Introduction: You May Not Like What You Read
As
a
former associate at one the
country's largest law firms who has
both participated in and conducted countless interviews, I am often
asked by law students for insider tips on landing a summer clerkship.
With increasingly higher salaries for summer associates, clerkships are
a big money game. For example, a summer associate in Houston, Texas at
a large firm will likely make around $3,000 per week, so you better
have your proverbial "A" game when you start your pursuit of these
prized positions. With this all in mind, the advice that you are about
to read is blunt, and may not be exactly what you want to hear. I
foresee emails and message board comments that say that my advice
contradicts the advice of
your career services office, some book you read or what your astrologer
told you. Guess what? If I shared the same opinion as everyone else, I
wouldn't have wasted my time writing all of this
for you. With this
advice comes a standard disclaimer: The advice contained herein
won't
work for everyone, apply to every law student or be accurate with
respect to every lawyer you will meet at every firm when you interview.
It will, however, provide a glimpse into what can be a very dark and
secretive world. For purposes of this piece, I have broken the
interview process into a series of initial three parts, (i) Your Resume
and the General Rule, (ii) The Initial Interview and Staying Sober, and
(iii) The Callback interview and "Who Did You Meet With
Today?"
Please check back soon to read Parts 4, 5 and 6 of
this article, which include, How to Accept or Reject Job Offers, I
Didn't Receive Any Offers - Now What? and The Clerkship: How NOT To Get
a Permanent Offer
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