The Bad News Law Schools

[DDeac08]

Just throwing this out here because I need to vent and don't want to start another thread.

I just got my first offer to work this summer at the Public Defender's office. Yeah, it's not an honor to get a position there since they'll take anyone as a volunteer. Here's the shitty part(s): the courthouse is 30 minutes away in a different county, so I have to pay for gas and tolls to take the new ICC here in Maryland. The toll alone is $8/day times 4 days a week times 10 weeks. Fuck that. On top of that, to receive academic credit (might as well get something out of it), I have to actually buy those credits. I get in-state tuition, but it's still $749/credit times 6 credits for almost $5,000.

Yes, I have to pay ~$6,000 this summer to work for free. Even without receiving credit, it'd still be almost $1k in travel. Kill me.

With those extra 6 credits, can you drop down to part-time for a semester and save some tuition money?

 

[AMCDeac]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhjhHuMKqgs&feature=related

 

[StopMakingSense]

Just throwing this out here because I need to vent and don't want to start another thread.

I just got my first offer to work this summer at the Public Defender's office. Yeah, it's not an honor to get a position there since they'll take anyone as a volunteer. Here's the shitty part(s): the courthouse is 30 minutes away in a different county, so I have to pay for gas and tolls to take the new ICC here in Maryland. The toll alone is $8/day times 4 days a week times 10 weeks. Fuck that. On top of that, to receive academic credit (might as well get something out of it), I have to actually buy those credits. I get in-state tuition, but it's still $749/credit times 6 credits for almost $5,000.

Yes, I have to pay ~$6,000 this summer to work for free. Even without receiving credit, it'd still be almost $1k in travel. Kill me.

You are not alone my friend. I do not know numbers because most people play this info close to the chest, but I would say that it is less than 25% of my fellow 1Ls that have paying jobs this summer. That is just the current state of things. All I can tell you is to diversify your options. Hit the trail and try to be friendly with as many lawyers as possible in your area. If you have a family friend who is a lawyer, go talk to him. Ask him to reference you on other possible firms. Dont look just at Defense firms. Small Plaintiffs firms are looking for work this summer too... they may not pay you a ton, but it will be better than -6K. There are opportunities, you just have to put yourself out there.

 

[CDeacMan]

Not to be a major jerk, but did you do any research about the legal climate before you decided to go to law school? The situation you are facing really shouldn't be too surprising.

 

[DeaconCav06]

Most 1Ls don't get paying jobs. I think that's just the reality of things. Why bother getting credit? All you really want is something on your resume that you can talk about in future interviews.

 

[Wakelaw2006]

You are not alone my friend. I do not know numbers because most people play this info close to the chest, but I would say that it is less than 25% of my fellow 1Ls that have paying jobs this summer. That is just the current state of things. All I can tell you is to diversify your options. Hit the trail and try to be friendly with as many lawyers as possible in your area. If you have a family friend who is a lawyer, go talk to him. Ask him to reference you on other possible firms. Dont look just at Defense firms. Small Plaintiffs firms are looking for work this summer too... they may not pay you a ton, but it will be better than -6K. There are opportunities, you just have to put yourself out there.

Even when things were good (and I definitely went to law school and started during the times of ridiculous salary increases, 50 person summer classes, etc.), a whole lot of 1Ls didn't have paying jobs. I would guess over 50%. I tell everyone that they should go abroad 1L summer, especially if they didn't in undergrad. BallStateDeac will back me up on this - our summer in Venice is something I will never regret.

 

[wfudkn]

Most 1Ls don't get paying jobs. I think that's just the reality of things. Why bother getting credit? All you really want is something on your resume that you can talk about in future interviews.

Even when things were good (and I definitely went to law school and started during the times of ridiculous salary increases, 50 person summer classes, etc.), a whole lot of 1Ls didn't have paying jobs. I would guess over 50%. I tell everyone that they should go abroad 1L summer, especially if they didn't in undergrad. BallStateDeac will back me up on this - our summer in Venice is something I will never regret.

Agree. While we may have one or two rising 2Ls in our summer associate program most years, there are relatively few in the overall scheme of things. I knew very few people in lawschool that had paying jobs the summer after 1L. I also agree with 2006 that if you have the opportunity to go abroad you should take it. It's more than likely that your 1L summer isn't going to make or break your future career opportunities unless you really want to end up working at the place you spend the summer.

 

[RubbinsRacin]

Even when things were good (and I definitely went to law school and started during the times of ridiculous salary increases, 50 person summer classes, etc.), a whole lot of 1Ls didn't have paying jobs. I would guess over 50%. I tell everyone that they should go abroad 1L summer, especially if they didn't in undergrad. BallStateDeac will back me up on this - our summer in Venice is something I will never regret.

hellz to da yeah i went to australia. it was awesome. if i were a 1L now (yikes! why did you do it?!), i would put serious thought into GTFOASAP and changing my career path unless I was either on a full ride, top 2% of my class, or had a family/friend/govt job guaranteed upon graduation.