<p>My clients are largely “biglaw” firms and spin-offs so my experience is limited. In those firms, the first job as a summer associate is dictated by the clerkship after second year. That is often the first job of substance for many. There may be internships and volunteer positions, but many have not actually held down a real job that would be relevant to working 60-80 hrs a week in a law firm. After that first job in a firm, the jobs you have had prior to that become largely irrelevant and aren’t even kept on the resume, unless there is a career switch or there is a need to explain a gap.</p>
<p>cartera,</p>
<p>We aren’t talking about jobs “of substance.” We’re talking ANY job. I would not want to be a 2L looking for a summer internship whose only position is an internship after the first year of law school–if that. </p>
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<p>I guarantee you that in at least 90% of cases there will be some sort of job, internship, or volunteer position. The other 10% will be kids who are “favors” --we hire a S or D of a partner at X firm and he’ll repay the favor --or have the potential to bring in business. (Dad is general counsel at BigCo and could steer work our way.)</p>
<p>Yes, after you do get a job “of substance” with a law firm, you stop putting those other things on your resume. That doesn’t mean that you didn’t need them to get a summer associate position.</p>
<p>I doubt very much that you have any input into hiring summer associates. The initial screening usually takes place during OCI. The interviewing attorneys from the firm get to decide who gets a “call back” for an interview at the firm. I am confident that at least some of them will not invite back someone who never worked or volunteered or held an internship in high school or college.</p>
<p>I’ll defer to those who have been involved in entry level hiring in law firms.</p>
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<p>Not true, the way things are now and likely will be for years, is that the majority of lawyers are never going to work in the law at all.</p>
<p>OK, let me address this one last time. I hope we’re able to move on.</p>
<p>I plan on seeking summer internships in law school. I am very skeptical of the assertion that I will be at a significant disadvantage because I did not have a part-time job as undergraduate. However, I am planning to apply for a summer internship next year, most likely related to politics and government. I’ve registered to take two public policy classes in the Fall.</p>
<p>I just had one last question: Will the LSAT be undergoing any changes in the next two years? The Powerscore books are quite expensive and I’d rather only buy them once.</p>
<p>And speaking of internships, it appears that Tom Friedman agrees with you guys in today’s NYT <a href=“Opinion | The Internship: Not the Movie - The New York Times”>Opinion | The Internship: Not the Movie - The New York Times;
<p>Let me address this one last time too:</p>
<p>It’s great you’ll be doing summer internships in law school. What you may not know is you only get one summer to do them in before on-campus recruiting. That will put one thing on your resume.</p>
<p>As to whether you’re skeptical that not having undergraduate work experience will hurt you, I’ve been through the process myself and helped others through it. You have done neither. If you nevertheless think you are in a better position to evaluate legal hiring, have at it. You’re the one taking on the debt, not me. I would do my best, in your position, to put something on my resume that says “I know how to do work.”</p>
<p>The LSAT will not, so far as I’m aware, be undergoing any changes.</p>
<p>A thought: law firms spend big money on their summer associates: salary, perks, and sometimes even things like rented cars for the summer. Of course, they are also using it as a two-month interview process for potential hires. </p>
<p>By taking on a guy who has never worked, they are taking the chance that they will need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a guy who won’t even show up for work on time, or won’t take direction. If you’ve showed up for work on time for other jobs and done what you are told, a law firm will be more willing to take a risk on you.</p>
<p>I’m not dismissing undergraduate jobs and internships. All I said was that I don’t think they are absolutely essential. As in, when I’m 45, I won’t regret not having a job in college.</p>
<p>And if someone graduated college and is in a reputable law school, chances are a reputation of tardiness and laziness does not follow him or her.</p>
<p>They are not “absolutely essential” in the sense you won’t get hired without one. Their lack will definitely make you stand out though, and not in a good way. When you’re 45 you may not regret not working in college, but you’d probably regret not getting an entry job as a lawyer after burning a year of law school.</p>
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Put yourself in the position of a law firm. Your primary means of hiring new associates is to take them on for a summer, spend approximately thirty thousand dollars (between salary and perks) on them, and use that as a two-month screening process. Any summer associate who is a bad fit will be taking a spot away from someone who could have been a good fit, which means that you’re scrambling to find a good new hire, without the benefit of the summer-long “interview”. Also, you’ve just dumped tens of thousands of dollars into that person, which might end up being quite the financial loss to your firm.</p>
<p>Do you CARE about “tapping someone’s potential”? How much of a risk will you take on Person A, when Persons B-Z are not a risk? You know that many students will plan their schedules so that they don’t have class until 11 am, but you want them in the office, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 9 am sharp. You’ve got one kid who mowed lawns all summer in college, another who interned, a bunch who were baristas, and one who has never held down a job. Who are you going to risk thirty grand in salary + perks and your limited summer associate slot on?</p>
<p>We’re not saying this to be mean; we’re trying to point out that you’re attempting to get into an insanely competitive field, full of risk-averse people who shell out huge sums of money on their employees, without having demonstrated that you can get up in the morning and be at the office in a punctual manner. And for every good lawyer job, there are dozens of super-smart, high-achieving, qualified law students who will all but commit murder to get it.</p>
<p>And we haven’t even commented on the fact that OP said he/she doesn’t have any extracurricular activities either… something else that can be fixed before it’s time to submit applications.</p>
<p>I lump Extracurriculars and Internships/Jobs into one pile. </p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for the help everyone!</p>
<p>People with no work experience often underestimate the degree of deference expected by the people who sign their paychecks, and the alacrity with which they will cease writing those paychecks if that deference is not given.</p>
<p>Most people have issues adjusting to workplace expectations when they’re young and inexperienced. It’s better to deal with the fallout from that a time or two while you’re still in school, before the stakes are too high. Getting fired as an associate attorney can have life-long repurcussions; it’s a lot easier to recover from losing a part-time job in college. I learned a great deal from my most painful early work experiences.</p>