Law School Discussion

https://www.utexas.edu/law/depts/career/resources/resumes.html

There is a link to a spot on the Career Services page.  It has some sample resumes and cover letters.  If you have already moved into the area, career services also has a small library that includes books on how to write resumes and cover letters (generically).  The books are the basic ones that should be present in any decent public library, though.

Sometime around Novemeber, you can also schedule a meeting with one of the career advisors.  They can't meet with you before then due to NALP guidelines.  They will look over your resume and cover letters and give you additional advice, as well as suggestions on how to find places to send your resume.  I'd suggest getting them as good as possible before then, though.  Have a few good people you know look over them for typos, aesthetics, etc.

BTW, I only sent out around 75 letters to 40 different firms (multiple offices of some firms, and I'm not counting duplicates sent to both the hiring partners and recruiting coordinators).  When I talked with the career person, she said that was rather low for a 1L and getting a job.  She recommended more on the order of 200 different places.

Looking back, I'd also suggest doing a lot.  Out of mine, I only got two callbacks.  The summer job I did get was through the Spring OCI, not my mailings.

I think another problem of mine was that I mostly limited myself to Texas.  Texas has a boatload of law schools, with 75%+ of each one trying to stay in Texas.  Look outside Texas for the first summer.  New York, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, etc. or anywhere else that doesn't have as many in-state law schools.  You'll make enough that you can afford a summer in a big city if you get it.  It is a summer.  Spend it having fun, and you can go somewhere in Texas (or wherever else you really want to be) your second summer.