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1L summer jobs

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 12:26 pm
by a88888888
Hey all,

0L Attending a t-13 soon. I was just wondering what people do for work in their 1L summer. Is it possible to get a SA job in the 1L summer? If so, how attainable are these positions? What other well-paying jobs are available to 1Ls in the summer? Thanks!

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 12:29 pm
by ReganSays
1L SAs exist but they’re rare and mostly given to URM students.

Most 1L summer jobs are unpaid (judicial internships, public interest jobs).

Clinics at your law school will likely hire 1Ls for the summer and those are usually paid positions. Otherwise target medium or small firms or positions at investment banks etc. In general though, paid 1L summer jobs are hard to find.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:25 pm
by QContinuum
ReganSays wrote:1L SAs exist but they’re rare and mostly given to URM students.
1L SAs are also fairly common for folks with technical backgrounds going into patent prosecution/litigation. But agreed, as a general rule they are rare and very hard to get (even with stellar first-semester grades, which are the only grades that count when applying for 1L summer positions).

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:29 pm
by Anonymous User
Current 2L at a T1 so take this for what you will. Based on where I and my classmates went last year in terms of SA jobs, I would assume that at a T-14 you could probably get an SA position in a secondary market so long as you wound up in the top half, had a connection to the area you were applying to (family, undergrad, etc.), and genuinely wanted to work in that area after graduation. Major markets are probably only open if you absolutely kill it, and even then I personally think that's a long shot without any connections. About 1/8 of my class got firm jobs, but they were almost all regional firms and a majority of them were related to partners at other competing firms. (I think there was one NYC but his dad had connections)

I think regional firms are your best bet but you'll need to show them that you're applying there because you want to work there, not because you like the idea of having an SA position your first year. For instance places like Minneapolis, Indy, Denver, Florida, some Texas firms could potentially take you on, but these programs are primarily used for recruiting and they won't hire you if they don't think you could become an asset to their firm in the long run. That being said, be honest. Don't go after a job if you know you have no intention of ever working for that firm.

Competition within the various markets is a big part of the law school job game in my opinion, and you'll have to make sure your expectations aren't too high. Major V-100 firms are going to be a long shot, but there are probably smaller regional firms that could give you great experiences and more money than most law students make their first summer. Personally I'd say forget an SA position, go for a federal clerkship. You'll be rolling in the firm interviews this time next year.

That being said, it is unlikely you've started law school yet and the best advice I have is to forget about jobs until December. You can't apply until you have grades, and grades rule all, so the best thing you could possibly do to set yourself up for success is to focus on getting stellar grades.

Congrats and good luck!

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:30 pm
by Anonymous User
current 2L at a T14. can confirm that people with tech backgrounds were a little more likely to get a 1L SA position, but it's overall probably not as difficult as you might imagine even without one. (more accurately, it's not the tech background--it's the interest in IP lit. you don't actually need a tech background to do IP lit, but some firms like it when you do. usually boutiques give more of a shit and big law firms don't care as much. I know several non-tech students who claimed an interest in IP and did very well during job searches)

most of my class was very risk averse though so by the time feb/march rolled around people were giving up on SAs and just accepting other offers that were expiring. however, there were honestly quite a few firms still looking even in april/may. maybe not ones that paid market rate, but definitely still more than what you'd get at a public interest position

I actually strongly disagree with above poster about the fed clerkships though. I think it's much more difficult to get a fed clerkship than it is to get a 1L sa job, and if you have a 1L sa job then you are seriously golden for 2L OCI. like, I felt 0 pressure and I actually was able to cancel the vast majority of my screeners.
I was personally somewhere in the maybe bottom 15% of my class? and I still got a market rate SA job in a major market. and I definitely didn't go to one of the tipy top schools like harvard or anything. and because of my 1L SA, I was able to snag a lot of interviews that probably would've been closed to me just based on my gpa. I now have a biglaw summer gig lined up.

I also disagree about job application timeline. I applied to about 50 firms before I had my grades so not really sure why above poster is saying you "can't apply until you have grades." it's literally false. As soon as the nalp date passed I sent out all my apps. If you wait until grades are out it's often too late to snag spots at top firms. at my school, a lot of students were hired at V100 firms before grades even came out.

