Substantive work after 1L?

[the royal We]

0L here, I've got a question about employment after 1L.  From what I've been reading here it seems like one is supposed to find employment in a legal environment during the summer between 1L and 2L.  Do most people get an internship that pays good money doing paralegal type work, or do people end up doing courier/gopher type jobs.  I have a job (legal secretary/jack of all trades) right now at a pretty decent firm, should I try and talk them into letting me come back during the summer, or should this only be a fall-back?

[Buddy Holly]

0L here, I've got a question about employment after 1L.  From what I've been reading here it seems like one is supposed to find employment in a legal environment during the summer between 1L and 2L.  Do most people get an internship that pays good money doing paralegal type work, or do people end up doing courier/gopher type jobs.  I have a job (legal secretary/jack of all trades) right now at a pretty decent firm, should I try and talk them into letting me come back during the summer, or should this only be a fall-back?

I am making about $2800 a week working at a law firm as a "Summer Associate." Though I start on Monday and don't know exactly what I am doing, they told me it is mostly writing memos and briefs and doing research. I have my own office, I share a secretary, and have paralegals who will do work for me, so the amount of gophering I do should be minimized. I would say about 40% of my class is doing something similar to this for similar pay (top 10 school).

Other people are working for the public defender's office, for the U.S. Attorney's Office (all over the country), at the ACLU, for judges, as in-house counsel, working for professors and for clinics, etc.

If you can't get a job or don't want to look, try studying law either at your school or abroad. Do something law related, that's the only constant.

[Weezer1223]

Most big or medium firms do their hiring in the fall, so by the time 1L's are looking for a summer job, they've already filled their clerk positions. If you can't get a job with a firm, try clerking for a state judge or a government agency. You're bound to get some hands on experience with them.

[Buddy Holly]

Most big or medium firms do their hiring in the fall, so by the time 1L's are looking for a summer job, they've already filled their clerk positions. If you can't get a job with a firm, try clerking for a state judge or a government agency. You're bound to get some hands on experience with them.

True, but a lot of firms save spots for 1L's, you just can't apply until December 1st, the date that 2L's tell the firms if they will be working there next year, so firms will know how much space they have.

[the royal We]

Thanks for all of your input.  What does one have to do to get these jobs.  I'll be attending a lower tiered school.  Will I have to finish in the top 25 to get a summer job? or  are are most 1Ls able to get them provided they apply to enough places.  Is this done through the schools? or should I try to send out resume's to every firm/judge/agency in North Carolina (most likely attending Campbell or NCCU)?

[Buddy Holly]

Thanks for all of your input.  What does one have to do to get these jobs.  I'll be attending a lower tiered school.  Will I have to finish in the top 25 to get a summer job? or  are are most 1Ls able to get them provided they apply to enough places.  Is this done through the schools? or should I try to send out resume's to every firm/judge/agency in North Carolina (most likely attending Campbell or NCCU)?

The chances of getting a paid firm job your 1L summer from Campbell or NCCU is extremely low. I would apply mostly to state judges, public interest and government work, and to do research for professors. You are a 0L though, so no need to start worrying about that yet.

[the royal We]

Thanks for all of your input.  What does one have to do to get these jobs.  I'll be attending a lower tiered school.  Will I have to finish in the top 25 to get a summer job? or  are are most 1Ls able to get them provided they apply to enough places.  Is this done through the schools? or should I try to send out resume's to every firm/judge/agency in North Carolina (most likely attending Campbell or NCCU)?

The chances of getting a paid firm job your 1L summer from Campbell or NCCU is extremely low. I would apply mostly to state judges, public interest and government work, and to do research for professors. You are a 0L though, so no need to start worrying about that yet.

Well thats a pretty big bummer. 

[UNCLaw]

Thanks for all of your input.  What does one have to do to get these jobs.  I'll be attending a lower tiered school.  Will I have to finish in the top 25 to get a summer job? or  are are most 1Ls able to get them provided they apply to enough places.  Is this done through the schools? or should I try to send out resume's to every firm/judge/agency in North Carolina (most likely attending Campbell or NCCU)?

The chances of getting a paid firm job your 1L summer from Campbell or NCCU is extremely low. I would apply mostly to state judges, public interest and government work, and to do research for professors. You are a 0L though, so no need to start worrying about that yet.

Well thats a pretty big bummer.  I'm becoming more and more frustrated that these two schools are my two most viable options.

The guy who goes to the Top 10 school is not reflective of what you can expect.  If you are going to either of those two schools you will have a much tougher time finding a job.  Hell, I'm in the middle of the class at UNC and I struggled to land something. 

I would try to get an in with the firm you are currently at.  It may be your best option if you are looking for good firm experience at decent pay.  Government and public interest jobs would give good experience but the pay is little or nothing.  If you are like most people you can't afford to go an entire summer not making any money or having to work at a restaurant at night just to make ends meet.

[Consideration]

I am also a OL, but I do have some legal experience..

Highly recommend reading these books before law school so that you will have an idea of how serious the stakes are about grades and job. Plus you can start deciding what area of law you would like to practice, and how to best enter that field of law.

Guerilla Tactics to getting the legal job of your dreams

The official NALP book on legal careers

These are not the exact titles but you should be able to find them on Amazon. Regardless what anyone says, any preparation that can be done is a good thing. Since you cant practice old exams until you learn the material you can at least start looking at areas of law that interest you.

[roquentin]

Thanks for all of your input.  What does one have to do to get these jobs.  I'll be attending a lower tiered school.  Will I have to finish in the top 25 to get a summer job? or  are are most 1Ls able to get them provided they apply to enough places.  Is this done through the schools? or should I try to send out resume's to every firm/judge/agency in North Carolina (most likely attending Campbell or NCCU)?

The chances of getting a paid firm job your 1L summer from Campbell or NCCU is extremely low. I would apply mostly to state judges, public interest and government work, and to do research for professors. You are a 0L though, so no need to start worrying about that yet.

Well thats a pretty big bummer.  I'm becoming more and more frustrated that these two schools are my two most viable options.

The guy who goes to the Top 10 school is not reflective of what you can expect.  If you are going to either of those two schools you will have a much tougher time finding a job.  Hell, I'm in the middle of the class at UNC and I struggled to land something. 

I would try to get an in with the firm you are currently at.  It may be your best option if you are looking for good firm experience at decent pay.  Government and public interest jobs would give good experience but the pay is little or nothing.  If you are like most people you can't afford to go an entire summer not making any money or having to work at a restaurant at night just to make ends meet.

So what are the chances of a ttt grad working in a reasonably big firm (making reasonable big money) in the market in which their school is located? Obviously assuming said ttt grad does well in school and has good summer jobs on the cv...