1L summer preparation for 0Ls Forum

[Giro423]

Hoping some folks wouldn't mind sharing about the extent of work, if any, they put in for 1L summer options prior to starting school. I haven't found any threads or much discussion around this topic (perhaps because there isn't much to be said). Most advice seems to center around updating your resume/cover letter, and gaining some idea of what might interest you. Anything else you wish you would have done (or were happy you did do) to prepare for Dec. 1st?

[cavalier1138]

I read Getting to Maybe and 1L of a Ride (the former was useful, and the latter was because I was bored). That is the most 1L prep I would recommend doing.

Also, if you didn't find any threads on this topic, you didn't look very hard. Searching "0L/1L prep" will turn up a ton of threads in this forum.

[Dcc617]

Just enjoy your summer. It's fun. You'll be fine, and there's plenty of time to mess around with law school stuff when you get there.

I understand that you're excited to go, and nervous and all that stuff. Just let it go and enjoy this little bit of time. It won't be your last bit of free time, but you should enjoy it. Chill.

[aspire2esquire]

You might want to go suit shopping if you do not have one already.

[tomwatts]

This is a little bit different from preparing substantively for law school classes, which is what most threads are about (and apparently what the first two responses took the OP to be asking about). This is about what you can/should do to get ready to apply for 1L summer internships.

So yeah, you can update/clean up the resume, write a generic cover letter, purchase interview attire if you don't already have it, find out about areas of interest. That last item is really the hardest, and the one I most needed to do and didn't do. But if you do all those things, you're as far along as you possibly can be. (If you do none of those things, there's still time during 1L to do them, too, and that's when most people do them — it's not necessary to start now.) It really shouldn't take a lot of time; a few hours on each task is probably more than enough (except maybe the last one, depending on how much of a direction you already have).

One thing that I found out as I applied was that there are lots of fiddly little details that no one really tells you (they might be on a career services web page somewhere or something) but you're supposed to know. For example, if you're supposed to submit a writing sample as part of a summer 1L application, it's best to have a cover page explaining what the writing sample is and where it's from. I don't suppose there's anything you can do about that now, but it is something to bear in mind as you start gearing up to apply; ask career services early and often about your application materials and what they're supposed to look like.

[Dcc617]

I mean, sure, if you absolutely HAVE to do that now. But the OP hasn't even stepped foot on campus yet. Stressing about jobs almost a year away seems a little like putting the cart before the horse. If they start thinking about this in November they'll still be ahead of the game.

[tomwatts]

Yeah, to clarify, you don't have to do anything. Nor would I even say that you should do anything. But if you feel like doing something, you can do a few things.

I've edited the post above to try to clarify that point.

[Giro423]

I read Getting to Maybe and 1L of a Ride (the former was useful, and the latter was because I was bored). That is the most 1L prep I would recommend doing.

Also, if you didn't find any threads on this topic, you didn't look very hard. Searching "0L/1L prep" will turn up a ton of threads in this forum.

I poured over most of those already, but I couldn't find much specifically about the job aspect for this phase, which is why I created this topic specifically. They have been extremely helpful in other regards.

[Giro423]

This is a little bit different from preparing substantively for law school classes, which is what most threads are about (and apparently what the first two responses took the OP to be asking about). This is about what you can/should do to get ready to apply for 1L summer internships.

So yeah, you can update/clean up the resume, write a generic cover letter, purchase interview attire if you don't already have it, find out about areas of interest. That last item is really the hardest, and the one I most needed to do and didn't do. But if you do all those things, you're as far along as you possibly can be. (If you do none of those things, there's still time during 1L to do them, too, and that's when most people do them — it's not necessary to start now.) It really shouldn't take a lot of time; a few hours on each task is probably more than enough (except maybe the last one, depending on how much of a direction you already have).

One thing that I found out as I applied was that there are lots of fiddly little details that no one really tells you (they might be on a career services web page somewhere or something) but you're supposed to know. For example, if you're supposed to submit a writing sample as part of a summer 1L application, it's best to have a cover page explaining what the writing sample is and where it's from. I don't suppose there's anything you can do about that now, but it is something to bear in mind as you start gearing up to apply; ask career services early and often about your application materials and what they're supposed to look like.

Good points, thanks for responding!

[Giro423]

Just enjoy your summer. It's fun. You'll be fine, and there's plenty of time to mess around with law school stuff when you get there.

I understand that you're excited to go, and nervous and all that stuff. Just let it go and enjoy this little bit of time. It won't be your last bit of free time, but you should enjoy it. Chill.

