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Lee Burgess: Welcome back to the Law School Toolbox podcast.

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Today, we are talking about how to get the most out of your summer job

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as part of our Quick Tips series. Your Law School Toolbox hosts are Alison Monahan and Lee Burgess, that’s me.

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We’re here to demystify the law school and early legal career

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experience, so you’ll be the best law student and lawyer you can be.

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We’re the co-creators of the Law School Toolbox, the Bar Exam Toolbox, and the

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career-related website CareerDicta. Alison also runs The Girl’s Guide to Law School.

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If you enjoy the show, please leave a review or rating on

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your favorite listening app. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

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You can reach us via the contact form on LawSchoolToolBox.com,

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and we’d love to hear from you. And with that, let’s get started.

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Today we are going to talk about how to get the most out of your summer job.

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In particular, we are going to cover tips for success in three key aspects of your

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summer work experience: professionalism, substantive work, and networking.

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We will also talk about goals you can set for yourself in each aspect.

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And we will hopefully dispel any misperceptions you have about the

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final aspect—networking, which does not have to be a cringeworthy experience!

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But before we jump to aspect three, let’s start with the basics and

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our first aspect—professionalism.

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By “professionalism” we mean behaving like someone that a prospective client would

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trust with an important legal matter. And our tips for success in this aspect really are basic: be on

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time, dress for success, and be the co-worker you would want on your team.

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Regarding tip number one, punctuality is something that

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comes very naturally to some and is seemingly impossible for others,

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Wherever you fall on this spectrum you must [I repeat MUST] train yourself

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to be on time in your legal career.

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Courts are often unforgiving when attorneys show up late.

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Busy corporate clients are as well. So it is important to show any prospective legal employer.

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That punctuality will never be an issue for you starting on day one [really

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starting with your interview, but if you have your summer job, you likely

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successfully made it through that step]. If you are not a morning person or otherwise have trouble getting places

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on time, it is time to reframe the importance of punctuality in your mind.

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Every morning when you hear your alarm clock, think of this as an opportunity

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to show a prospective legal employer that you will be on time for the

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most important court proceedings and client meetings of your career.

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To ensure that punctuality is never a problem, we recommend building

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cushion time into your morning plan. For example, if you anticipate that it will take you about 30 minutes

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to drive to work, park, and get to your office, give yourself an

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hour to get there on the first day. That way, you have plenty of “cushion” if anything unexpected occurs.

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If possible, it is also helpful to do a “test drive” to work on a weekday

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morning before you actually start working.

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A weekday “test drive” will help you estimate your commute time

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more accurately, considering traffic and any other factors.

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It will also ensure that you know how to get to the office and know where to park.

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Once you have a plan for making sure that you are on time your first day [and

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everyday after that!], it is time to think about what you are going to wear.

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This is professionalism tip number two: dress for success.

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Summer associates at big law firms often dress in suits on their first

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day, even if all of the other attorneys are in normal business casual clothing.

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Try to find out what is typical for your employer.

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Reach out to former summer associates from your law school or talk to your

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career services department about what particular employers expect.

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When in doubt, always air on the side of being slightly overdressed.

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After all, you can always take off a suit jacket or tie.

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But it is hard to put one on if you do not have it with you!

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That brings us to our last professionalism tip: be the co-worker

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you would want on your team. It’s no secret that, in many cases, your law school summer job is

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really a 6 to 8 week job interview.

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And all of our tips for success will help ensure that you receive an

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offer at the end of the experience. But if you only want to remember one tip, let it be this one.

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Employers do care about your work product.

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However, they often care even more about what it is like

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working with you as a person. Additionally, if you received the summer job, you are likely capable of

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intellectually doing the substantive work.

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And when summer associates do not receive an offer at the end of the summer,

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it is more often based on a personal issue than their substantive work.

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For example, you may hear horror stories about a previous summer associate

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who made an offensive comment to a co-worker or yelled at a legal assistant.

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Basically, don’t be that person. Instead, think about the kind of co-worker you would enjoy seeing in

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the office every day and emulate that during your summer job experience.

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With that, we have finished our professionalism tips.

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We will move forward into our next category—tips for getting the most

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out of the substantive work you do at your summer job: try new things; take

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advantage of practical experiences; and think about a writing sample.

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Our first tip on the topic of substantive work focuses on being open minded.

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Some of you may go into your summer job positive that you know the exact practice

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area that is the best fit for you. Conversely, you may have no idea which practice areas you may prefer over others.

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Regardless, you will likely get more out of your experience if you explore

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among practice groups or at least work with a variety of partners and

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associates during your summer job. Indeed, you may find out one week into the summer that appellate litigation is

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not for you because while you love the idea of doing an oral argument, you do

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not like the idea of spending most of your working hours drafting appellate briefs.

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If you are someone who prefers factual investigation over making complicated

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legal arguments, maybe you would enjoy a factually complex area of the law, such

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as products liability or construction litigation, in which you will be working

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on the pretrial side of litigation or even before litigation is commenced.

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Alternatively, you may find that you do not like litigation—which

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involves a lot of arguing—at all.

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If you enjoy the idea of working cooperatively towards a common goal, maybe

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corporate law or real estate will offer more opportunities to work with people

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to reach a deal on which everyone agrees.

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Remember, law school tends to be very litigation focused,

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particularly your first year. But there are a lot of ways to practice law that do not involve

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litigating the issues discussed in your major doctrinal classes as a 1L.

