Summer Associate

<p>I was reading Tucker Max's book, and he was talks about working as a summer associate and earning $2400 a week. How does one get a position like this?</p>

<p>Most firms that pay that much interview candidates on campus, at a select list of law schools.</p>

<p>You have to either be interviewed on campus or apply to law firms for those positions.</p>

<p>Many firms have already selected summer associates for this year, although if you have unusual credentials (for example, actual experience in a field of law) you might still have a chance. You also typically need to be in the first semester of your second year to be considered, although some firms consider first-year students.</p>

<p>Not all firms pay as much as $ 2400 per week, however. Smaller firms will pay less, but the experience and the contacts are well worth it, in any case.</p>

<p>In the summer before 2L year, schools will have an on-campus interviewing program (which is not always on campus; often it will be in a hotel or something near the school) where firms will interview students. Depending on the school, this will be how nearly everyone gets a job for the summer or only a chance for the people in the top of the class to get something. At the top 10 or so schools, the firms are not allowed to "pre-screen" resumes, which is to say that they can't set a GPA cutoff and not interview anyone who falls below that number. Then students will get a number of callback interviews, which typically last all day and involve meeting numerous partners and associates and either lunch or dinner. Finally, some will receive offers. Again, at good schools, this is 80+% of the class.</p>

<p>For 1Ls, you can start sending out resumes to firms on December 1st and they'll generally interview (if you're lucky enough to get an interview) over winter break. Very few 1Ls get jobs that pay $2400 a week, though. Even at top schools, it's not usually more than a quarter of the student body.</p>

<p>As the parent of a law student, let me say that I don't think you can assume that all 1L's apply for firm jobs. My own favorite law student (a/k/a my kid), did not. While it may be the case that my kid wouldn't have gotten a 1L job with a firm, based on the "stats" of those in the same law school class who did, my kid would have had a "shot" but didn't take it. I think that's not at all unusual. Many law students want to check out what working for the legal aid or the US Attorney or the local ADA is like. A summer working at some sort of public interest job followed by a summer working for a firm is fairly typical. Many students who want exposure to both do this. Not everyone knows what they want to do post-graduation and trying out at least two very different work envirnoments can be a good move. Additionally, there are a <em>few</em> summer 1L <em>gigs</em> that improve one's chances of getting a good clerkship...something that even those who ultimately plan to work for big prestigious law firms want to do.</p>

<p>All I'm trying to say...is that you shouldn't assume that only one-fourth or so of students work for a big firm after first year of law school means that if you want to do this you won't be able to do so. The competition for some of the <em>hot</em> low paying positions can be tougher than that for law firms.</p>

<p>For one thing, most 1Ls do apply for firm jobs. Most of them don't get them, because there nearly aren't as many 1L slots available, since firms much prefer 2Ls. And for these 1L jobs, your "stats" usually don't matter much, since a large percentage of offers are made before grades are even available. If you have some connection to a small market, you generally have a better chance with the firms there than you would with firms in a major city. </p>

<p>Most 1L public interest jobs are not that desireable, since they pay little if anything and generally aren't very prestigious. They're not going to do much for your chances at a decent clerkship, since that's still going to depend almost entirely on your grades and whether or not you make law review, not some unpaid externship with a judge.</p>

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<p>At top-6 schools, such offers are guaranteed to any student who doesn't make awful mistakes (rude to the interviewers, showed up for the callback in jeans, etc.). Those jobs are yours to lose.</p>

<p>I disagree with AmericanSki that grades are not out by the time decisions are made. </p>

<p>Law schools know how crucial it is to get grades out soon for 1Ls, so they are there quickly. 1L employers know that they can simply wait to send out an acceptance until grades are in. The people I know who worked for firms after 1L year generally got their job offers in February or March.</p>

<p>Are you in law school, AmericanSki?</p>

<p>
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Law schools know how crucial it is to get grades out soon for 1Ls, so they are there quickly.

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</p>

<p>This actually made me laugh. Law schools are notorious for the ridiculously long wait for grades. It's not unusual to get the grade for a December exam in early February. Since most people interview over the winter break and offers are often made either on the spot or shortly thereafter, many people do get jobs without grades.</p>

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<p>Me too. My first semester of law school, exactly one of my three grades was in on time. The torts grade was only about a week late, but I didn't get the contracts grade until the day before Spring Break. And this was at HLS, where 1L exams are in January. So many if not most of us got our 1L job offers with one or no grades to show employers.</p>

<p>During the second week of January, all of the 1L grades were in - except for one class. That meant that even those of us who had our grades didn't know our class ranks. So a 2L - excellent student, well-respected - went to the professor who was deliquent in grading the exams and started ripping him apart - said that if even a single 1L missed a single interview because we didn't have our grades and our class rank, he was a failure. That was around the 11th or so, if I remember correctly.</p>

<p>This year, I got my last grade on the 16th (although I think it had been available before then). By that time, 1L grades were all up - they are processed through first and their grade distributions are put up before ours are.</p>

<p>Around here, people riot if grades aren't in by early January.</p>