Solid point. Glad I've been able to check my thinking on this. I tend to get a bit over-zealous.

[WordsworthIsBae]

Current 0L here reading Getting to Maybe and I'm definitely finding it useful. I'm also going to read this book called 5 Types of Legal Argument because it was recommended to me by a respectable source and I have the time, so why not? Other than that, I wouldn't worry too much. Pretty much every 1L+ has told me to chill out the summer before and harness my energy in preparation for what's to come, and maybe read Getting to Maybe if I absolutely HAVE to do something.

[emkay625]

For the record, I think this is a much better use of your time then trying to prep for classes.

You can do a lot of things:
1. Update your resume.
2. Make a spreadsheet with names/contact information for everywhere you want to apply.
3. Go ahead and draft your cover letters for each of these places so you're ready to go December 1.

Most importantly:
4. If you happen to live in your target market, do some networking. Email alums of your school. Explain that you're starting at their school in the fall and you're trying to talk to some people to get a feel for what type of practice you'd like to have, and ask if you could take them for coffee. 90% of people won't respond, 5% will respond and say they're too busy, but 5% will respond and say yes. Go to coffee prepared with good, genuine questions. Then apply to those people's employers on December 1, and shoot them a note telling them you've applied.

I actually disagree with the buy a suit advice posted above. People tend to either lose or gain weight during law school (depending on how you respond to stress). Wait and buy a suit closer to interviews.

[cbbinnyc]

I'll preface this by saying that I am happy with the job I ended up with for 1L summer and, really, it doesn't make a difference what job you get for 1L summer (unless, maybe, you're targeting certain specific types of work). Though it would be nice to be making that big firm money, and I probably could have been more thorough in applying to big firms.

In a perfect world, I would have done more research before school started just to get a more comprehensive view of what kinds of job opportunities are out there. In particular, I wish I had compiled a list of jobs that require early application (big firm jobs, certain government honors stuff, etc), either before school or early in the semester (IIRC, some of these deadlines were hard to figure out without access to Symplicity or other such job sites). You'll have plenty of time during winter break to get applications together for the vast majority of employers, but you don't really want to spend much precious time on the job search during the semester and there are some choice jobs that you need to apply to before the semester is over.

[pianoman4]

For the record, I think this is a much better use of your time then trying to prep for classes.

You can do a lot of things:
1. Update your resume.
2. Make a spreadsheet with names/contact information for everywhere you want to apply.
3. Go ahead and draft your cover letters for each of these places so you're ready to go December 1.

Most importantly:
4. If you happen to live in your target market, do some networking. Email alums of your school. Explain that you're starting at their school in the fall and you're trying to talk to some people to get a feel for what type of practice you'd like to have, and ask if you could take them for coffee. 90% of people won't respond, 5% will respond and say they're too busy, but 5% will respond and say yes. Go to coffee prepared with good, genuine questions. Then apply to those people's employers on December 1, and shoot them a note telling them you've applied.

I actually disagree with the buy a suit advice posted above. People tend to either lose or gain weight during law school (depending on how you respond to stress). Wait and buy a suit closer to interviews.

I second all of this. Both this summer and during the fall semester, contact alums in your target market and particular practice areas that you're interested in. Ask to chat over the phone or get coffee. I had >50% success doing this and it eventually led to an interview (that turned into a 1L summer position). Check out other threads on TLS about 1L networking tips. I recommend checking this one out: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... p?t=226544

[Giro423]

For the record, I think this is a much better use of your time then trying to prep for classes.

You can do a lot of things:
1. Update your resume.
2. Make a spreadsheet with names/contact information for everywhere you want to apply.
3. Go ahead and draft your cover letters for each of these places so you're ready to go December 1.

Most importantly:
4. If you happen to live in your target market, do some networking. Email alums of your school. Explain that you're starting at their school in the fall and you're trying to talk to some people to get a feel for what type of practice you'd like to have, and ask if you could take them for coffee. 90% of people won't respond, 5% will respond and say they're too busy, but 5% will respond and say yes. Go to coffee prepared with good, genuine questions. Then apply to those people's employers on December 1, and shoot them a note telling them you've applied.

I actually disagree with the buy a suit advice posted above. People tend to either lose or gain weight during law school (depending on how you respond to stress). Wait and buy a suit closer to interviews.

Thank you. Glad to hear I'm not just a crazy gunner for thinking this might be a good idea. It seems like a lot of people just start panicking once the realize they don't know what they want to do once exams start to roll around.

