I admit I was surprised over the course of the 1L summer "job" search to find out how many of these jobs were unpaid positions. I don't know about you, but when someone says "job without pay" I think, "oh, so you're offering me a hobby?"

I have enough hobbies. I'm certainly not looking to make legal reseach & writing one of them. I understand the public interest folks not paying -- and students taking those jobs can apply for public interest grants to underwrite them -- but less lucky are clerks for federal judges, who get paid nothing. Nothing! Not even tips!

The one law firm job I interviewed for was at a wealthy plaintiff injury firm. They wanted a full-time commitment during the summer ... a promise you wouldn't do something immature like go on vacation ... and then a 20-30 hr commitment during the 2L year. For all this they were willing to pay the princely rate of $6/hr. I'd get a better return spending my time walking across busy intersections, trying to get hit.

I understand the concept of "paying your dues" but this is less than I got paid right out of college, many years ago, to draw computer fonts. This is less than you get starting at In-N-Out on the day shift. Apparently, going to law school for a year has reduced my market value.

I'm not clear how employers do this with a clean conscience. I guess they know jobs are scarce for 1Ls and supply & demand dictates they can pay as little as they want. They also know that many people do things 1L summer that they have no long-term interest in, so there's no point in making an investment. Further, they know many people will have a 2L job that pays $2000/wk, so if you average the two summers together, you still come out OK.

I can't complain -- I ended up lining up a few flexible contract gigs, 2 involving the practice of law & 1 involving research, and all my hours are paid. With time left over for my hobbies.

12 May 05