Second Year

• Author: Wendy Griesdorf
• Pages: 33-42

Second Year 33

FOUR

Second Year

Sn-Yer Smr Js

Although most law schools offer extensive seminars on how to f‌ind an articling job, they offer com-

paratively few seminars on how to f‌ind a suitable second-year summer job. Second-year law students

may f‌ind this frustrating, particularly those who did not pursue f‌irst-year summer jobs that were

career related.

Because it is now customary for law students to have law off‌ice and f‌ile experience by the time

they apply for articling positions, many students seek out a second-year summer job with a law f‌irm.

Students who do not f‌ind summer jobs in law off‌ices can still gain valuable exper ience that wi ll help

them to further t heir law careers. When you are looking for a second-year summer job, it is import-

ant to consider your articling goals. Choose a second-year summer job that will allow you to f‌ill in

the gaps on your resumé, a job that will make you a more competitive candidate when you apply for

articling p ositions in t he future. It is also time to start considering in which city you wish to art icle. It

is a good idea to begin to establish roots in that city through a su mmer job.

If you wish to conduct preparatory research on summer positions, read through the job postings

for the previous year so that you can see what opportunities were available and when those opportun-

ities arose. Take note of the employers th at interest you and the practice areas t hat you f‌ind intr iguing.

Consider whether these opportunities wil l help you to further your career plans and begin to build a

bridge so that you can achieve your artic ling goals.

Most law schools have extensive summer job-posting lists that are available on your career servi-

ces website. As a f‌irst-year student, you may have viewed these postings with frust ration because they

were only open to second-year students. These postings are typical ly from law f‌ir ms, in-house counsel

law departments in corporations, government law off‌ices, various law school departments, non-prof‌it

legal organizations, and other law-related industries (e.g., insurance companies, banks).

If you already know with which f‌irm you would like to art icle, it is worthwhile to see if the off‌ice

hires summer students. If you do not know where you want to article, but you know the general area

that you want to article in, seek out job postings in t hat general area. For example, if you have an