We want LI to be one of the friendliest places on the internet, where lawyers and law students help each other with their career related queries and occasionally discuss other stuff that might affect their lives too. In other words:
1. Be kind, respectful and helpful to each other.
2. Be bona fide, truthful, genuine and curious.
3. Assume the best intention of others.
Therefore, in using the site, you must agree to do your best to uphold these community guidelines.
Note that what you find here is written and moderated by anonymous people on the internet.
Therefore everything you read here is very likely unverified, rumour, speculation and/or downright false.
In continuing to read anything here, you must therefore agree not to take anything you read here as factual and that you will exercise due caution, diligence and common sense before acting on any information you may come across here.
You also agree to report any inaccurate or malicious comments with the buttons. Moderators take action within 24 hours, as required and appropriate under law.
Our full terms and conditions apply too.
Do you solemnly agree to all of the above?
Jump to 2021, I found myself without any internships for the last 8 months before graduation, in the middle of a very aggressive COVID wave. Put in a lot of effort into networking, focussing on bumping up my grades to whatever extent possible, and cold emailing anyone and everyone whose email IDs I could get. I had no prospects even on the day of my online convocation ceremony. All I could see were LinkedIn updates from every one I knew from law school. This was perhaps the lowest phase of my life yet, and while my parents were extremely supportive, I could see the disappointment in their eyes.
4 weeks after my graduation, I received an internship offer from a Tier-1 firm. A professor at my law school was friends with a salaried partner at this firm (law school friends) and put in a good word for me after I ranked 1st in his elective course. I was offered a regular internship, and after days of begging to be assessed for a full-time role, I was finally extended an offer in early September of 2021. Joined in October 2021 and I've been here ever since.
I know how it feels to be in this position. It sucks. Its a weird culmination of 'what ifs' from your 5 years at law school. I won't tell you to "not panic"; but please re-direct that sense of panic in a direction where you might be able to secure an opportunity for yourself. Hell, I would even recommend that you direct this sense of panic into networking more, both inside and outside your law school. Swallow your pride and cold email partners that you'd like to (and maybe even not like to) work for. Unfortunately with law firms, placements are more a factor of 'luck' than they are of 'skill'. You just want to have a profile that ensures that when you do get lucky and land an interview, you're able to convert it into a full-time opportunity. So put your head down.
Rooting for you.