When Do 1L usually start looking for 1L summer jobs??

[Contract2008]

With the assumption that they don't get anything thru OCI. 

[MR2Tyler]

Well, there are two answers here.  My understanding is that the ABA doesn't allow 1L's to start sending out resumes until December 1st.  At least, that's the case at my school.  On the other hand, your job search doesn't start when you drop the resumes in the mail.  Law School Confidential recommends compiling a mailing list of potential employers before school starts, which is what I'm working on right now.  And, of course, your resume should always be current, whether you're actively looking for a job or not.

Was that pedantic enough?

-Ty

[klaw]

If you're looking at government-type jobs (Office of the Attorney General, Justice Dept., DA, Public Defender), it's best to start earlier. Some of the deadlines will be in January, only a month after you're allowed as a 1L to start proactively searching for summer jobs. Public interest work tends to interview and hire in March and April, later than the others.

[linquest]

Well, there are two answers here.  My understanding is that the ABA doesn't allow 1L's to start sending out resumes until December 1st.  At least, that's the case at my school. 

Gotta be earlier than that.  At Northeastern, our first deadline to mail out resumes is November 16th.  It's a lot of pressure to get the job search done and have our resumes and writing samples written and revised,  while we're still just getting used to law school.

[jacy85]

I think Northeastern is a bit different.  Are the mailings you're doing related to the Co-op program?

ABA regulations state that 1Ls absolutely cannot send resumes out until December 1st.  I believe they even go farther then that, saying that career services cannot offer any assistence or allow 1Ls access to job search materials (like online databases for legal jobs) until November 1st.

I can see Northeastern getting around that due to the unique nature of their JD program.

[up_late]

Jacy's right about the NALP guidelines -- at least, those were the rules last year.

It depends what type of job you are looking for, but basically, you'll do better if you start in December, but some people still find things in April (or even later).

Law firm: prepare them over the summer, or if that's not possible, then after exams in December.  There is no value in sacrificing ANY of your exam-study time for the chance to send out cover letters fast.  It is much more important to get good 1L grades than to get a 1L law firm job, and a lot of the employers don't make decisions til January or later anyway.  They often (but not always) want to see first semester grades before making decisions.

Government: the most prestigious programs have deadlines in January. But there are other positions that don't hire 'til later.

Judges: I'm not sure.  December/January, I'd expect.

Public Interest: these things come out over time all through the spring semester. 

Research assistantships for professors: depends on your school, but where I go, some professors start advertising in late February, but other positions don't appear until April.

[linquest]

There's a huge difference between ABA standards that schools are obligated to follow to keep their accreditation and NALP guidelines.  NALP is a completely voluntary organization to join and does not represent all legal employers.         

The Nov/Dec. 1 guidelines are "General Principles" that NALP encourages schools to adopt, but I don't believe they're binding to any parties (inferring from the language "should") in order to keep their NALP membership.  http://www.nalp.org/content/index.php?pid=16#part2   (scroll to bottom)  Also, if you send your resume in early, it doesn't seem like there are any serious repercussions.  See http://www.nalp.org/content/index.php?pid=24#handle

So...if your school didn't adopt that particular NALP standard, and you're interested in non-NALP employers (like a small firm or public interest org), by all means contact them or send your resume in sooner if you think it'll help you.

[bearboy]

they tell me start looking in november, but you can't start mailing till december.

getting a jumpstart, in many cases, is bad form NALP rules and all that.

So start looking November 1st

[Confused1L]

There's a huge difference between ABA standards that schools are obligated to follow to keep their accreditation and NALP guidelines.  NALP is a completely voluntary organization to join and does not represent all legal employers.         

The Nov/Dec. 1 guidelines are "General Principles" that NALP encourages schools to adopt, but I don't believe they're binding to any parties (inferring from the language "should") in order to keep their NALP membership.  http://www.nalp.org/content/index.php?pid=16#part2   (scroll to bottom)  Also, if you send your resume in early, it doesn't seem like there are any serious repercussions.  See http://www.nalp.org/content/index.php?pid=24#handle

So...if your school didn't adopt that particular NALP standard, and you're interested in non-NALP employers (like a small firm or public interest org), by all means contact them or send your resume in sooner if you think it'll help you.

I asked a similar question on the main discussion board but no one has answered it.  Tehre has been a lack of communication between our career services office and the 1Ls (in all fairness, there are several new staff in the office that just started this month).  Several of us thought, based on a handout from the CS office, that you could send out resumes after November 1 -- you just can't send them to NALP employers until Dec. 1.

So a couple of us sent out resumes last week to some contacts we have.  We didn't intend to "cheat."  But it appears that we might have accidentally done so, which worries us....  Are there any consequences for mistakenly mailing resumes a week or two too early?

[linquest]

confused1L-  doesn't sound like it and I doubt it would matter since it's not like NALP can do anything directly to students.  The worst I can imagine happening is that your CSO gets a little upset at you IF an employer were to make an issue of it.  I'd say talk with your CSO and just explain the misunderstanding/ambiguity in their handout.

On another note, I have my first summer job interview on Monday morning.  Woohoo!!