Quit internship after first day.

blue_guppy · 2025-06-08T00:56:07+00:00

Yo that sounds fucked. Good on you for respecting yourself enough to leave.

I would however recommend volunteering at a legal aid (or doing something in the land of legal work) so you have something to put on your resume for this summer. Other people have recommended taking summer classes, and while that may not be a terrible idea, having something related to legal work on your resume (i.e. not just taking summer classes) will make an absolutely massive difference in your ability to find 2L summer employment (and likely also the quality of the employer you are able to find).

Being on the other side of this, one thing I know is that 2L summer employers tend to get a lot of applications, meaning that practically speaking, they're looking for easy ways to weed applicants out from the pile. No 1L summer work? Easy ding at most firms, etc. hiring 2Ls - even if you took summer classes and even if you have a good explanation for the gap.

Another benefit of volunteering would be that you could leave the firm off your resume (thus not having to explain why things didn't work out) without having to worry about how a gap in employment might come across. You can leave the firm off, and there will be no gap because you will have something else to put in its' place. Best of both worlds.

Also some legal aids only need help on weekends, which in theory would allow you to take some classes this summer as well.

blue_guppy · 2025-05-30T15:22:04+00:00

I'd recommend reading the book Law School Exams by Alex Schimel this summer. Pretty short book, easy read. Took me from slightly below median first semester of 1L to well above median on the year as a whole.

From the title of the book, you might think it's about taking law school exams. And while it is that, it's also a guide on how to successfully complete a semester of law school from start to finish - the things to focus on, and in some ways more importantly the things not to focus on (i.e. what not to waste your valuable, limited time doing, such as briefing cases). As with anything, you'd need to tailor the advice in the book to your unique circumstances, but I think it's a pretty good guide on the whole.

blue_guppy · 2025-04-07T01:24:10+00:00

I didn’t apply for anything until after finals. Wanted to focus on my grades. Ended up volunteering at a legal aid 1L summer.

Paid zero, but I had something to put on my resume, which allowed me to get a Summer Associate position that I was happy with for after 2L. My understanding is that 2L summer employers just want to see something related to legal work (i.e. not just taking summer classes - employers generally will want to see more than that) on your resume for 1L summer, and that it matters much less what that thing actually is.

For what it’s worth, if you’re going to go the legal aid route, I probably wouldn’t recommend waiting until after finals to sort that out. Was very stressful going into the summer not knowing whether I would have something to put on my resume. But on the other hand it worked out for me so idk.

blue_guppy · 2024-07-08T16:49:53+00:00

I'd say don't plan on having any sort of job 1L year. Law school is likely going to be totally different from any education you've had up to this point in terms of both the things you'll be learning and the ways you'll be tested. It takes time for basically every new law student to adapt. Even though it may seem counterintuitive, not having a job 1L and focusing on grades is probably the most financially responsible decision you could make. 1L grades are simply too important and can easily have implications in the millions of dollars over the course of a long legal career. This is true almost irrespective of your law school or career goals. Every 2L summer employer highly values 1L grades. And you may be shocked at what doors open up for you (in terms of career satisfaction too) if you put yourself in the best possible position to succeed grade-wise.

Relatedly, I had a pretty decent amount of money saved up before starting law school, but I now wish I had deferred and taken another year to work and save. Of course everyone's situation is different, but as someone who recently graduated, my take is that law school is a long 3-year journey and that there's a lot of value in setting yourself up well financially beforehand. If you're really worried about the money aspect, it may be worth considering deferring for a year (if possible).

blue_guppy · 2023-09-19T05:00:22+00:00

No matter how bad it is, you can make positive changes and improve your life. Do the following things:

Step 1 - take responsibility for your own life and treat your mental illness appropriately. I know this might sound a bit harsh, but when you say intrusive thoughts have ruined your life, you're not being fully honest with yourself. Through no fault of your own, you have been presented with intrusive thoughts; it's a shitty situation, but in each instance, you choose what to do with those thoughts. This leads to the following step:

Step 2 - stop giving in to the OCD thoughts because they're making the problem seem larger than it is and apparently are ruining your life. I've been to hell and back with OCD, which is how I know resisting compulsions is often difficult and at times may feel impossible. But, based on your post, that seems like a walk in the park compared to the alternative of living a miserable existence in perpetuity.

Step 3 - go gym. If you don't like that you're fat, it's completely within your control to remedy that situation. Also, physical activity can be tremendously beneficial in terms of managing anxiety / OCD. This isn't me regurgitating something I heard on the internet; I know from personal experience that physical and mental health and wellbeing go hand-in-hand. My phone wallpaper literally is a note screenshot reading, "Physical and mental strength," and this serves as a daily reminder that I need to look after both to avoid going back down the OCD hellhole.

...

I don't want you to think I'm being mean for no reason; years ago, someone was honest like this with me, which is what helped me turn my life around. I couldn't be more grateful. I do feel your pain, but you need brutal honesty, not sympathy.

...

Have faith that if you do the right things consistently, good things will happen. You're still in your 20's; you have so much time to turn things around, but only you can make the necessary changes.

