2019 TX 1L SA Thread

[HenryHankPalmer]

12/1 is coming. I keep "productively procrastinating" and drafting cover letters instead of focusing on my memo.

Texas 1L SA Guide
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1906#p136530

[pneumonia]

Tag

[waldorf]

got a 1L SA in Houston from a school ranked in the "T20." i'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has. definitely apply 12/1 + go to the winter receptions.

also happy to answer any questions via PM if you don't want to post in the thread.

[sev]

got a 1L SA in Houston from a school ranked in the "T20." i'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has. definitely apply 12/1 + go to the winter receptions.

I’m kind of disinterested in 1L SAs because it seems firms will be hesitant to give substantive work. I’m thinking of doing a small (2 attorneys) legal aid office clerkship instead. Do you ever wish you had a more substantive/busy experience?

[pneumonia]

got a 1L SA in Houston from a school ranked in the "T20." i'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has. definitely apply 12/1 + go to the winter receptions.

I’m kind of disinterested in 1L SAs because it seems firms will be hesitant to give substantive work. I’m thinking of doing a small (2 attorneys) legal aid office clerkship instead.* Do you ever wish you had a more substantive/busy experience?

*At this point it’s possible that I’ll want to do PI.

I 1L SA’d at two Texas firms, and I’m a biglaw associate in Texas currently. Getting substantive experience should not be first on your list of considerations for a 1L job. It’s a nice perk at best. Instead, you should be focused on making your resume as attractive as possible for whatever job you want as a 2L. If you aren’t sure what you want to do (as it seems you aren’t) then you should try to keep your options open. 1L PI won’t shut the door to biglaw, but 1L biglaw might hurt your chances at later PI work.

So if you’re truly considering PI, then I’d advise against the typical 1L SA. Akin’s PI/split program would be a perfect fit for you though, so look into that.

[waldorf]

got a 1L SA in Houston from a school ranked in the "T20." i'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has. definitely apply 12/1 + go to the winter receptions.

I’m kind of disinterested in 1L SAs because it seems firms will be hesitant to give substantive work. I’m thinking of doing a small (2 attorneys) legal aid office clerkship instead. Do you ever wish you had a more substantive/busy experience?

Nah. I absolutely loved my 1L SA experience. One, I made a ton of money and I learned a LOT--even just about what a big firm is like, what you can *kinda* expect as an associate, etc. I have lawyers in my family and read TLS, LSL, etc. but still didn't really know what to expect at all on a kinda day-to-day basis, if that makes sense. I also got exposure to a wide variety of practice areas, including ones that I quite frankly did not know even existed. Second, I had an offer going into 2L hiring from a firm I loved, which allowed me to go into 2L hiring stress-free and be picky about where I applied (i.e. not send out hundreds of applications). I also think having a 1L SA on my resume helped me in terms of getting callbacks, but I mostly had to direct apply because three firms in my desired market came to my OCI (you look like you go to Duke, so you probably won't have that issue).

Honestly, if you're interested in biglaw, the money and the ability to go into OCI with an offer in hand make it well worth it. Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're interested in biglaw, I don't think that working in a small office would be more beneficial for OCI than a 1L SA would.

**Just saw that you edited to say that you're still considering PI work. Your question makes much more sense now. I agree with the above poster in that case. If you decide to pursue biglaw, then it won't really matter that you worked in PI as a 1L, since 1L SAs are super competitive and most of your peers will have done PI work their 1L summer. If you decide to pursue PI, then yeah, an SA might hurt your chances. FWIW, the firm I worked at allowed summers to do a public interest split as long as they spent their first half at the firm (and I was not at Akin). I'm not sure how common that is, but that may be something to look into!

[sev]

Thanks for the input y'all. I'll look into split summers. Seems like a lot of them have strings attached: Akin Gump is a two year commitment, for example. I guess that makes sense--they want some return on their investment.

For those that don't list anything about split summers on their websites, should I ask the alumni that I contact about that? Or should I ask HR/admin staff? Or if it's not listed should I just assume they don't do split summers?

[hotdog]

Interested in applying in Houston!

Question for other applicants applying December 1, do you still attach a transcript that has a list of your classes (no grades) or do you wait to submit the transcript until you have grades?

[waldorf]

Interested in applying in Houston!

Question for other applicants applying December 1, do you still attach a transcript that has a list of your classes (no grades) or do you wait to submit the transcript until you have grades?

