Uh, so anyone else pretty much give up on a legal position?

[redjay]

I have applied to SEVERAL government and public interest offices, I got very few responses, and ended up getting dicked out of a government position which i was pretty much told I was going to be given...as a result I have decided to take some classes and TA for the summer... anyone else out there with a similar situation?

[nealric]

I know this sounds harsh, but several? If you are going the apply and don't network route, you should have applied to hundreds.

[vap]

No.  But one of the jobs was via a connection with professor (and unpaid) and the other was a result of about 50 applications.

[redjay]

Oh I networked, and had connections. I didn't see a point in sending to a bunch of firms I really dont want to work for. I am not interested in law firms, and so thought that would be a waste of time.

[nealric]

I am not interested in law firms, and so thought that would be a waste of time. 

As opposed to non-legal work?

[Dr. Balsenschaft]

I am not interested in law firms, and so thought that would be a waste of time. 

As opposed to non-legal work?

Sounds like the OP is interested in government or public interest law.  Neither of those involve law firms (at least not in the traditional sense), but they both involve legal work.

[goaliechica]

I am not interested in law firms, and so thought that would be a waste of time. 

As opposed to non-legal work?

Sounds like the OP is interested in government or public interest law.  Neither of those involve law firms (at least not in the traditional sense), but they both involve legal work.

Right, but the point is that the OP said that trying to work for a law firm would be a waste of time, so she didn't bother looking at those job. When the government/public interest options didn't come through, she resorted to non-legal work. I believe nealric's point is that even if OP doesn't want to work for a law firm, some kind of legal work would have served her better than non-legal work, and that it probably would have been better to apply more broadly, even to legal jobs that she didn't think she was interested in for the long-term.

This is undoubtedly a moot point by now, as it is mid-May.

[Luxhx77]

I don't know where the OP is located but if you are willing to drive to a neigboring county, away from local law schools, you could have better luck.  I had trouble looking in major cities as i found that a lot of the 2L's were competing for goverment and court internships.

Three weeks ago I applied to superior courts about 45min to an hours drive away and found that the competition was negligible for those internships.  It seems like the expense of driving scares off a lot of people.  Compared to the cost of summer school, the gas expense isn't that cost prohibitive.

Anyway, if you want to take a last ditch chance hit some of the neighboring counties.

[Dr. Balsenschaft]

I am not interested in law firms, and so thought that would be a waste of time. 

As opposed to non-legal work?

Sounds like the OP is interested in government or public interest law.  Neither of those involve law firms (at least not in the traditional sense), but they both involve legal work.

Right, but the point is that the OP said that trying to work for a law firm would be a waste of time, so she didn't bother looking at those job. When the government/public interest options didn't come through, she resorted to non-legal work. I believe nealric's point is that even if OP doesn't want to work for a law firm, some kind of legal work would have served her better than non-legal work, and that it probably would have been better to apply more broadly, even to legal jobs that she didn't think she was interested in for the long-term.

This is undoubtedly a moot point by now, as it is mid-May.

Fair enough.  My brain is fried.  Hopefully my logic was a little better on that exam I just took.

[redjay]

Correct I am interest in public interest and govt. employment. There were postings for local small firms, but I have had my experiences in family/small law situations already and have been more depressed than every in my life. I did a full year clinic this year, so I have a full year of legal experience drafting letters, memos, motions and doing oral arguments. I felt that if there was no way to get into the line of work I wanted (Env/American Indian Law) it was worthless for me to work at small firms. I am in the end more interested in policy type work, so I was hoping to get to research or something along those lines. Not alot of luck so, as a result, I am going to TA and take a few credits this summer in the hopes I can get some more experience during 3L when I have a lighter course load.

To the person recommending I look outside my county...I live in NY so pretty much everything is just as competitive. I also applied all over the country (I know my T2 status doesn't travel far, but I had a very tangible opportunity to work at a DOI office. Unfortunately, they bailed last minute so I had to start over from there, and it was a bit too late.)