The Opportunity Cost of Early BigLaw Recruiting

It’s your first semester of law school at BC Law. It’s been just a few weeks since orientation, and you’re trying to get your footing. Torts makes sense, because slapping someone is obviously a battery. Contracts feels manageable too; you think about your apartment lease, or your brother’s offer to buy you McDonald’s, to think through offer and acceptance. Law Practice is a bit frustrating because you’re expected to learn the Bluebook on the fly. And Civ Pro? You have no idea what’s going on there—but that’s a problem for later.

Meanwhile, you’re figuring out how to be a law student. Do you take notes like you did in undergrad, buy color-coded notebooks to handwrite in class, or type a near-transcript of everything your professor says? When do you start outlining—and what even is an outline? Will you sound stupid if you go to office hours to ask about Twombly? And then there’s the club fair. Should you apply to that 1L Representative position for the Law Student Association? Or for the Business Law Society? Both would look great on your resume. But not too many commitments so soon—you still need time to read your cases, pour hours into over-detailed briefs, and prepare for class. Maybe one club application and casual involvement in the others will be enough for now.

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The Goldilocks Zone: 4 Things to Consider When Finding a 1L Summer Job 

1L Fall can feel like a lot. On top of case briefs, cold calls, 1L rep elections and the Blue Book, the last thing you may want to think about is a 1L job. While you have time, it’s never too early to consider what you want your experience to look like this summer, and start planning accordingly. 

Astronomers refer to the Goldilocks Zone as a potential place for extraterrestrial life to thrive. In the cosmos of 1L summer opportunities, think of your personal Goldilocks Zone as where you will thrive as you begin to put the hard-earned legal skills from this year to work. 

The Career Services Office, your 1L professors, and 2Ls and 3Ls are great resources if you have questions. Additionally, here are some questions for you to help you get started. 

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My Summer at Legal Aid: Issue Spotting and Research

This summer, I’m interning at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, a nonprofit organization that seeks to assist San Diego County residents and provide free legal representation, advice, and information. As the right to an attorney does not exist in legal cases, many litigants have to navigate complicated processes and forms, which can make it much more difficult for them to achieve their desired result in a case than parties with an attorney. The LASSD seeks to bridge that gap. The goal of the self-help clinics is not to provide representation, but to make the civil legal system more accessible for litigants.

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No Post-Grad Job Offer? No Problem!

The journey of getting a J.D. is fraught with uncertainty, but there is a particular lasting uncertainty that many public-interest law students feel as they navigate their way through school. Specifically, public-interest students can find themselves at the end of a three-year J.D. program unclear on where their next journey lies.

One may find it unfortunate that the public interest sector does not have a defined linear track like the big-law business lays out for law students. It can feel daunting to constantly search for your next summer experience each school year without the certainty that you will be offered long-term employment.

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The Conversations That Matter: How Mentors Changed My Life

The coffee was burnt. The décor, forgettable—muted earth tones, a token abstract print on the wall. The air-conditioning droned overhead, numbing the space, while the espresso machine sputtered and sighed into the empty café. But the conversation was life-changing. I was twenty-two, sitting across from an attorney at Bloomberg in Hong Kong, trying to calibrate my enthusiasm, trying not to seem too eager, too green.

He sipped his espresso, glanced at a fancy watch, and then, just as I started doubting my ability to navigate this unfamiliar dynamic, he leaned forward and asked, “So, tell me about yourself?”

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Don’t Scroll Past This Article: LinkedIn and Law Students

The feeling is unmistakable. An endless scroll through a LinkedIn carnival of contrived self-promotion and corporate-speak. Each post teeters on the brink of parody. “Thrilled to announce.” “Congrats mate!” “Excited for what’s coming!” You can picture the unseen scorecards flashing behind computer screens: applause, confetti, sympathy. And there you are, shrinking into the shadows, your own achievements contorted into trivialities.

For law students, this pressure is not just an unwelcome intrusion; it often feels imperative. If networking is our currency, LinkedIn is our trading floor. But is it a necessary evil, or just some Kantian illusion that we’ve convinced ourselves is indispensable to our profession?

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Does a “Not Real Job” On a Resume Mean Anything? Yes, and Here’s Why.

The fall feels like the time of year everyone works on their resumes. Along with the changing New England leaves and pumpkin spice lattes, current and prospective law students all partake in a seasonal refresh after a busy summer. 

It was before one of these seasonal resume workshops I heard a common talking point. 

“Oh I’ve never had a real job.” 

“Is it bad that I have no political work on my resume?” 

“I was stuck working retail during the pandemic.”

This is an anxiety that many, if not all, law students have encountered at some point. Maybe it was during our application process, or maybe it’s manifesting now. We fear our experiences are not relevant to this field. Our skills from assisting with college orientation to dishwashing are not applicable to being an attorney. 

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If It’s Meant to Be, It Will Be

When I was around 9 years old, my mom bought me a brown dress to wear to my sister’s Bat Mitzvah. I loved that dress, but we knew it would be difficult to find shoes to match. My only real option was to find a pair in the same, specific brown, so we put the dress in a shopping bag and went to the mall.

We went to store after store finding shoes that were too uncomfortable, too hard to walk in, or, of course, the wrong shade of brown, until we found the perfect pair. Not too high of a heel, a flattering shape, the right price, and almost the exact color of the dress. The only problem was, they didn’t have my size. This was in 2006 and online shopping wasn’t exactly what it is today, so if they didn’t have the shoes in the store, we weren’t going to be able to buy them. My mom put the shoe back on the display, looked at me, and said, “It wasn’t meant to be.” She walked out, and I followed.

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These New BC Law Employment Numbers are Crazy Good

Numbers talk. 

BC Law’s Career Services office submitted its employment data to the American Bar Association this past month. Of a class of 243 students, 239 (or 97.9%) were employed, with 96.7% in a full-time, long-term, bar-passage required or JD advantage position.

72% were employed in law firms, and 22% were employed in positions in government, public interest, or a judicial clerkship. Massachusetts was the most popular destination for students post-graduation, with New York and California following behind. 

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1L Interviews: How to Sell Your Story in 20 Minutes or Less

The most industrious Common Poorwill, a nocturnal bird native to North America, will only hibernate for one month before once again starting its daily habit of hunting moths, grasshoppers, and beetles. So too does the North American law student awaken from their month-long winter break to re-initiate their habits of daily readings, writings, and cold-calls. But the inexperienced 1L also faces a peculiar challenge upon their return: the law school interview.  

Just as the prudent squirrel buries nuts for the winter, the thoughtful law student heeds the call of their Career Services Office to send out applications before winter break. Similar to the forgetful squirrel’s nut budding into a strong oak, the forgetful law student’s application can turn into a fruitful 20-minute interview. However, how much ground can be covered in 20 minutes? How simple is it to sell yourself as a professional in an industry you’ve only formally joined three months ago?

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