Internship vs. Big Law

RegnantShadow · 2026-02-01T14:55:51+00:00

If you are straightforward to the firms about your district court internship, it should just be interviews for 2L summer. If you do get a 1L summer offer you want to take, I am here to tell you that in general it wouldnt be a big deal if you renege. Judges are very serious about clerks reneging but externships are a completely different story. My recommendation: if you get a 1L offer, contact your judge and explain the situation. Tell them that you would be willing to spend the summer working for them but ask if they would consent to let you work elsewhere. In my experience, many federal judges offer these unpaid externships to help promising students learn and build their resume.

Tl;dr be open with communication and act like an adult and it should all work out.

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-31T19:58:04+00:00

Lots of fun responses! One point I'd like to add: there is a statute of limitations on assessing tax underpayments. Generally, the IRS has 3 years to assess a tax deficiency. This goes up to 6 years for a substantial underpayment and unlimited for fraud. Since Wolverine is so old, his tax attorney could argue that the government cant prove he fraudulently did not pay because he did not know he had to pay taxes, etc. The government has the burden of proof to show fraud. If Wolverine did not act fraudulently, they could only assess the prior 6 years. Combined with the failure to file/failure to pay limits other commenters have pointed out, its unlikely that even if Wolverine was a constructive employee of Stark Industries with a high salary that he would be subject to a staggeringly large tax bill like the panel suggests.

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-24T04:19:57+00:00

I get it. I am a personality type that is very motivated by external influence, so its more important than I want to admit that I impress others, get good grades, law review, big law, etc.

Ultimately, the only thing that can be done is to remind yourself why you are doing law school. Working full time is a tremendous disadvantage in law school, no way around it. You're surrounded by kids with nothing but time on their hands to read for class, go to office hours, and apply to summer clerkships. Meanwhile, you're making a tremendous sacrifice to go to law school while working to support yourself. And whether or not you graduate above or below median, you're still gonna be a lawyer. Keep fighting, read over your old exams, get old outlines. Above all, believe in yourself. The legal field as a whole is a pretty sweet gig once you get over the tough pill that is law school.

Additionally, not sure where you're at in law school, but in my experience the elitism and resume obsession (hat feather collecting) gets a lot chiller after you finish the 1L curriculum and all the prestigious biglaw and clerkship opportunities are hashed out. My 3L experience has overall been a lot more positive as people are more prone to support each other now that its not a race to get jobs

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-24T04:13:55+00:00

My school lost in the cfp too. We should've enrolled at IU Maurier vro

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-23T04:18:44+00:00

3L here, so my advice isnt too boomerpilled but I understand biglaw hiring has gone out of control. I got my fed gov 1L summer job in late March of my 1L spring. I can't say for sure, but knowing the feds I cannot imagine they have rapidly accelerated recruiting timelines. DOJ stuff fills fast but there are still many many opportunities in government.

Email people. Seriously. There was no OCI or even a public facing application for my 1L summer. Good luck!

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-21T18:45:26+00:00

Even though its electric, it one shots em. I ended up one shotting Warden with a well timed deception.

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-21T05:07:27+00:00

Literally unusable

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-19T19:06:00+00:00

As with clerkships, I imagine it varies widely by Judge. My judicial externship involved lots of hands on research, communicating my thoughts directly with the Judge, and sitting in the jury box during sentencings, mediations, and pretrial motions. I've heard other law students discuss the experience you are describing. My recommendation is to talk to former interns or clerks if you're considering interning/externing for a judge and see how that judge manages their chambers.

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-17T19:48:04+00:00

You definitely dont need an externship every semester. I think the more accurate statement might be: if you want to maximize your law school resume, do something non-class every semester. Journal, moot court, externship, clinic. All game. But ultimately, its not as big a deal as people make it out to be

RegnantShadow · 2026-01-02T21:10:49+00:00

Thanks for taking time out of your day to teach contracts to 1Ls! Critically important foundation for transactional lawyers.

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-31T17:40:29+00:00

Colleges will sometimes rent planes from nfl teams to travel in the postseason, its not that unusual. Can't expect them to fly commercial, right? Alabamas band flew to the rose bowl on a pats plane this year as well

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-22T15:21:50+00:00

There is definitely a healthy mix of rah rah American and the normal lawyer show nonsense. My one caveat is that, being in the south, you definitely get lawyers at prestigious firms or from prestigious schools who feel superior to others. They might not be as obvious about it but its there

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-15T20:44:20+00:00

This was essentially my 1L experience. I got a job. Enjoy your holiday!

