DIfference between Clerkship and SA position

[KianaFran]

Essentially, what is the difference between an SA position and a law clerk position at a firm. The only difference I have noticed is the pay and the likelihood of employment. It seems to be that law clerks get paid less to do the same work with less benefits. What do you think

[thorc954]

I think your analysis is probably pretty right on.  It seems like most big firms call them SA's though.  I feel like SA positions are more grooming oriented, i mean, they wanna entertain you and train you and all that, while maybe the clerk thing is more like just extra help.  Not entirely sure.  My 1L job was as a "clerk" for a respectable government agency, and this year is an SA position.  All I know is that they didnt take me on any vacations last summer, and there were never open bars, and if my SA position is like that, I will be at OCI next year

either way, take the best position you can get and enjoy it

[csloan999]

I was a "Summer Law Clerk" last summer as a 1L at a mid-size firm.  I think that's just the term they chose to go with (there were no "summer associates" there).  They paid me well, they "groomed" and trained me, and they took me out to lunch/events (games, dinners, cruises, etc.) pretty much 4 days a week.

It's probably different though if a firm has both "Law Clerks" and "Summer Associates".  From what I remember reading about it, I think the work for law clerks is more restricted to a specific practice. i.e. they hire you only to do real estate crap work, or only for document review in litigation, etc.  More like a paralegal than an associate it sounds like...JD might not even be required.

Good luck -- it's better than nothing!

[yykm]

I had a few OCIs where the interviewer used the terms interchangeably.  However, the terminology of the position depends greatly on where the firm falls along the continuum - biglaw to solo.  At biglaw, it's SA; at solo, it's LC.  Right around midlaw (which differs ddepending on the city/location) the terms become intermingled and is probably a by-product of whether the people who started up recruiting came from biglaw or a smaller firm that used LC as the terminology.

[jd2bee]

I had a few OCIs where the interviewer used the terms interchangeably.  However, the terminology of the position depends greatly on where the firm falls along the continuum - biglaw to solo.  At biglaw, it's SA; at solo, it's LC.  Right around midlaw (which differs ddepending on the city/location) the terms become intermingled and is probably a by-product of whether the people who started up recruiting came from biglaw or a smaller firm that used LC as the terminology.

At several biglaw firms that I'm familiar with, LC refers to employees that work while in law school (but not as a paralegal or anything, it's a distinct position).  Usually during the third year of law school, after they've summered there, some work part-time and don't get paid as much as a summer or an attorney.