Pros and Cons of various 1L summer options Forum

[articulably suspect]

What about superior court judges? I ask only becasue I have a close friend(ex co-worker) who is a superior court judge now and said to let him know if he could do anything to help me out in ls. Do you know of anyone who's landed a superior court internship? If so, what were their experiences?

I know some people who worked for superior court judges and enjoyed it. They did research and writing, but they also did more courtroom observation than the typical federal court intern.

How is a superior court intership viewed by future employers(specifically govt, PD, State AG, DA?) Is having more courtroom observation consdiered a positive? I mean, can't we all just watch Boston Legal and L&O to get that?

[ggocat]

How is a superior court intership viewed by future employers(specifically govt, PD, State AG, DA?)

To be honest, what you do your 1L summer probably doesn't matter so long as you do some legal work and have an opportunity to write a non-academic (especially less than 10 pages) writing sample. But if you're interested in civil or criminal litigation in state courts (i.e., PD, DA, state AG), then interning for a superior court judge would be a great option. Whether you do it over the summer or during the school year, it would be a good opportunity.

Is having more courtroom observation consdiered a positive? I mean, can't we all just watch Boston Legal and L&O to get that?

When L&O is over, you don't get to go behind the scenes and talk to the judge and his/her clerks. These are really interesting conversations and can help you become a better lawyer.

But you should choose a summer job based on what you would prefer to do most. If you would prefer to do 98% research and writing, then an appellate court would be better than a trial court.

[articulably suspect]

How is a superior court intership viewed by future employers(specifically govt, PD, State AG, DA?)

To be honest, what you do your 1L summer probably doesn't matter so long as you do some legal work and have an opportunity to write a non-academic (especially less than 10 pages) writing sample. But if you're interested in civil or criminal litigation in state courts (i.e., PD, DA, state AG), then interning for a superior court judge would be a great option. Whether you do it over the summer or during the school year, it would be a good opportunity.

Is having more courtroom observation consdiered a positive? I mean, can't we all just watch Boston Legal and L&O to get that?

When L&O is over, you don't get to go behind the scenes and talk to the judge and his/her clerks. These are really interesting conversations and can help you become a better lawyer.

But you should choose a summer job based on what you would prefer to do most. If you would prefer to do 98% research and writing, then an appellate court would be better than a trial court.

Thanks for the information. I'm primarily interested in PD, I want trial experience right out of law school. I would settle for any job that offers trial experience, whatever it may be.

I'm thinking about going PT, working PT too, and was thinking about maybe interning during the school year if it is possible. Does that sound like a good idea? Would that give me an edge come summer jobs/internships?

[ggocat]

I'm thinking about going PT, working PT too, and was thinking about maybe interning during the school year if it is possible. Does that sound like a good idea? Would that give me an edge come summer jobs/internships?

I'm a little confused by this post. You're planning on (1) going to school PT, (2) working PT, and (3) interning PT? Or just (1) going to school PT and (2) working PT or interning PT?

I don't really think going to school PT will give you an "edge" for summer jobs. A lot of law students go to school full time and intern PT (at least during the 2L/3L years). If you can get school credit for externing during the school year, it's really easy to take a full course load and intern.

[Anonymous User]

If one were, hypothetically, at a top 14 school and had ambitions of going in to academia (as a law professor) would it be best to work for a law professor during 1L summer? How competitive is it to get one of those positions?

[Anonymous User]

If one were, hypothetically, at a top 14 school and had ambitions of going in to academia (as a law professor) would it be best to work for a law professor during 1L summer? How competitive is it to get one of those positions?

Depends on the professor and the school you are at. Generally RA positions are not considered prestigious or competitive. ITE I think that will be doubly true, because I think the expectation is that law schools will create a number of extra RA positions for their students to keep their 1Ls doing something legal over the summer.

If you are working with a star in their field, then that can change. The biggest way it can help is if you are working for a prof that will go to bat for you at clerkship time. And by go to bat, I mean call up judges if they have the pull, or at the very least write a glowing and detailed letter of rec for you.

[articulably suspect]

I'm thinking about going PT, working PT too, and was thinking about maybe interning during the school year if it is possible. Does that sound like a good idea? Would that give me an edge come summer jobs/internships?

I'm a little confused by this post. You're planning on (1) going to school PT, (2) working PT, and (3) interning PT? Or just (1) going to school PT and (2) working PT or interning PT?

I don't really think going to school PT will give you an "edge" for summer jobs. A lot of law students go to school full time and intern PT (at least during the 2L/3L years). If you can get school credit for externing during the school year, it's really easy to take a full course load and intern.

Sorry, basically I would be working/going to school PT and attempt to intern during 1L and I was wondering if that would give me an advantage for summer jobs/internships considering I would have experience that maybe most 1ls woudln't have.

[ggocat]

If one were, hypothetically, at a top 14 school and had ambitions of going in to academia (as a law professor) would it be best to work for a law professor during 1L summer? How competitive is it to get one of those positions?

If you are working with a star in their field, then that can change. The biggest way it can help is if you are working for a prof that will go to bat for you at clerkship time. And by go to bat, I mean call up judges if they have the pull, or at the very least write a glowing and detailed letter of rec for you.

+1 to this, but whatever you do, I suggest doing it only part time or for half the summer. Spend the rest of your summer writing a publishable paper (or at least a first draft). Ask a professor to serve as your adviser and, if necessary, help you narrow down some appropriate topics. You might also consider choosing a topic that would be appropriate for submission for a writing competition (just google "legal writing competition" to find topics).

But before you listen to the advice of anyone on TLS, you should go to a junior faculty member at your school and ask them the same question. The paragraph above is just my best guess.

[A'nold]

I interned for a federal district court judge and it was amazing. I think it's the best experience you can have as a 1L. You write opinions, meaning you get to read entire dockets on cases, read the briefs, discuss with the clerks and the judges the issues in the case and finally decide and write on them. You'll be lucky at a firm to get a glance at a brief, and maybe work on one or two. I worked on twelve opinions, and a few other cases that the clerks or other interns were working on. This is not to mention the dozens of conferences, hearings, etc. that I sat in on, witnessing some of the best attorneys from around the country argue.


It's easier to get because judges hire tons of interns for the summer, whereas for a whole year they only hire two clerks. It's just numbers.


EDIT: all sorts of judges have internship programs, from bankruptcy to circuit. I wouldn't work for a circuit because they won't let you touch opinions. In fact, I wouldn't work for any judge, regardless of how well known they are, if you can't touch opinions.

That sounds horrific. I would hate for my summer to be an elongated Legal Writing class........