| Topic Name: |
Any summer internships for undergrads |
| Message Name: |
The original poster dares to respond once again! |
| Date Posted: |
07/29/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
I tend to agree that you come off as being a little too "full of yourself", but I do admire your ambition. Remeber that it is better to be silent and let people think you're an idiot than speak and remove all doubt. By replying to the rather harsh (but VALID) e-mail, you have only affirmed the rather haughty tone of your epistle.
As a recent law school grad I will share with you the single most important thing I learned- That humility and modesty are the most helpful characteristics to acquire if you want to be a successful attorney. I encourage you to pursue your ambitions to intern at a law firm and attend law school but please be mindful of reality. Absent some previous legal experience, two years of college is not enough to prepare you for working in a law firm. While a firm may allow you to be a "runner" or shadow a willing attorney, the risks of letting you do any substantive work would entail more oversight and prospective liability that it would be worth.
Here's some advice, adopt it or discard it at your discretion:
1. If you want to speed up the process...graduate early. I attended law school with several students who finished college in 3 years. One classmate earned a B.A. and Master's degree in 4 years! But also be wary of what you're rushing into. Practicing law is stressful, do you want to be burnded out when your 25?
2. Diversify your education. The previous poster was correct in stating that Pol Sci degrees are not the best preparation for practicing law. I recommend looking into English classes or science classes. The best paying jobs are in the technology and tech areas (patent law, I.P.).
3. I you want work experience approach public interest groups or indigent legal service agencies. these groups are more likely to need volunteer help. If you really desire experience you may nee to set your sights on a more realistic goal. That doesn't mean you can't shoot for the stars, just don't lose sight of reality.
4. You are not God's gift to humanity. There is always going to be someone better, smarter, with a better education, etc. Be humble...it is a hepful and endearing quality.
5. Please don't be so pretentious as to repsond to this e-mail. By posting your question you asked for help and assumed the risk that people would say things you didn't want to hear. Shut up and listen! |
| Message: |
First of all, I believe all of this is quite humorous, as I am certainly not an an arrogant person; however, I am beginning to believe that I did come off as such when posting my original message.
I never stated that I expected to do significant work in a summer internship-- I am in fact quite aware that I am nowhere near prepared to undertake the responsibilty accorded to upper-level law school students. However, I believed that there may be a window of opportunity for me to get a position, and here is why:
1)- Skadden offers an internship program for undergrads in the fall and spring semesters, but their summer internships are reserved for law students. If Skadden uses undergrads in the fall and spring, it is not so much of a stretch to believe that other firms may also hire interns that are undergraduates, some maybe in the summer.
2)- The war for talent-- I have been doing some research and understand that there is currently a war for talent in the field. This is evident as firms are under pressure to match salaries so they don't lose out on summer interns and graduates. Thus, the current state of the market is that it is an employees makret (correct?). Now, isn't it a possibility that firms have other facets of their recruiting strategy; perhaps they would begin to seek students earlier on in order to get a jump on competing firms. Maybe take a flier on a few undergraduates, hire them as interns, let them shadow other lawyers, but have them do a lot of meaningless paper work and jobs that don't require as much experience? This way, the undergrads get exposure to the firm (which the firm would hope would be a positive exposure) while the firm, hoping that the undergrad would continue his/her academic pace and would be qualified to work there full time eventually. So when that undergrad goes to law school and graduates near the top of their class, they would be inclined to accept an offer from the firm that took a chance on them early, as opposed to the other firms that compete with the hiring firm. This is all hypotheical, but not totally unreasonable, which brings me to the purpose of my original post: which firms, if any, would be willing to take a chance on an undegraduate??
I do not necessarily believe that I would qualify for such attention. However, as I stated, it is not so hard to believe that such positions are offered. I mean, if Skadden employs undergrads in the Spring and Summer, wouldn't other firms on Skaddens level seek to match such a policy? Wouldn't firms a notch below Skadden seek to outdo such a policy (and hire undergrads in the summer too)? If these positions are available, all I want to do is know where they are available, and how can I make a contact. I may not be hired for such a position, but I would know that I did my best and didn't rest on my heels while others got a jump on me.
Thanks for the help thus far, and please keep the replies coming.
D.P.A.
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