Welcome to the APALSA 1L Online Career Panel

Hello from APALSA,

As you may know, 1Ls can begin contacting employers regarding summer jobs on December 1, 2007. APALSA gives annual student career panels to offer more perspectives on your 1L summer options. This year, we are hosting an online Career Panel in the style of such blogs as abovethelaw.com. We hope putting it online will make it more convenient for everyone to access. Granted, you should use Hastings Career Services or employers as your official sources for deadlines and contact information. Our goal here is to offer you first person experiences to help guide your plans. Of course, there are no hard and fast rules in job hunting so stay confident and persistent.

The Online Panel

We've posted some general pointers below to consider as you head into the job hunting season. Then, take a look at the "panelists" statements below. Each Hastings student has posted his/her 1L summer experience and we've tried to find a broad sampling of summer jobs.

The Panelists

Los Angeles District Attorney - Teddy Chadwick

Small Law Firm - Lincoln Tran

California Public Utilities Commission - Judy Walters

Fenwick and West - Michelle Lee

Northern District CA Federal Court - Michael Ho

Post Your Questions and Comments

If you have questions/comments, please feel free to post it in one of the comments sections. You do NOT need to register with the blog to post in the comments section but you should leave your name to identify yourself. All appropriate questions will be answered in a subsequent update on the blog on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23. Questions and comments will be moderated for appropriateness – please avoid anything derogatory.

General Pointers/FAQs

Do 1Ls have to apply to summer jobs by December 1?

No. Employers are allowed by the NALP recruiting guidelines to accept your applications starting December 1. However, many employers do not have strict submission deadlines. The government and courts tend to be the most strict so check with the court or government branch you are interested in directly. Law firms often hire into the spring. They are usually trying to round out their summer classes after 2Ls have been hired so 1L hiring is rolling. You will probably improve your chances if you submit your application materials (email is fine) early, and then follow up periodically by phone to show interest. Most 1Ls choose to concentrate on finals in the fall and start their job search over winter break or in the spring semester. There is also a public interest career fair in the spring that will lead to a lot of job opportunities.

Where can I research my options?

Larger firms: http://www.nalpdirectory.com/

More firms: http://www.martindale.com/

Judiciary: http://www.uchastings.edu/site_files/clinical_programs/JudicialExternshipappinfo.pdf

-Also, Vault Rankings are available on the Hastings Careers website. It's best to take the Vault content with a grain of salt, which can be biased or out of date, though the rankings themselves tend to reflect general brand recognition.

What should I research?

NALP and Martindale allow you to look up some very important and detailed information about employers. They allow you to see how many attorneys are in a certain office, and what practice areas those attorneys work in. This tells you the employer's capacity for summer hires, and what kind of backgrounds they might be looking for. Researching employers can be time consuming (all the more reason to focus on it after fall finals), but the more familiar you are with what employers are out there, the better. Further, most legal employers list their attorneys on their webpage. You can contact attorneys or recruiting managers directly to get more information about what they do. Knowing what kind of work your potential employer does gives you a big leg up. It doesn't make a lot sense to apply to a real estate transactional firm if you highlight employment litigation in your cover letter and resume. If you can find an employer that has a fit with your background/interests you can market yourself better. Basic advice, but it puts you far ahead of the applicants who apply generically and think a job is a job.

How can I work for a big law firm?

This is by far the most common question I'm asked. Chances are, you have heard of a select few law firms (like Mofo/Morrison Foerster, a large SF based firm). They pay a lot and have good name recognition and training so they are popular. Keep in mind, however, that spots in these firms are extremely limited. Most 1Ls do not work at well-known law firms. Many big firms offer only one or two spots, to all 1Ls. Many 1L firm jobs arise from specific contacts developed, say, as a former paralegal for a particular firm, or from an advanced technical background. A good strategy if you want to be in private practice is to look for mid to small sized firms on Martindale and by word of mouth. It will take time to research, evaluate and contact different firms, but it gives you the best odds, and will be helpful job market research. That's not to say that if a big law firm is your goal, it's not achievable. It's just that your 1L summer is usually seen as a starting point to gain exposure to the law, and to build your credentials to reach your goals later. Becoming marketable doesn't happen overnight and it can help to be strategic about it if you know your long term goals.

What law firms hire 1Ls?

That said, some Hastings 1Ls have had success getting jobs at law firms. Hiring varies based on law firm needs and special case by case circumstances. Here is a starter list of large to midsized law firms that Hastings 1Ls worked at or drew callback interviews from in the past year or two:

Nossaman Guthner Knox Elliott LLP

Manatt Phelps and Phillips LLP

Pillsbury Winthrop Pittman Shaw LLP

Folger Levin Kahn LLP

Fenwick and West LLP

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP

Quinn Emmanuel LLP

Holland and Knight LLP

Perkins Coie LLP

This list is by no means exhaustive. If others know of more firms that belong on this list (particularly small to midsized firms) please add them in the comments section.

Now, onward to the panelists!

-Damon Nakamura – Apalsa Professional Development Chair