Judicial Internship at District Court or RA?

[onechu82]

I was initially going to work both as a part-time, but the judge is requiring me to work at least 4 days a week.  So, it seems like I would need to choose between the two.

I have a judicial internship lined up at District Court of N.J., and also a research assistant position with a professor who is going to do research on corporate/employment law.  Corporate law is where I want to go into eventually.

Do I take the judicial internship or RA? Would it make such a big difference when I try to interview for a 2L summer job?

[bl825]

I was initially going to work both as a part-time, but the judge is requiring me to work at least 4 days a week.  So, it seems like I would need to choose between the two.

I have a judicial internship lined up at District Court of N.J., and also a research assistant position with a professor who is going to do research on corporate/employment law.  Corporate law is where I want to go into eventually.

Do I take the judicial internship or RA? Would it make such a big difference when I try to interview for a 2L summer job?

I think the conventional wisdom is that 1L jobs don't make a big difference in terms of how you do in finding a 2L job.  I think the important thing is that you're able to speak intelligently about your 1L summer experience during interviews.

Personally, I think the internship sounds more interesting, but that's just my opinion.

Good luck! 
BL

[linquest]

I don't think it will make a huge difference, but I think you're better off with the judicial internship.  Working with a judge is always a great experience to have on your resume, no matter what type of practice you want to get into.  Employers know that a lot of people do the RA thing when they don't have other options for 1L summer, so the judicial internship might give you a slight edge for next summer.  However, if the prof is working on something really cutting-edge or simply something that you're deeply interested in, go for it! 

Oh, one other thing- check to see if the RA is possible during the school year (in which case, you can get both experiences).  A lot of people at my school do that for pay or course credit.

[UnbiasedObserver]

I don't think it will make a huge difference, but I think you're better off with the judicial internship.  Working with a judge is always a great experience to have on your resume, no matter what type of practice you want to get into.  Employers know that a lot of people do the RA thing when they don't have other options for 1L summer, so the judicial internship might give you a slight edge for next summer.  However, if the prof is working on something really cutting-edge or simply something that you're deeply interested in, go for it! 

Oh, one other thing- check to see if the RA is possible during the school year (in which case, you can get both experiences).  A lot of people at my school do that for pay or course credit.

Agreed. 

[vap]

Oh, one other thing- check to see if the RA is possible during the school year (in which case, you can get both experiences).  A lot of people at my school do that for pay or course credit.

Was going to say this.  Both experiences sound good, and you should try to do one during the school year (if you're not swamped with moot court and/or journal during school year).

[mnewboldc]

you should inquire as to whether you can work the ra gig off-site, sometimes professors are flexible and if you don't plan on having that much fun over the weekends this summer you'll really be able to pad your resume.

[widennumber2]

Also, see if you could do both.  I am working for an SDNY judge 4 days a week and I am also going to be a RA 1 day a week.  So I'll probably only be putting in 10ish hours a week for the prof.  At the end of the summer when the SDNY internship is over I am going to put in a few weeks full-time.  The professor was really nice about it, and understood that the opportunity to work for the district judge was important to me.

You might want to see if your prof. would be receptive to a similar arrangement.

[onechu82]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.  I have decided to work 4 days a week for a judge, and fit in 15 hours a week (Friday + weekend or week nights).  I would have preferred not working on weekends, but I think working for both a judge and a professor would open up more opportunities for me.

Good luck to all of you who is still finishing up the finals, and good luck on your summer jobs!