As someone who’s currently a 1L, I’m seeking some wisdom from the lawyers on here. Internships for the summer are fast approaching, and I know it’s relatively important to get one. My question is, how important? I currently live alone and need to work to pay bills. Is a summer internship worth cutting my hours and foregoing saving money for the summer?

I'm not a lawyer but I could probably get you an internship where I drive truck.  Let me know.

Ken M.

I could probably pull some strings down at the salt mine and get you in for a summer in our custodial department.  Drop me a PM

Larry

After practicing law for 23 years my advice would be keep your options open to other careers because being a lawyer sucks unless you are a rainmaker bigwig in a huge firm or a judge.  

If you are dead set on it then my next advice is connections and hard work are everything.  Get the summer internship if at all possible and find a partner who likes you and will mentor a little bit.

I would also look at corporate internships. In house is way better than law firm life.

No law degree... But, I currently identify as a lawyer. I dont give advice for free, so I cant help. But, I wish you luck in you career. Here is your first lesson, dont waste your time reading bullshit

In house is what I am really trying to steer towards.

Cut your losses and save your money.  Law is a rough field that doesn't pay as well as people think.  Student loans will eat you alive for decades after you get out.  If you really are determined, look for internships in your field.  You need both connections and experience when you get out or you will be unemployed for a while.  Don't go for "prestige" internships unless they are in your field and/or with people who can and will help connect you to employment in the future.  Your goal needs to be focusing 100% on getting a job lined up before you are out of school.

The internships I’m familiar with all pay and pay pretty well. Don’t know where you are, what law school or what rank, but I would focus on paying opportunities.

With respect to your in-house goal, in my experience, the best in-house opportunities are built off of gaining experience in private practice. I know many legal departments that won’t consider applications from folks without 4-5 years of firm experience.

Good luck with your career. I recommend interviewing lawyers in the field in which you think you want to work to really learn more about what it is like and if it is for you. I’ve given this advice dozens of times. It has only been follow few times. Several great stories from those who followed it. (Same advice for every field of endeavor, not just law.)

BTW, if you have questions about in-house, feel free to email and touch base. I also highly recommend the blog by Sterling Miller called Ten Things which is aimed at in-house success. You can also look him up on LI.

My brother-in-law always said that you have to want to be a lawyer more than you want anything else in the world or don't bother, do something else.

i think internships between 2l and 3l are most important in terms of getting job offers for after school, but come next fall when they're interviewing for the following summer internships having one under your belt this summer between 1l and 2l cant hurt, but grades are likely most important.

i agree with the poster above about in-house counsel jobs. your best chance at those are to work for a name firm after school for a few years, preferably a firm with contacts or even a client  relationship with the company types you want to land in.

Thanks for the advice man. I am in Rhode Island, paid internships are very few and far between here.

It's pretty hard to answer how important an internship after 1L is without knowing how ambitious you are and how you're aiming for after law school. No idea if you want to go to some fancy law firm or federal clerkship or want to work for legal aid. For me, I wanted to take Evidence in summer after 1L, because it got me in a courtroom as a certified law school student as fast as possible as an intern at a public defender's office.

Most lawyers don't really seem like they want to be lawyers.  

I just retired after 33 years as a prosecutor and loved almost every minute of it. Call the local DA. If you like it you wont get wealthy but you will have a rich and fulfilling professional career. Most lawyers hate their job. Not me.

Public service is a noble endeavor. I have delivered justice to some real shitbirds on behalf of victims and their families. And, if you take the best 10 criminal defense attorneys you could name, i have freed 10 fold the number they have sprung from jail, on my own authority, because i could not prove the case against them even though i knew they were guilty, all because it was the right thing to do.

No clients to impress, no stupid hours to bill, no quotas or stats. Simply being a servant of the law with the rare luxury of having the only job in the legal profession being ethically bound to the truth.

Some of the nutjobs on here will point to the elected DA in St. Louis, or Mike Nifong, both of whom are hacks who used their positions for political purposes, and say “prosecutors are corrupt” or “they only want convictions.”  Stupid generalizations. And inaccurate. And I say just like there are rare dirty cops, rare pedophilic priests, and rare crazy gun owners, the Extremely rare Nifongs are no more real prosecutors—servants of the law seeking truth—than Charles Whitman was a real representative of gun owners.

Do it. Go see the DA for an internship. If you dont like it you have at least dipped your toe into those waters and know to avoid them when you get your license. But if you like it, i assure you that you will be able to look yourself in the mirror at the end of every day, and you will never be a slave to the past, because unlike other lawyers whose ethical duty is to their clients, you will be able to do the right thing fir the right reason in every case you handle.

Thus endeth the sermon.