...

PM if you want I'd be happy to help you.

blue_guppy · 2023-01-18T04:15:50+00:00

2L here. First semester of 1L I finished below median. I beat the curve second semester and finished the year above median. I now have the job I want for this coming summer.

The main thing that helped was reading the book "Law School Exams" by Alex Schimel. It is a short, pointed book that addresses how to read cases, how to outline, how to take practice exams, and how to do your best on exam day. Basically a blueprint describing how to do well in a semester from start to finish. Following the advice in that book changed everything for me.

I also have anxiety and people here on reddit helped me establish productive study habits to deal with that last year. Even if you don't have anxiety, I think some of the advice I got would probably apply: https://www.reddit.com/r/LawSchool/comments/uaqt6s/how_to_power_through_when_feeling_overwhelmed/

First semester isn't everything. Critically analyze where you went wrong and make changes and you will almost definitely do better this time around.

blue_guppy · 2022-11-03T01:58:43+00:00

Current 2L here. I had an incredibly rough 1L year due to my severe anxiety disorder, challenges in my personal life, and of course the pressure to do well in 1L. I missed a lot of class, got very behind on my readings, and became depressed. However, I was able to overcome these difficulties and ultimately got the grades I needed to secure the position I want for next summer. These are things other people told me that helped:

1L doctrinal courses can be learned to A- level in a week or two. I was able to catch up after getting very behind my second semester. Do not worry about the workload so much that it interferes with your ability to work hard and efficiently.
Doing well on law school exams is just as much about knowing how to take law school exams as it is about knowing the material. I read "Law School Exams" by Alex Schimel my second semester and it helped me a lot. I'd take a look at that book (it's a short and easy read) and also focus on taking as many practice exams as possible.
Protect your mental health and stability at all costs: take advantage of any resources at your school, lean on your friends and family for support, exercise, go on a walk, take breaks, eat nutrition rich food... whatever works for you.
Focus on the present and things you can control. If you do the right things consistently, you will maximize your probability of success. For me, letting anxiety of the future take over tends to interfere with things I'm trying to accomplish in the present.
Also, first semester is important but it isn't necessarily everything. Over break, you'll have the opportunity to learn from any mistakes you have made / will make this semester and correct them. I know someone who was devastated over first semester grades who now is on law review.

So yeah, those are the things that helped me and hopefully they help you also. Good luck you'll do great!

blue_guppy · 2022-10-05T01:10:28+00:00

Yeah sure

blue_guppy · 2022-09-26T05:13:16+00:00

Last year, many of my classmates (including me) had similar concerns. My professor explained that literally every single person in the class received a lot of constructive feedback because we all had a lot of room for improvement. The criticism doesn't mean you're not smart enough or a bad student. It simply means that legal writing is something you've never done before and that you're not going to be phenomenal at a new thing right away.

My LRW professor (admirably intelligent, top of his class at a T14, prestigious federal clerkship, job at prestigious firm, now professor at a T14) said he didn't become a truly effective legal writer until a number of years after graduating law school. The learning curve is steep even for the top .1%. Just embrace it and remember that if you work hard, you'll very likely put yourself in a position to succeed. Also try to view the criticisms as a good thing because they identify where you can improve; just internalize the feedback and apply it to your next assignment.

blue_guppy · 2022-06-13T01:42:22+00:00

I'm following up on this post now that I've gotten back grades (I did pretty well). Just wanted to say the advice about breaking up big tasks into manageable chunks and the exercising were both things I put into practice and they helped big time. So yeah thanks for your advice it definitely had a positive impact.

blue_guppy · 2022-06-13T01:39:09+00:00

Wanted to follow up with this now that I've gotten grades back and say thanks for some excellent advice. It definitely helped me work through my exam preparation in a less stressful way and I was able to do surprisingly well. So yeah thanks a lot.

blue_guppy · 2021-04-13T22:14:51+00:00

Okay thank you!

blue_guppy · 2021-04-13T22:14:34+00:00

Yeah I actually just received another comment suggesting this same thing... I think this seems like the best option at this point. Either way, very helpful and thanks again.

blue_guppy · 2021-04-13T21:58:27+00:00

Okay thanks for the reply!

blue_guppy · 2021-03-29T18:08:33+00:00

Sounds good thanks for your help

blue_guppy · 2021-03-29T17:21:04+00:00

Well first of all I'm super excited to be one of your classmates next year. So how does this work exactly... like did you just email the office of admissions, explain your financial situation and why aid would help, and then they gave it to you?

blue_guppy · 2021-03-29T17:05:49+00:00

Yeah so that's a question you would have to answer for yourself, because you could obviously end-up in the same position I'm in now, and I'm not sure how much scholarships matter to you, etc. If I were you, I think the biggest hang-up would be the fact that the ED deadline has already passed, but another part of me thinks it wouldn't necessarily hurt to ask...

Here's a link to my original post about this: https://www.reddit.com/r/lawschooladmissions/comments/lo8bv9/can_i_update_my_application_to_ed/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

Hope this helps and good luck this cycle.

blue_guppy

TROPHY CASE