Preparing for 1L summer
Now that my first semester is over (and what a wake up call those midterms were!) the next step (barring preparation for the dreaded 1L exams in April) is to consider what to do during the summer between 1L and 2L. This is crunch week for me, given all my volunteering work as well as actual mooting and writing assignments, so this will probably be a short post unfortunately!
Here are the options I found available to us first year students:
1. Look for postings for employment (or volunteering) with a law firm or government department.
- This does not necessarily mean working in the capacity of a legal intern or summer student. What it does certainly entail is some exposure to the atmosphere of an average law firm or ministry/government department.
- Most firms and departments will usually be advertising for 2Ls or 3Ls so it’s not very likely that they will take on a 1L student for the summer. It doesn’t hurt to try though, and some firms who put focus on retaining students throughout the entire process (from summering to becoming an associate) may be looking for 1Ls.
The pros to this selection are, of course, getting your foot in the door. Your name is now in the company roster, and you have all summer to build up strong working relationships with your co-workers, which could potentially help you next year during your OCI process.
One of the cons to consider for summering at a firm or government department during your 1L summer: usually many students end up working in an office/firm environment after their second year in law school. This may be your last summer to do something different. Additionally, since these employers usually look for 2Ls and 3Ls to do the substantial work, you may be stuck working the mail-room or photocopying memos instead of researching and writing them.
2. Work, intern, or volunteer at a not-for-profit or legally related organization (such as a pro bono organization)
- Although it may not necessarily come with a pay-cheque, volunteering, working, or interning at an organization that isn’t a law firm is an option if you can afford it.
- It’s great for exploring other, perhaps more altruistic issues or causes that may not be directly linked to your future as a legal professional (although this is not a be-all, end-all statement, as many legal professionals have found a way to merge their non-law interests with their legal careers).
There are many pro bono and legal advocacy organizations in many cities in Canada (and probably the US too). They are (unfortunately) usually short staffed and underfunded, and are always looking for volunteers and interns to help out with their workload. This applies to other not-for-profit groups as well. Although it may not be as glamorous as working in a firm, in my opinion such experiences stand out on a resume. Additionally, resume-boosting aside, if you want to pursue an interest of yours or do some good in this world, this option is definitely one to consider.
3. Make some money
Most of the options I’ve listed above do not guarantee a good wage (or even a wage at all). If you have prior working experience and know you can make good, steady money from working a certain job (be it a sales associate position at a clothing store, or administrative work at an office), by all means use this summer to save up for next year. Law school is NOT cheap!
Obviously, the downside to this option is that it doesn’t necessarily add much to your resume unfortunately (unless you have excellent resume writing skills and can tweak any experience to have relevance to the legal stream – in that case, wonderful!). But money is money, and law school is in the business of constantly depriving you of it, so this is also an option for your first summer in law school.
4. Have fun (but do something useful with your time)
Again, this is your last summer of freedom (unless you plan on pursuing further education). Use the time to travel, learn a different language, build houses in Ghana, teach English in Korea…the option are endless. As long as you’re able to twist (for a lack of a better word) your summer experience into something that will benefit your attractiveness as a potential summer student/articling student, meaning that you haven’t been sitting on your behind for the entire summer eating Cheetos and watching reality TV shows, you’re good. And it will certainly set you aside from the rest of the competition.
And here are a couple of resources/tips that I found gave me some traction in the summer search:
1. Use the resources available to you to the fullest extent.
- Does your law school have a careers website? Check out the postings. If you attended a different undergraduate school and still have log-in access to their career services as well, don’t forget to look on there as well for relevant postings.
- It might be a good time to call in some of your professional connections/favours – in yuppie language, “leverage your network”! Get in touch with people who might be able to connect you with a job – no matter how frail that connection may be. I have heard success stories about people who have cold-called organizations and landed jobs with them as a result.
2. Have standards – but at the same time, don’t have them.
- While I would suggest ruling out applications for work which you know does not interest you, I would not rule out applying to jobs that do interest you which may not be ideal (either in pay, or location, or any other determinative factor). Don’t apply for it if you already know that working there will be like pulling your teeth out, but don’t let little discrepancies that make the job “not ideal” keep you from applying.
That’s all I can think of for now, but this list will certainly be fleshed out over time to reflect my own successes/failures with regard to summer jobs. Thanks for reading, keep your wits about you, and good luck job hunting!
– C
Filed under: Law school | Leave a Comment
Tags: 1L jobs, 1L summer, job hunting, summer jobs for law students
1L – Day one
I’m in the middle of doing my readings for Crim Law (R.v. Dudley and Stephens, which is a relief because I read the case back in undergrad AND high school so I’m quite familiar with it) so this will be short and sweet.