[tomwatts]

In a perfect world, I would have done more research before school started just to get a more comprehensive view of what kinds of job opportunities are out there.

This 100%. I feel like TLS talks about biglaw and occasional federal government jobs/famous public interest organizations (such as the ACLU), and it's hard to realize there's anything else out there. There are a ton of lawyers doing a ton of things. The biggest issue that I had in my initial job search was not having any kind of clue what the range was.

Networking can definitely be helpful in figuring that out.

[ChristianR]

I knew I wanted to go to law school about 3 years before I went, so I had years of research on what I wanted to do with my law degree (and midway through, I'm still figuring it out). I would say research the work and lifestyle differences between (1) big law (2) Small/medium firm (3) Government (4) And public interest (like nonprofit) positions, because you'll most likely end up in one of those. To some extent they are so different that it's like a different career. The law school as an institution will definitely push you in the firm direction, just make sure you know that's what you want / don't want so you have an idea of what internships to try to test your thoughts.

Other than that, enjoy your summer. Not much you can do to actually prepare for law school, but in my experience, it wasn't nearly as bad / stressful as people on this board seem to make it out to be.

[Giro423]

As an aside, I've been reading about judges/firms wanting copies of unofficial undergrad transcripts. Is this still the case, and if so, from all schools if I transferred?

[carsondalywashere]

For the record, I think this is a much better use of your time then trying to prep for classes.

You can do a lot of things:
1. Update your resume.
2. Make a spreadsheet with names/contact information for everywhere you want to apply.
3. Go ahead and draft your cover letters for each of these places so you're ready to go December 1.

Most importantly:
4. If you happen to live in your target market, do some networking. Email alums of your school. Explain that you're starting at their school in the fall and you're trying to talk to some people to get a feel for what type of practice you'd like to have, and ask if you could take them for coffee. 90% of people won't respond, 5% will respond and say they're too busy, but 5% will respond and say yes. Go to coffee prepared with good, genuine questions. Then apply to those people's employers on December 1, and shoot them a note telling them you've applied.

I actually disagree with the buy a suit advice posted above. People tend to either lose or gain weight during law school (depending on how you respond to stress). Wait and buy a suit closer to interviews.

Will 1L's need a suit during the fall semester for any reason?

[tomwatts]

As an aside, I've been reading about judges/firms wanting copies of unofficial undergrad transcripts. Is this still the case, and if so, from all schools if I transferred?

Some (not many) do. Unless something has changed, for clerkships with judges you're required to type all of your classes and grades into a webpage and it generates an unofficial transcript for you. But anyone else who wants an undergrad transcript might want an ordinary unofficial undergrad transcript.

And yes, in general it's anywhere that gave you any kind of credit before you graduated.

Will 1L's need a suit during the fall semester for any reason?

I didn't. I think it's possible to have interviews toward the end of the fall semester for which you need a suit, though.

[ml0606148]

You might want to go suit shopping if you do not have one already.

how many suits would we need....

[thisiswater]

You might want to go suit shopping if you do not have one already.

how many suits would we need....

one. if you end up in a job that expects a suit daily then you'll have to buy more but wait till that's necessary. And honestly you may not need any. I already had a suit but I didn't need one until interviews.

[ml0606148]

You might want to go suit shopping if you do not have one already.

how many suits would we need....

one. if you end up in a job that expects a suit daily then you'll have to buy more but wait till that's necessary. And honestly you may not need any. I already had a suit but I didn't need one until interviews.

got it~ thanks

[Giro423]

As an aside, I've been reading about judges/firms wanting copies of unofficial undergrad transcripts. Is this still the case, and if so, from all schools if I transferred?

Some (not many) do. Unless something has changed, for clerkships with judges you're required to type all of your classes and grades into a webpage and it generates an unofficial transcript for you. But anyone else who wants an undergrad transcript might want an ordinary unofficial undergrad transcript.

And yes, in general it's anywhere that gave you any kind of credit before you graduated.

Will 1L's need a suit during the fall semester for any reason?

I didn't. I think it's possible to have interviews toward the end of the fall semester for which you need a suit, though.

So for clerkships you would just type in your classes/grades for law school? Or undergrad as well? Thanks for the help!

[A. Nony Mouse]

If you're applying for real clerkships (post-grad jobs) via Oscar, you type all that into a webpage. If you're applying for a summer internship with a judge (or sending a paper app to a real clerkship) you'll need to provide copies of transcripts, sometimes undergrad.