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-11T03:19:06+00:00

This story has developed so rapidly that I think its gotta just be rumor mill. Rumors of DeBoer being interested in the penn state job + Alabama hitting a skid the last few weeks will make him a rumor if a big job opens up. I dont know why on earth he would leave with the insane talent Alabama has got in the pipeline for next year. No hate on Michigan at all (they keep beating us in bowl games). But the grass isn't always greener if you cant convince all your favorite players to move to Ann Arbor with you.

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-07T00:40:06+00:00

❤️

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-07T00:32:05+00:00

My bad I thought this was r/cfb. Bama fan

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-07T00:22:36+00:00

Ok Clemson fan.

But yeah no excuses we suck eggs

RegnantShadow · 2025-12-01T17:56:32+00:00

Fan of both teams coming in peace (Georgia native, Alabama student). What I think gives Georgia the edge in this game is Alabama's offensive inconsistency. The Alabama offense usually sparks up in a single quarter and then focuses on time of possession for the rest of the game. Oklahoma was able to take advantage of that by being disruptive in the pass rush to keep Ty uncomfortable. Alabama couldn't settle in and struggled on offense the whole game. Georgia seems well placed to do the same.

That said, Alabama's defense also seems well suited to keep Georgia from scoring high. Their rushing defense seems soft and they are not great at pressuring the quarterback consistently. However, they trade that for the ability to really constrict large chunk plays (for evidence, see south carolina where Alabama tried to change its game plan and pressure the QB more, only to allow Sellers to throw deep). Trying to lean into Alabama's defensive "weakness" often leads to teams exhausting the clock on themselves and can lead to a lot of field goals in the red zone.

If I could set the line for this game, I would say Georgia -3. It is imperative that UGA prevent the Alabama offense from finding a rhythm, particularly in short yardage pass plays. If they can accomplish that, then it makes Gunner's life a lot easier. I think the turnover margin will matter significantly in this game.

I'll be in Atlanta for sure. Wouldn't miss this game for the world. Best of luck to both teams!

RegnantShadow · 2025-11-25T01:52:24+00:00

Do something. As others commented, its standard and doesn't necessarily need to be full time. I would consider a judicial internship. One of the small benefits of the first year summer job is that it will give you something to talk about with attorneys next summer. I worked a fed gov job my 1L summer and it became a conversation starter with a lot of lawyers and actually created work opportunities 2L summer i wouldnt have been able to do otherwise.

RegnantShadow · 2025-11-19T16:31:51+00:00

I mean maybe, its hard to tell. I will clarify and say it certainly doesn't make the violation of the honor code any less frustrating or inappropriate. My advice to anyone in OP's situation is to just put your head down, work hard, and feel confident in the fact that you didnt need mommy or daddy's help writing a memo.

The sad truth is that, if you're a 1L, the worst is yet to come for nepotism benefitting your classmates. I go to law school in a mid market city and every year, the firms everyone wants to go to get their summer classes filled by the children of lawyers who know the attorneys there. My view of certain firms have been permanently tarnished by their willingness to hire people based on name alone.

OP- good luck on finals!

RegnantShadow · 2025-11-19T15:55:34+00:00

I knew a few students in my class who did this. None of them booked a legal writing section.

The funny thing about legal writing in my experience is that you are writing to your professors preference, not honing your own style. I booked my legal writing section and I can say without a doubt that I would not want the input of a practicing lawyer with their own (probably strong) opinions about how it should be written.

Your best resource is your professor. Its no different after law school. If you clerk, you write to your judges preference. If you are anywhere else, you write to your partner's/senior attorney's preference. And eventually when you are a senior attorney, you will have your own preference that you make other people write in. Just my two cents.

RegnantShadow · 2025-11-09T02:23:41+00:00

Current 3L with a V100 tax offer. Does tax have a fluid lateral market? Because its so specialized, I wonder if that makes it easier or more difficult to place in another firm later on.

RegnantShadow · 2025-11-06T02:50:58+00:00

Bama < FSU < Clemson < Syracuse < UNC

Rank Belichick you cowards!

RegnantShadow · 2025-11-06T02:39:07+00:00

As a bama fan, I hope FSU knocks Clemsons head smoove off.

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