I’ve finally begun the long journey!! I am in a new town, in a new school, and in a new line of work (as one of our professors said, today is the first day of our careers in law) – it’s overwhelming, to say the least. So far, here are my discoveries in how to prepare in the beginning for the rest of the semester/year:
1. Always try to buy textbooks used from second years. I went to the bookstore after our classes to pick up course readers (ie. materials without previous editions, or materials that were substantively updated each and every year) and saw so many of my classmates just load up on new versions of the entire stack of required readings. They probably spent upwards of $600 on their books, whereas if you keep your eyes open for advertisements (or advertise yourself) you can easily get the correct edition of the required textbooks, in good condition, for half price, and still have a bit of money to splurge on the recommended/supplementary texts. It’s just a bit of work with a good deal of return. Keep that in mind for the rest of your legal education!
2. Having said that, check out your campus book-store’s return policy. At my school, if we don’t open shrink wrap or crease/mark up our books, we are allowed to return them up to 3 weeks after purchase. Given that policy, I made the decision to buy my textbooks from the book-store first and wait for book sales to appear at their own rate. It’s a great safety net just in case no deals turn up in the end (but they most likely will). Additionally, if you treat your non-shrink wrapped books well, you may even be able to keep up with the readings while waiting for a better deal on certain textbooks.
3. Speaking of supplementary material, ask second years ABOUT the recommended/supplementary texts and whether they helped! Of course this will vary depending on your learning style but you will have a good idea of whether or not it’s “worth” getting a certain book.
4. If your school has an academic assistance/tutoring program, sign up for it. Yes, you may have been an straight A+ genius back in undergrad but in addition to learning new material and learning it fast, you will be learning said material in an entirely different language (I’ve been told it’s informally called “legalese”). It’s not a matter of pride, but a matter of preparation – “better to have a tutor you don’t need than need a tutor you don’t have”, as one of the presenters at my orientation said.
5. Get involved, or you’ll regret it. I’m not just talking about law journals and legal aid (ie. resume padders for those who are insincere), but sports, clubs, etc. You need a life away from law! Also, remember to eat. I had a bit of difficulty with that for the first few days.
6. And finally, this is probably the one thing that calmed me down the most: “Nobody else knows what’s going on either, but nobody will want to admit it.” Chances are you’re not the only person in the room who is utterly lost. That’s where a good academic assistance program/upper year tutor/or even a study group comes in handy. It was repeatedly reinforced by professors during my classes that we should never be afraid to ask questions, because no matter how much others may scoff, someone else in the room probably really wants to know the answer too.
At any rate I’d better get back to writing my (first!) case summary, but I hope your first day/week at law school was as exciting as mine! Take care of yourself, keep the above in mind, and best of luck on your way forward!
– c
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I’ve been extremely busy lately! With work, with preparing for school, with being simultaneously excited to be finally going into what I’ve wanted for so long but almost sick to my stomach worried about whether this is really what I “want”.
At this crucial time, with a little more than a week to go before I leave home, it definitely feels like I’m closing a chapter in my life and moving forward. I recently finished a colossal package of handover notes for the person coming into my role at the office where I currently work. It was unsettling to sit back, look at it, and think to myself, “This is what I’ve done in almost exactly one year. I’ve gotten so good at it that I literally wrote a book about how to do it, and now I’m throwing it all away to start at square one in something that I might completely suck at.”
And then there’s the little task of moving across the whole country, and on top of that not knowing if I’ll be able to come back after my education to start my career back home, where all my family, friends, and loved ones are. I’m not even going to get started on how that’s been for me both logistically and emotionally, especially since I’ve lived in Vancouver all my life, but if you’ve been in the same situation you can identify with me.
I have dubbed this amalgamation of feelings as the “pre-law cold feet”.
More specifically, it feels a bit like I’m throwing away a perfectly good life for the absolute unknown. It’s nerve-racking, if anything, to the point where I’ve turned to my significant other a few times in the past months and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t go. I’d be happy as a house-wife, you know. I would be happy to settle for what I have now.”
But therein lies the rub – the word “settle”. And for quite a few students entering law school, especially mature students who have had a career for years before realizing that they want something else, settling is not an option. No matter how difficult the road may seem, they will venture down it because they don’t want to regret not having done so.
I don’t want to regret either. And furthermore, I am so lucky in the fact that I have such a supportive family and group of friends, not to mention my S.O. who has been an absolute champion in supporting my choice 110%, even though it may mean long periods of loneliness and waiting in store.
So I’ve come to terms with the fact that there will be dark moments of doubt before, during, and even after law school, where I will lament, “Why did I choose this path?” Maybe I’ll find out that this is truly my passion or maybe I’ll decide this isn’t want I want which is fine as well, because either way I won’t regret my choices. I’ll know that I chose to discover for myself despite the comfort of my current life, and not to settle for what I have and yearn for the rest of my life for an opportunity I let slip.
Anyway I will close here for today. If you’re a 0L like me, I hope your desire to not regret also trumps any doubts you may be having about your decision to go into law. We all have a great experience ahead, no matter where it takes us. And to all the 0Ls’ families, friends, partners, and more: thank you for supporting us. Personally, I couldn’t have asked for more!
– C
Filed under: Ramblings | 1 Comment
Tags: 0L, doubts, law school, pre-law, pre-law cold feet
Law or bust 