Happy Wednesday!!! I can’t believe its already June but I am so happy its summer! I just thrive in the summer, tans, vacations (hopefully), Miami, beach and boat days and the summer trends… there’s nothing better
Summer also means law clerk life! Some firms call their summer program for law students Summer Associate programs and they’re basically where you work at a law firm from anywhere from 6-12 weeks over the summer learning the ins and outs of lawyer life. Depending on the size of your firm, city and other factors, the way the program runs differs so I can only talk for my own and the tidbits I’ve heard from my friends and their experiences
At my firm I’m a law clerk and I work under two partners working on the drafting of motions and any other special drafting assignments. I am also assisting with some discovery work since our firm and practice are is super high volume. I have friends doing similar drafting projects at various firms of all different sizes. We draft anything from complaints, to motions for default, to motions for withdrawal, to motions for summary judgment and anything in between. I’ve also done some alternative dispute resolution drafting so far this summer. Its fun to review the cases, read deposition transcripts and motions filed by opposing counsel and put together an argument and I get to go to court with my partners soon to see them argue my work!
As a 1L summer law clerk I did all discovery work and a few special motion drafting projects. I work at a litigation firm so my work is all for cases either going to trial, in the settlement process or with potential for trial if not settled. Transactional work like what I did during my time in the CED clinic last semester isn’t as court heavy and varies greatly depending on the client and client objectives.
But how do you get a clerkship or summer associate position? The short answer? There’s so many ways, the “easiest” being through OCIs (“On Campus Interviews”, your school career center’s database, judicial clerkships and networking so that’s what I’m gonna talk about here.
OCIs are a formal recruitment process through your law school and/or through local and regional Bar associations. They start 1L spring but are most intense during your 2L fall and this is where you apply for an interview spot with various law firms that have relationships with your school and if selected you interview them either at your school or at their firm. This process can often include multiple rounds of interviews with the same firms, usually starting with a on campus interview and a callback at the firm’s office, which can include travel. OCIs often means applying and interviewing with multiple firms over a period of 1-2 months and if offered a summer position can lead to a 6-12 week position at their firm. Bar association recruitment is similar but usually means you interview in a hotel or conference center if selected and may include travel to a nearby major legal market, for us Nashville and Atlanta are popular.
Other common ways of landing summer employment are through your school’s career center and their database and through your own networking. As for the database, it means applying to jobs using Symplicity or similar platforms and submitting cover letters and resumes alongside transcripts, similar to the OCI process, but hearing directly back from the firm and coordinating an interview with them directly, either at your school or at their firm. This is still a formal process but not as time sensitive and is open all throughout the semester.
Networking is the other less informal way but equally as valuable. This is where you connect with law firms, lawyers and legal professionals at events, on LinkedIn and through email, fostering those partnerships and reaching out for an informational interview or letting them know hey I’m interested in x, y, z and and see you do that, I would like to learn more about your firm and x, y, z and would love a chance to connect… which could lead to an interview and/or offer! If you want to see a sample email on this just let me know! I do the same on LinkedIn when I connect with any law firms or lawyers I find that do what I’m interested in or where I want to be geographically. Building your networking is crucial and if you foster those connections, they can take you a long way. In life and law, its all who you know and using your skills to sell yourself!
I plan to do a Networking 101 Live or Clubhouse chat soon and will share the Q+A on the blog when I do!
Judicial clerkships are another way for law students to get a summer job, and these mean clerking for a judge, usually federal, and drafting judicial opinions and lots and lots of research. The application process for these is similar to OCIs and often requires submitting a writing sample as well. Most people use their best Legal Writing assignment from 1L year for this! Judicial clerkships are a great option for those who want to be a judge or enjoy legal research and writing. One note here, law review or journal membership is usually required.
Overall any job you look for in law school evaluates you holistically: GPA, unofficial law school transcript thus far, activities and extracurriculars and just you as a person, your interview does wonders! Certain jobs favor certain law school activities like law review, journals, moot court, clinic experience and more so do your research when looking into each job. Another great resource is talking to upperclassmen and asking about their OCI and job search experience and see if they have tips on certain positions, firms, etc, they often do! Every city, region, firm, school etc does things their own way so while this info is all general and helpful, getting direct info from those in your shoes is the best way to prepare.
A few notes on law clerk life and the job search in general:
If you get an interview, an offer, a shot, enjoy it! You deserve to be there, its your hard work paying off and its a beautiful thing. I’ve mentioned in previous posts before that law school magnifies the imposter syndrome we all feel on some level, more on that here, but if you get the opportunity, use it an a chance to show them who you are and why you deserve to be there! I also have more OCI and interview tips here!
I think the key to a successful job search is try to focus on the opportunity to interview and get experience over an end goal of a job, because practice makes perfect and the more interview experience under your belt, the better you get at it. Yes it’s bold statement but the shift in mentality allows you to put you and yourself first. Your health and happiness first and we all need to do better at trusting the process and being ok in giving it your all and letting life take its course. The job search is a stressful and nerve-wracking process for sure, and its usually built to be that way, but with interview practice and a little faith and a dusting of confidence, the job is yours, so just go into it with an open mind and with the knowledge that you’re prepared for anything the process throws your way!
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while but I wasn’t ready yet, so I hope that whoever reads this benefits from it! I definitely would have loved to read this when I was going through it the first time. As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a DM or email and please comment on if you want more posts about law school, law clerking and anything else. Thanks for reading!
xo Kayla