Law Students

How to Get a Summer Associate Position: Step One

The Girl's Guide to Law School on How to Get a Summer Associate Position: Step One

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Not to put too fine a point on it, but whether you’re going to get a summer associate position depends largely on two things:

    1. Where you go to law school.
    2. Your first-year grades.

If you’re at a tip-top school, you’ll probably get a position, even if your grades are average. If you’re at a lower-ranked school, you probably won’t, unless your grades are truly exceptional (and, even then, only to a point).

Is this fair? Probably not, but that’s the way it is. Assuming you’re in the hunt for a summer associate offer, what can you do to increase your odds of an offer? Two things:

    First, understand the process.
    Second, be who they’re looking for.

Become a Student of the Process

To maximize your odds, it helps to thoroughly understand the process. The details vary from school to school, but, in a nutshell, you’ll probably have some opportunity to select firms you’d like to do an initial “on campus interview” with. This is a 20-30 minute screening interview, usually with one or two representatives from the firm.

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If the firm likes you after the initial interview, you’ll be invited on a “callback interview,” which is a longer set of interviews at the firm’s office. At a callback, you’ll probably talk with 4-8 lawyers and have lunch (or, less frequently, dinner) with a few associates.

Bid on Target, Reach, and Safety Firms

Given that there are a limited number of hours in the day, and you probably have a limited number of bids, you’ll want to bid strategically. Think of this a bit like law school applications: Define your target, reach, and safety firms. Then spread your bids among them.

How do you figure out which firms are in each category? Well, here’s where you have to get brutally honest about your chances. I’m sure you have lots of great intangibles…but so does everyone else. For now we’re basically talking about your first-year grades.

To help you evaluate your chances, most schools provide some information about the students hired in the past at each firm. Alternately, they might provide grade cutoffs or other information about what each firm is looking for. Study this information! If your grades are directly in line with prior hires, that’s a target firm. If your grades are better, that’s a safety firm. If your grades are worse, that’s a reach firm.

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(If your school doesn’t provide this information, ask around. There’s probably a grapevine of knowledge you can tap into from 3Ls who went through the same process last year. Failing that, you can roughly approximate the selectivity of a firm based on its position in the AmLaw rankings. Higher ranking = more selective, with some exceptions. As a last-ditch effort, look at how many people were hired from your school in prior years. That gives you a decent sense of how many will probably be hired this year.)

Arguably you can give yourself a little boost if you happen to be on Law Review – despite your grades rather than because them – but only a little one. Feel free to throw in a few additional reach firms, but don’t overlook the fact that your grades really aren’t all that impressive. People will notice.

Think About What YOU Want

Once you’ve generated pools of target, reach, and safety firms to consider bidding on, stop for a second. Think about what YOU want out of your summer associate experience (and from your theoretical future job).

  • What kind of law are you interested in?
  • Where do you want to work?
  • What type of work environment do you prefer?
  • What size office would suit you best?
  • What size department are you looking for?
  • How many hours are you willing to bill?
  • How would you characterize the “vibe” of your perfect law firm?

Appearances to the contrary, law firms aren’t all the same. They have very different personalities, and you’re more likely to get an offer from a firm whose personality meshes well with your own.

So, how would you describe yourself? Are you entrepreneurial? Fastidious? Intellectual? Creative? Hard-charging? Diligent? Calm? High-energy? Sedate? Make a list of your characteristics, and the characteristics you’re looking for in a firm.

Do Your Homework

Keep these desired characteristics in mind as you research each firm. (You’ll save a lot of time and hassle later if you make notes as you go. Firms tend to run together when you’re doing a bunch of interviews, so it’s useful to have a quick reminder about why you liked a particular firm to begin with.)

Here are some things to consider for each firm you’re interested in:

  • What does the firm’s website say about its personality? As importantly, what does each website look like? While many law firm websites are generically similar, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these two firms have
    radically different personalities, for example.
  • How large is each office you’re looking at, and how large is each group you’re considering? Size makes a big difference, but it’s personal preference whether you prefer a larger or more intimate work environment.
  • Look at the students from your school who previously summered at each of the firms you’re considering. Do you like these people? If not, that might be a sign that this particular firm isn’t the right fit for you.
  • If you can, try to talk to some of the prior summers. How was their experience? What did they like and dislike? Are they planning to return? Do they think the firm would be a good fit for you?
  • Look at the representative cases for the areas of law you’re considering that are listed on each firm’s website. Do these cases seem interesting? Is it work you’d feel comfortable doing?
  • Browse the attorney directory on each firm’s website. Do these seem like people you’d want to spend time with? What’s listed about each lawyer? Are they encouraged to express their personalities, or do they look like cogs in a machine? Depending on what you’re looking for and feel comfortable with, one approach might be a better fit than another.
  • Finally, check out ATL’s Law Firm Directory, which has profiles of many of the firms you’re probably considering.

When you’ve finished all of your research, you should have several pools of firms with the characteristics you’re looking for. Divide your bids accordingly, and hope for the best. It’s time to get to work on your application!

Up next: How to Get a Summer Associate Position: Step Two

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Alison Monahan is the founder of The Girl’s Guide to Law School, which helps you get into law school, get through, and stay YOU. She’s also the co-Founder of the Law School Toolbox and the Bar Exam Toolbox, which demystify the law school experience and help you get better results with less stress and effort. You can email her at alison@thegirlsguidetolawschool.com or alison@lawschooltoolbox.com.

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