summer job

[1Lchica]

...

[craven]

I wouldn't sweat about it.  If you're gunning for a firm job, they're not going to ding you because you've evidence some interest in criminal law.  Just talk about the hands-on experience you gained over the summer instead of your undying passion for criminal law.

[jacy85]

Most firms I interviewed with asked if I was itnerested in crim law after I interned w/ a DA's office.  The sense or feel I got from teh question was that they didn't want to put money into me if I was just going to leave in 3 years after paying my loans down.

As the last poster suggested, I stressed the practical experience I received writing and observing motions and appeals (I did mostly appellate work as a 1L/rising 2L).  As for the crim law club, that's going to be harder to spin.  You can explain that you had been very interested in it, and while the concepts still interest you, the actual practice isn't exactly what you'd invisioned and now you're more geared toward civil lit.

You could also spin the fact that you see criminal litigation as the best avenue to get experience while in law school generally, so you wanted to get involved (which, IMO, it is!)

[1Lchica]

thanks! good advice.

[GA-fan]

If you have the option to use different resumes to submit to different firms, I'd consider not including your criminal law club officer's position at all. It demonstrates an interest, which is ok for a firm that has a criminal practice (or if you can spin it into "i like securities fraud, etc, which mainstream firms may practice civilly). However, my impression is that officer positions have almost no weight unless you're president of a group (most organizations get very little real work out of their officers, but I digress). It's a good conversation starter if you need it but not a very effective selling point on why they should hire you.

another interesting topic for another day is when and what to start removing from your resume as it fills up with legal accomplishments, and what not to include at all (I personally don't see the point of putting "dean's list" on your resume if your GPA demonstrates good grades, for example).

[FreddyPharkas]

If you have the option to use different resumes to submit to different firms, I'd consider not including your criminal law club officer's position at all. It demonstrates an interest, which is ok for a firm that has a criminal practice (or if you can spin it into "i like securities fraud, etc, which mainstream firms may practice civilly). However, my impression is that officer positions have almost no weight unless you're president of a group (most organizations get very little real work out of their officers, but I digress). It's a good conversation starter if you need it but not a very effective selling point on why they should hire you.

another interesting topic for another day is when and what to start removing from your resume as it fills up with legal accomplishments, and what not to include at all (I personally don't see the point of putting "dean's list" on your resume if your GPA demonstrates good grades, for example).

This is true. In truth, officer positions are for those who couldn't do anything real.  Do firms really respect the fact that you were on the SBA and helped plan the drinking parties all semester? Or that you helped distribute flyers to generate interest in the crim law club? The only point of clubs is to be around people with similar interests and maybe get some good discussion out of it.

I say leave it off your resume altogether.

[jacy85]

I did, and one I'm extremely happy with at that.

If you have the grades and the personality, I don't think you have too much to worry about.  Any issues may come up with screening interviews, since there are a lot of people highly ranked and the crim focus may just make you that tiny bit more "concerning" than the next person.

I agree - it's stupid to make such assumptions.  The people who give the "I've never wanted to do anything other than work for a firm" line are just as likely to leave within a few years than someone with an interest in anything else.

I think Raven made a good point about the resume tailoring.  You obviously can't omit your summer job, but I think that's much less of a concern as many 1Ls intern for DA's office either b/c that's what they wanted to do or because they didn't find anythign with a firm (and this is more true this year than other years).  YOu may want to leave off the crim law student group though.

[Peaches]

Because my resume appeared to put me on a trajectory towards a career in government, I've dropped any clubs and pro bono or extracurricular involvement related to government on my resume.  I've also left out an executive education certificate I completed in a similar area at a top university.  Those things were great for getting in to law school, but just don't make the cut on my legal resume.

I have enough of a problem trying to explain that I'm not interested in government, and I still got a job without those things on my resume so it was best to drop them.  (My CSO actually initially suggested that.)