however, my experience is probably atypical and I'm not going to say above poster was wrong when they said that you generally need stellar grades. BUT getting amazing grades is just one way (albeit the safest way) to get the great 1L jobs, and if you're anything like me and just network a lot better than you test, don't feel discouraged.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:30 am
by BeeTeeZ
Everyone I know who landed a 1L SA didn't land a 2L SA. And everyone I know who landed a 2L SA didn't land a 1L SA. Translation: don't worry too much about landing a1L SA, worry about getting good grades and substantive experience anywhere.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:40 am
by Anonymous User
Rising 1L @ Columbia. Here, it's very true that it's URM/Grades/TX or die when it comes to 1L SA.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:56 am
by Anonymous User
BeeTeeZ wrote:Everyone I know who landed a 1L SA didn't land a 2L SA. And everyone I know who landed a 2L SA didn't land a 1L SA. Translation: don't worry too much about landing a1L SA, worry about getting good grades and substantive experience anywhere.
every single 1L SA at your school was no-offered AND subsequently also struck out of oci? that's super rough. that hasn't happened to a single person in my class. I think statistically about 25% of my 1L class landed 1L SA positions and they're all going back into biglaw next summer.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:57 am
by stativus
Anonymous User wrote:Rising 1L @ Columbia. Here, it's very true that it's URM/Grades/TX or die when it comes to 1L SA.
quick question--if you're a rising 1L how do you know what 1L SAs are like? do you mean that you're a rising 2L? or are you just going based off what upperclassmen are saying?

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:24 am
by Anonymous User
1L SAs are the same as 2L SAs. There is no difference.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:28 am
by Anonymous User
Rising 2L at CLS. People here who had 1L SAs, and there were plenty of them, were URMs, many of whom worked at firms their 0L summer through SEO, or people who seemingly just had amazing grades or got lucky. I was surprised how many cisgender straight white men from CLS worked at firms their 1L summer. It's not totally a URM game.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:52 am
by Anonymous User
BeeTeeZ wrote:Everyone I know who landed a 1L SA didn't land a 2L SA. And everyone I know who landed a 2L SA didn't land a 1L SA. Translation: don't worry too much about landing a1L SA, worry about getting good grades and substantive experience anywhere.
i agree that you should be mainly concerned with getting good grades and substantive experience, but i'm not sure what the purpose of your anecdotal story was... especially considering that getting a 1L SA will most likely land you a 2L SA offer, which can ease the stress of OCI considerably (which was my experience). so if you can hustle for one while maintaining your daily routine, go for the 1L SA. Also, you can't even apply until after Dec. 1, so if prepare your application documents (resume, cover letter, etc.) and make a list of all the firms you want to apply to over the course of the semester, sending out the applications is a breeze by the time Dec. 1 rolls around.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:20 pm
by BeeTeeZ
Anonymous User wrote:
BeeTeeZ wrote:Everyone I know who landed a 1L SA didn't land a 2L SA. And everyone I know who landed a 2L SA didn't land a 1L SA. Translation: don't worry too much about landing a1L SA, worry about getting good grades and substantive experience anywhere.
i agree that you should be mainly concerned with getting good grades and substantive experience, but i'm not sure what the purpose of your anecdotal story was... especially considering that getting a 1L SA will most likely land you a 2L SA offer, which can ease the stress of OCI considerably (which was my experience)
The purpose of my anectodal story is to provide a counter point to your and other people's anectodal stories. You say in your experience most people with a 1L SA landed a 2L SA. That's fair, and good for them. In my experience those with a 1L SA were given no expectation of returning as a 2L SA, and instead were instructed to apply through OCI like everyone else. That's also fair, but not so good for them. Our anectodal stories differ but are equally valid.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:23 pm
by Anonymous User
stativus wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Rising 1L @ Columbia. Here, it's very true that it's URM/Grades/TX or die when it comes to 1L SA.
quick question--if you're a rising 1L how do you know what 1L SAs are like? do you mean that you're a rising 2L? or are you just going based off what upperclassmen are saying?
Meant 2L. Sorry. Late night posting.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 1:29 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Rising 2L at CLS. People here who had 1L SAs, and there were plenty of them, were URMs, many of whom worked at firms their 0L summer through SEO, or people who seemingly just had amazing grades or got lucky. I was surprised how many cisgender straight white men from CLS worked at firms their 1L summer. It's not totally a URM game.
How many do you know? I know of 2, both of whom missed Kent by a hair so I don't consider it surprising at all.

Re: 1L summer jobs

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 3:26 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Rising 2L at CLS. People here who had 1L SAs, and there were plenty of them, were URMs, many of whom worked at firms their 0L summer through SEO, or people who seemingly just had amazing grades or got lucky. I was surprised how many cisgender straight white men from CLS worked at firms their 1L summer. It's not totally a URM game.
How many do you know? I know of 2, both of whom missed Kent by a hair so I don't consider it surprising at all.
am Kent. some firms straight up will not consider you for 1L SA if you're not diverse. like, you don't even get a screener while your URM friend with straight Bs/B+s gets an offer. (hi Skadden)

it's annoying at the time but then these same firms will let you skip straight to CBs during 2L pre-OCI so I mean....whatever, can't be that pissed about it. life is great. would still have liked that $38K pre-tax for the summer though