Have you introduced yourself to local judges?  Asked to attend a Bar meeting (probably Zoom)?  If you want to stay in the area, create connections NOW.  Also, older lawyers usually like to help students (not so much once you are out and MAY be taking clients from them).

Being a lawyer can be a grind, but it really comes down to networking and making the connections if you want a good job. Get as much experience as you can because law school does not teach you how to actually practice the law.

I did externships during the year, summers off.  Summer stuff was just hard to find.  Love my job(s) but that has little to do with anything other than having some relevant experience in medicine prior to law school and working my way from a clinical position into in-house legal, ie. Starting in the mailroom while working at a firm as well.

Many of the attorneys I have hired did a turn thorough the prosecutors office.
In Virginia it is called the 'Commonwealths attorney" office.

I helped my wife through the Virginia bar.
She had passed in MA.
She was surprised at some of the "odd" (her description) differences.

She was amused by the differences in Deeds for properties.
Just about every state has their own 'magical' formulation.

Virginia starts like this:


"VIRGINIA GENERAL WARRANTY DEED

STATE OF VIRGINIA
____________________ COUNTY


KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That for and in consideration of the sum of"

New Hampshire is actually similar.
Very old line formats.

Just about every place has the wording and language clearly defined in their laws.
Often down to font size of various sections.

@PPMama80

I have a buddy that quickly found that out. Lol.

A paying job is what keeps you fed and pays your student loans.

Next summer's internship normally will be what gets you the paying job.

Your internship this summer will be the #2 thing (after grades) that gets you next summer's internship.

So your job upon graduation begins with your rising-2L-summer internship.

Don't blow it on slinging coffee at Starbucks or working the counter at Autozone.

OBTW rarely will you go in-house straight out of law school.  General Counsel shops want people with experience and mostly will hire someone from their outside counsel firms, someone they know and trust.  Outside counsel firms tend to like that because "he'll keep sending us their business because he knows, likes, and trusts us."

Especially since the nice starting pay died after the crash of 2008/2009.  I was a full-time adjunct at my alma mater, it was a punch in the gut to see the 2008 grads get deferred from their BigLaw jobs for 3 months, then 6 months, then 12 months, then told "we're rescinding your offer" after they had turned down other less lucrative and less prestigious offers during those 12 months.  There's a "lost generation" of law school grads from 2008-2012, many of whom never got the start in law they sought.

you may have to spread your net much wider than Rhode Island.

it's stressful, for years you always feel like you don't know enough, law schools don't really teach the nuts-and-bolts of actually practicing law, and you end up spending all your time with other lawyers -- who generally are driven Type-A hardasses to each other.

Were I King Of The ABA, I'd change law school requirements so that the first semester includes Ethics and a course on epistemology, and the third year is mostly clinics in which students work with actual clients doing actual legal research, writing, advocacy, and client hand-holding for 12 hours a semester.

In-house was the way to go for me. As a previous poster mentioned, most companies will not look at you right out of law school. For a summer job though, if you can find an in-house position, do it. Also, don’t shy away from jobs that will get you in-house and then lead to greater things.  Privacy positions, compliance positions, contract manager positions, etc. Finally, network. If you are working in some in-house capacity at all, get involved with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). It is a great organization.

Happy to talk further. Good luck.

Three years of law school: 'Speak and write plainly, in common English, so that you can communicate effectively with others."

Virginia Practice: "Yeah, about that..."

This would be a much better way of doing things. In reality, there were real advantages to the old method (colonial through say the late 1800's-early 1900's) of clerking for a law firm and working your way up.

I agree, law school should be about half classroom and half practical legal work in the field.

OP, I think the summer between your 2L and 3L year is MUCH more important to have an internship. Especially if you have the ability to practice under a licensed attorney. Virginia offers what they call a "Third Year Practice" certificate, where you can do real legal work, including trying cases. When I was a 2L, they let me try just one case, and I won it (simple criminal matter, defense side).

The networking is really important, however. I don't think anybody will care what kind of work you did as a 1L intern, but the people you meet and connections you make very well may be worth it.

Agree.  Though I'm not retired.  

Yes.

The 'job satisfaction' does not seem to be all that widespread.

I did very well as a PE in Electrical Engineering with a PhD.
My employer paid for my advanced degrees.

The world would be better with one less attorney anyway.

This. Get involved locally.

Most local bar assns near law schools have cheap student memberships.  Join, attend, get involved.

Get involved with the local business association as well. Learn how to get involved and how to make contacts. It is good practice for when you are a lawyer building a book of business.

Pretty much.  I have practiced over 21 years, now making my transition out of law.

I am a Virginia lawyer.  In many ways Virginia law is 400 years of history, unimpeded by progress.

Good observation and descitpotion.
Virginia seems to drive the libs nuts.
While they may be in control of politics, the bar here is generally rather conservative in its leanings.