Part-time GULC transfer Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi, all.

Recent transfer into GULC's part-time program. I have a good career now negotiating contracts (many years exp) and likely can't afford to stop working for a SA position; I might be able to make arrangements though. That said, are SA positions the only way to access big law?

Thanks.

[cavalier1138]

It's not the only way to access biglaw, but it's the most reliable pre-clerkship way to get a biglaw position. If your goal is to work in a big firm right after graduation, an SA is almost mandatory.

When you say you can't afford to stop working, do you mean you would lose your position if you took two months off?

[Xfer45]

When you say you can't afford to stop working, do you mean you would lose your position if you took two months off?

First, really appreciate the quick reply, @Cavalier1138.

Yea, I can't see my employer allowing 1-2 months off. It's possible I suppose, but hard to imagine if I telegraph my future exit so blantely as I would by leaving for an SA. And I have a fam to support.

Trying to figure out a way into a large firm without a break in work.

[cavalier1138]

Trying to figure out a way into a large firm without a break in work.

Maybe ask some people from the part-time program how they did it. But you may have to figure out a non-biglaw career path if the answer is that you need to find time for a summer position at some point.

[QContinuum]

Trying to figure out a way into a large firm without a break in work.

Maybe ask some people from the part-time program how they did it. But you may have to figure out a non-biglaw career path if the answer is that you need to find time for a summer position at some point.

Or take out student loans. I know folks who went through law school with a stay-at-home spouse and children who stayed afloat using student loans. Or have their spouse (re)join the workforce (which may or may not make financial sense depending on the local cost of childcare and how much their spouse would be able to make).

I don't advocate taking out loans lightly, but it may be worth taking out a year's worth of loans (or two years? not sure how the summer associateship timeline works for part-timers) considering the alternative would be no BigLaw.

[tls_toddy]

A little late here but fellow part-timer here! I honestly feel like this is one of those huge questions all part-timers have that never really gets a solid answer. I think most of my classmates at my old school are going to eventually quit their job for a SA. I'm in a really fortunate position where I am working full time in sort of an SA role and love my current firm - I think if I didn't have that sort of job though, I'd probably consider quitting at some point if I were offered an SA in BigLaw. Maybe you could try to find a full time SA position during the law school year (since you're part-time) so that you are bringing in money. Someone actually sent me a thing on linkedin - they are looking for part-time law students to be full time law clerks. I would do a quick search and see if you can apply to those types of positions.

[totesTheGoat]

Ah, the old "leap of faith" question. It has created untold amount of stress and pain in the hearts of part-time law students over the years.

There are 4 resolutions to this issue that I've encountered, all with their benefits and drawbacks:
1) Quit your job at the start of your SA and live on loans and piled up cash until you graduate
2) Work your job the entire way through and hope to land a job after law school
3) Find a full-time legal job that will pay the bills. There are a few paths you can follow here. If you can find a job prior to your SA summer, great! Sometimes your SA firm will keep you on for a semester or two after, which is fine.
4) Switch to full-time in order to minimize the financial damage while you're unemployed.

I did a combination of 1, 3 and 4. I worked my engineering job for my 1E year, then found a full-time legal job at a biglaw firm starting my 1E summer. I worked a couple of SAs at boutiques and midlaw firms my 2E summer, as well as taking a couple of summer classes. That was when I accelerated to a 3.5 year degree. I continued at my biglaw job my 3E year and was expected to SA with them that next summer. Instead, I SA'd at my current in-house job and quit the biglaw job with a semester to go until graduation. I worked an un-paid internship at another company for 4E fall, and accumulated a ton of debt that semester and during bar study (there was a self-funded cross-country move in there somewhere) before getting started in my post-grad job. Hindsight being what it is, if I could go back I would take the scholarship offer I had at the better school and do law school full-time. Perhaps it's better at GULC, but our part-time program was not designed for full-time workers.

It's not a one-size-fits-all process. The handful of students in my section who worked full-time jobs had wildly different outcomes. Most quit their jobs after the first semester and converted to full-time. A few worked the entire way through because they had families to feed. Most of them ended up in midlaw. The rest found some convoluted way to do legal work and get to graduation with a job offer in hand, and most got biglaw offers.

[icansortofmath]

Realistically you have to do the SA. I know people that kept working on reduced schedule and still bringing substantial paychecks.

My school was in a major market though.

[Xfer45]

Thanks all. Truly appreciate your thoughts. Guess it is what it is. Got a year to figure it out, and will post the outcome (good or bad) down the road.