Does a budding securities lawyer accept the IBD or SEC internship?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi all! I am new to CC but I have to say it is wonderful…a wealth of great advice. I haven’t, however, been able to find an answer to a question I have, so I posted this new topic (sorry if my question has already been answered somewhere else, if so pls provide link!)</p>

<p>My question is: should I accept a summer internship offer from Barclays Capital (an investment bank) in London (I'm currently studying abroad at the LSE) OR an offer from the SEC’s Atlanta office within the Enforcement Dept. ?</p>

<p>Please help! My goal is to attend law school after graduation (preferably T14) and specialise in securities law. I interned last summer w/ Lehman Brothers in NYC – so I am afraid if I do another IB internship it will look like I’m too interested in this business area and not enough in law (though a strong finance background is essential, obviously, for securities lawyers). I also did a previous internship at a consumer litigation firm after my freshman year. </p>

<p>...Or should I just volunteer in my local legal aid clinic or some other pubic interest, non-profit? What are law schools looking for?</p>

<p>Any advice would be VERY much appreciated! </p>

<p>P.S. Yes, I did speak with my school pre-law adviser and she said to do whatever makes me happy. Please, no similar advice, though at the most basic level it is indeed the best advice. Yet very, very unhelpful given my myopic perspective!</p>

2

<p>If the only concern is law school admissions, no choice is likely to matter in the least. They almost certainly will not care provided that you're doing something productive. (And maybe not even then.)</p>

3

<p>Take the SEC internship. IBD is too unstable at the moment. SEC will also give you more insight into securities regulation/compliance/that kind of thing.</p>

<p>You may want to become a securities lawyer, but your job is still to be a lawyer, not a banker. You don't need to know one single iota of finance to be a good securities lawyer.</p>

4

<p>As you've already done an investment banking internship, the SEC internship sounds more interesting to me. I doubt that either choice would tip the scales with law school admissions committees, in either direction.</p>

5

<p>Those both sound like fantastic opportunities, and you can't go wrong with either choice. Go where you think you will have the most interesting summer.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all for your replies! With the current weak dollar the Barclays offer (paying in GBP) is very tempting. But, I think generally Greybeard and futurenyustudent you are right - the SEC might be more interesting and relevant to securities law; regardless of whether or not it helps tip the scales with law school admissions. Though I would disagree with the point that "You don't need to know one single iota of finance to be a good securities lawyer." =) Thanks again!</p>