that I've seen post jobs have had application deadlines after the new year and one went so far to request no applications until after the the new year.

6. For truly small law firms, your best bet is going to be a personal connection or a job posting through your OCS. From what I've seen these type jobs can be more part time than full time jobs and are more administrative in nature. Apply to those jobs as you see them posted.