During your law school orientation period you will meet the career services director of your school. This person is one of your main guides to the summer and permanent jobs you will apply for in the future. Upon meeting this person one question that will jump into your mind is "What am I going to do next summer?

While this is a natural first question, in many ways the more important question is, "When am I going to start preparing for what I am going to do next summer? The answer: Immediately.

This is not to say that in the first week of law school you must know exactly what you are going to do the next summer and have all your application materials ready. In fact, during your first week of law school you cannot produce an acceptable law student job application packet because you have not even received your first law school grades.

Early in the first semester is a good time for you to research what you will be doing during your first summer because this is the time when you will not have an overwhelming amount of school work to do. So, in addition to doing your school work and bonding with your new classmates, take an hour per week or an hour every other week to learn what opportunities are available during your first summer.

The deadlines for first summer jobs occur during your second semester, after the first semester grades are posted, and there are an abundance of opportunities. Those opportunities include public and private internships, clerkships, and becoming a faculty research assistant.

In addition, some students choose to enroll in summer programs. They do this for a number of reasons including to lighten their future course load, to graduate early, to take a subject their school may not offer, to visit a different part of the world, or to take a class with a professor or legal practitioner they may otherwise not have the opportunity to take a class from.

The following websites contain more information on law school summer jobs.

• http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/life/fall2002/pdf/summerjobs.pdf
• http://www.vault.com/articles/Your-First-Year-Summer-Job-22620884.html

Other related articles on this website include Satisfying Career and Second Summer.

Good luck in your legal career!

If you have any questions or comments about this article, or want to write your own article about the pre-law or law school process, feel free to contact me.