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On Applying for 1L Summer Jobs

I really and truly meant to have this up prior to December 1st but trials happen so here we are. During orientation, the career services office of my law school told our class that they regularly have to turn employers away because all of their students have 1L summer positions.  That was probably the best news I received during 1L.  That is probably not the case at most law schools.  Nonetheless, I am going to share how I prepared my first semester, the process I went through in deciding where and when to apply, and how everything shook out in the end. When I entered law school, I thought post-grad I might want to clerk and then work in a big firm because I love money and also those are Respectable.T14.Outcomes.  (Twist: although I am currently clerking, I'd rather run through barbed wire and then bathe in rubbing alcohol before I'd work at a big law firm).  Originally, I thought I would attempt to find a judicial internship in a large city to which I had some ties, or,

Day in the Life of a First Semester 1L

This is not a full and accurate accounting of my 1L (but if you don't think I have the information available, you're incorrect about the level of Type A that I am).  While this is not perhaps a typical daily schedule, it is what worked for me for 2 of 3 years.  "Typical" is a misnomer anyway- nearly everyone I know operated independently with their own plan.  (3L my schedule necessitated a "morning" study routine). I was also more involved in student organizations than is suggest for a 1L ( see infra  next post, maybe).  For the sake of not burying the lede there- don't do multiple leadership roles as a first semester 1L especially if you haven't been in school for more than five years. As a first semester 1L, I was taking 3 doctrinal classes and legal writing, and I lived within 5 minutes of campus, so I went home a lot.  I'm also the opposite of a morning person and I am an elite level procrastinator with ADHD.  Times altered appropriat

How to Make the Most of Orientation but Not Worry Too Much About It, Regardless.

It's Law School Orientation season and I'm trying to come to grips with the fact that I won't be returning to my beloved campus this fall. Law school bloggers didn't really exist when I was applying and entering law schools; we were left with more ~nefarious~ sources that arguably provided good information but chased out alternative veiwpoints. Orientations vary substantially in programming (and dress code).  My orientation was nearly a week of both mandatory and optional events of differing levels of usefulness, including mock classes, a service day, information about student organizations, millions of panels about how to succeed in law school, and a lot of free pizza.  I was also trying to get situated in my new apartment after moving across the country, which didn't make it any easier. However, there are some things, imho, that are critical to making the most of your orientation program. 1.  Engage with your classmates.   You're going to spend the next