For some firms, you'll submit your application via a hiring portal that will require a transcript in order to submit the application, even though the firm allows (and even encourages) 1Ls to apply before they have their grades. Definitely have an unofficial transcript on hand so that you can submit these applications!

[hotdog]

Interested in applying in Houston!

Question for other applicants applying December 1, do you still attach a transcript that has a list of your classes (no grades) or do you wait to submit the transcript until you have grades?

For some firms, you'll submit your application via a hiring portal that will require a transcript in order to submit the application, even though the firm allows (and even encourages) 1Ls to apply before they have their grades. Definitely have an unofficial transcript on hand so that you can submit these applications!

So you're saying to send along a transcript without grades for now, right? Thats what I was planning on doing

[waldorf]

Interested in applying in Houston!

Question for other applicants applying December 1, do you still attach a transcript that has a list of your classes (no grades) or do you wait to submit the transcript until you have grades?

For some firms, you'll submit your application via a hiring portal that will require a transcript in order to submit the application, even though the firm allows (and even encourages) 1Ls to apply before they have their grades. Definitely have an unofficial transcript on hand so that you can submit these applications!

So you're saying to send along a transcript without grades for now, right? Thats what I was planning on doing

Yes. I didn't send one if it wasn't required though [just had a blurb in the cover letter about no course grades yet and i'd send them along upon receiving them in early jan]

[howdystopian]

Late check-in, T20 with suboptimal TX placement.

I’m gonna follow the advice to apply on 12/1 at all costs but am not sure why it makes sense for me. Have done next to no networking, cover letter feels pretty unoptimized (would be nice if I were ahead of that stuff obviously, but it’s November 30 sooooo). It feels weird to apply so far ahead of grades when I’m not really gonna get interviews on the basis of my school name.

Anything I can do at this point to improve my chances? Primarily targeting H if that matters, will be there over winter break but it preliminarily looks like I scheduled my trip super poorly for attending winter receptions

[HenryHankPalmer]

What is with the 9 AM weekday receptions this year?

[sweettorts]

Checking in! Good luck to everybody!

[emkay625]

I had a friend ask me about Houston receptions for firms. I work for a boutique and have no clue. Anybody know how to score an invite to one? Or where to find a list?

[emkay625]

Also: did a 1L Texas SA. AMA.

Also if you're in the Houston area and want to meet for coffee for a mock interview, shoot me a PM. I'd be happy to help.

[waldorf]

I had a friend ask me about Houston receptions for firms. I work for a boutique and have no clue. Anybody know how to score an invite to one? Or where to find a list?

I was invited to them after applying (I assume the firms that do host these invite all of their applicants), and I believe some firms publicly announce theirs so that you can RSVP and attend if you did not get an invite for whatever reason. Last year, my school only had a few of the Texas receptions I went to on their list of winter receptions--so I would assume UT has a more extensive list of Texas firm receptions.

Here's the ones that my school has posted: http://law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/CCD_Blog/ ... regularly/

[HenryHankPalmer]

I had a friend ask me about Houston receptions for firms. I work for a boutique and have no clue. Anybody know how to score an invite to one? Or where to find a list?

I was invited to them after applying (I assume the firms that do host these invite all of their applicants), and I believe some firms publicly announce theirs so that you can RSVP and attend if you did not get an invite for whatever reason. Last year, my school only had a few of the Texas receptions I went to on their list of winter receptions--so I would assume UT has a more extensive list of Texas firm receptions.

Here's the ones that my school has posted: http://law.wustl.edu/WashULaw/CCD_Blog/ ... regularly/

UT has a pretty extensive list on Symplicity and we have also been getting a deluge of email invites today. I'm not sure what the best way to post them is, but if anyone is looking for info feel free to PM and I'll send you info on various firms and cities.

[emkay625]

Thank y'all. This is helpful.

[hotdog]

In terms of reception invites, is there any value to replying saying you cant make it? Some are scheduled during my finals and during times I wont be in texas

[hookem]

In terms of reception invites, is there any value to replying saying you cant make it? Some are scheduled during my finals and during times I wont be in texas

I don't really think so. So many people are getting invited to these—I feel like sometimes I was invited to ones with firms I didn't even apply to—and recruiting is probably getting so many e-mails that it would just sort of get lost in the bunch and maybe end up unread.

[texassss]

Some Dallas movement

[howdystopian]

I was wrong about my pessimism, got an interview request today

[sev]

I was wrong about my pessimism, got an interview request today

Congrats! Good luck.

[anon1234]

4 Interview requests so far, done one screener already