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Use the summer to explore these areas if you have the chance.

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Alternatively, if you work for a single employer like a judge or solo

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practitioner, explore as much as you can.

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For example, even though clerking for a judge will expose you mostly to

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litigation, you will likely be able to see a wide variety of cases in every practice

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area from business lit to criminal law.

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So whatever the opportunities are to explore during your

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summer job, take full advantage.

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Think of this as a gathering information process that may meaningfully inform

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the course of your legal career. That brings us to our second substantive job tip: take

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advantage of practical experiences. Most legal employers try to give their summer associates at least

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some opportunities to see the law “in practice,” whether this means

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attending a hearing with a partner or sitting in on a witness deposition.

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These opportunities may require you to take on additional responsibility or

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work on a project that is unfamiliar.

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For example, if you are asked to sit in on a deposition or witness

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interview, you may be asked to review a case and draft a preliminary list of

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questions that you recommend including in the deposition or interview script.

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This likely involves quickly digesting the facts of the case and taking into

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consideration litigation strategy points that you may not have been required

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to consider during law school, such as whether this is a cooperative witness.

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You may also be asked to consider the story that the attorney wants to

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build for the client in the case and think of what facts you need from

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this witness to help tell that story. Law school clinics offer some opportunities for

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these practical experiences. However, most doctrinal law school classes focus primarily on learning

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substantive law with the goal of doing well on a final exam.

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Having limited practical experience may make it intimidating to jump on practical

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law opportunities during your summer job.

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After all, if you have never done anything like this before, how will you know what

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to do or if what you are doing is right? Do not let self-doubt deter you from jumping on practical experiences!

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They can be some of the most fun and rewarding summer job experiences

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you have during law school. Additionally, remember that most other summer associates are just

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as inexperienced in drafting deposition scripts as you.

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Moreover, the attorneys for whom you are working likely know this.

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So if you are unsure how to start a project but still really want to take it

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on, check with the assigning attorney or a project manager regarding getting guidance

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from a junior associate at the firm. Of course, feel free to reach out to other associates with whom you have a

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connection, such as alumni from your law school, to ask for help as well.

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Legal employers generally want their summer associates to succeed

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and are likely to point you towards the guidance you need if

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you take the initiative to ask. Now that we have covered exploring different areas of the law and taking

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advantage of practical experiences, let’s move to our final substantive

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work tip: think about a writing sample.

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You will likely be asked to draft several different kinds of legal

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documents during your summer job, especially working in litigation.

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These may include letters to opposing counsel, memos to a partner or

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client, or sections of a brief. As you work on these projects, remember that future job postings are likely to ask

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you to submit at least one writing sample.

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And something that you write over your summer associateship

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may be a great place to start. To be clear, you may need to amend and redact anything you take from

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your summer job before you can use if for future job applications.

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So always check your employer’s policy on this and ensure that you

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are not violating any ethical rules.

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But if you are able to rework one of your summer assignments into a great

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writing sample, you will walk into any future job search one step ahead.

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That brings us to our final topic—our tips for networking during your summer job.

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You may think of networking as fancy lunches and cocktail parties with

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partners at the firm and love the idea.

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Or the very word may make you cringe. Regardless of your preconceived notion of the topic, we are confident that

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everyone can learn to be a successful “ networker” using their personal strengths.

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That brings us to our networking tips, which we will address together: use

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your strengths, keep it honest, and focus on building genuine connections.

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If the idea of schmoozing partners in a swanky lounge does not appeal

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to you, you are likely not the only one who feels that way.

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Robust summer associate programs usually account for this.

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For example, if you work for a large law firm, you will probably

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have a packed schedule of post-work social events throughout the summer.

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And these social events will likely include a wide variety of

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gatherings—from bike tours of the city to themed parties to trivia nights.

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It is a good idea to attend as many as possible.

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But it is okay if every gathering is not exactly your

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favorite way to meet new people. Focus on your strengths and opportunities to build genuine

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connections with others at the firm. Maybe a themed party with a chance to talk to 20 partners

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is your idea of a fun night. On the other hand, if you are more of an introvert, you may shine more during

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trivia night or a more low-key event.

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Remember, the partners and associates at a large law firm

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are all unique people as well. So find people with whom you genuinely connect and start

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building your network from there. Connecting with others who share a common demeanor or interest may even lead you

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to your area of practice long term. If you are working for a single employer or smaller firm, your summer social

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calendar may be a little less hectic.

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However, this does not mean that you have no opportunity to network.

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In these smaller settings, the same tip applies: use your strengths,

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keep it honest, and focus on building genuine connections.

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Additionally, look for potential connections outside

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of your specific employer. For example, if you are clerking for a specific judge, try to organize a law

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clerk outing for all of the summer and term clerks in the courthouse.

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Or if you are working for a solo practitioner, ask your employer to

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introduce you to other attorneys with whom he or she regularly

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works in their area of practice. Seeking out opportunities to meet new people and find out more about what

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they do is all part of the summer job experience investigation process.

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With that, we have finished our list of tips for making the most

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out of your summer job experience. We hope that this list gives you somethings to focus on and get excited

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about as you prepare for your summer jobs!

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If you have questions about any of the tips we discussed today, please

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reach out to us via the contact form on LawSchoolToolbox.com.

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We would love to help you find additional resources or put you in touch with

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a legal career advisor on our team. And check out lawschooltoolbox.com/careerdicta for

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more information on best practices around your job search and legal career.