After reading about a few people getting 1L SAs, I was just wondering how likely it is for someone to get one, what it is like(paid?), and how to go about getting one. I understand that this would probably have to do with the school one is attending and grades(I think? Not really sure how it works). For context, I am hoping for HYS, and expecting CCN, so please answer accordingly. Thank you!
I believe you get paid like a real associate but because you only work the summer, you eventually get taxed like an average Joe. It sounds glorious.
Also, from everything I’ve read, they are pretty rare outside of Texas biglaw from a t14 tho HYS is a tier above. Sometimes not even needing grades before you are offered.
Also, you have to commit to come back as a 2L SA for atleast half the summer if asked at the same firm.
At a biglaw SA you’ll get paid 3k a week, taxed @ 160k a year and get a refund at the end (at least as a default, there are ways to not have this happen)
They are pretty rare but not exceedingly so at HYS. Helps if you have ties to a market that isn’t one of the main biglaw markets. Also it can depend a lot on connections and 1L grades, so it’s hard to say what someone’s chances are before knowing that. But it isn’t hopeless (like it is at most schools) if you mass mail on Dec 1 and put some effort into it. I’m not sure what the exact numbers are, but I imagine below 50%.
But you don’t really have to commit to anything. Generally people go back for a few weeks (like two) but some do more. If you didn’t like the firm there’s nothing they can do to make you go back - but most people do because, at the very least, you extend your summer by a few weeks and get a few more paychecks.
Thanks for the replies, bros. From what I gather, LA/SF 1L SA is pretty much a pipedream then, even from HYS? I have lived in CA all my life; I don’t really know anyone at the firms, though my bro’s girlfriend(CLS grad) is a junior associate(I think, at least 3-4 years in) at Jones Day in LA.
edit: does Orange County count as a non-major biglaw market?
I am going to gun so hard for a 1L SA. Thank you Pman99.
If it helps you at all, my ‘1L Summer Associate’ TLS search results led me to the thread below. Some people state that many firms hire 1L SA’s prior to December, and that the rule against contacting firms prior to December is not really enforced, though you should take that advice with a spoonful of salt, of course:
In non-major market pay is 2k a week not 3k. To get it you must either be top 1/4 at a t14 or top 10% at non-t14 (though no guarantees for either group).
Thanks for the reply, at what point would I be applying? Aren’t grades not out until it’s already too late? I’m pretty ignorant about the whole time-cycle of LS, I should probably brush up on that.
I applied in February and was offered in late march, so there’s that. It’s really arbitrary and basically a tossup when it comes down to it. Grades and an understanding of what you want to do and an ability to survive four hours of interviews in a row are needed.
Maybe things are different for.hys though.
Would you mind giving me an idea of your school’s rank/tier, what your rank was at your school(if it applied to getting the SA), and which markets you applied to/got? If you think it might out you, a PM would be appreciated. Thanks!
You didn’t even apply yet (judging from your first post). You’re thinking too far ahead.
It’s based on fall 1L grades and also how you interview. As long as you’re a normal person top 10% you will be in the running but at my school probably only 7 or 8 people got big law SA.
I’ll hit you tonight or tomorrow.
There’s only like 250 to 300 of them though from what I gather
We had 25% of our class get one this year (Like 46 people). Most of them are either diversity or secondary markets, but there are a few exceptions.
Which markets are the primary markets?
It’s not a pipe dream. There are plenty of people who get 1L sas in LA/SF, esp. /w ties, there’s just a lot more people who try to get them. Orange County usually gets lumped in with LA but is probably more suspicious of people with no ties to socal than LA proper is.
15 Chicago
7 Texas
4 Foreign
3 NYC
3 California
2 KC
2 Ohio
Then a few disbursed elsewhere
1L SAs are possible to get from the range of schools you’re looking at, but because they’re very competitive and limited in number you really can’t count on it. They are mostly for diversity recruiting purposes or in Texas or other, smaller southern markets.
It’s possible to get them from any school if you kill it with fall 1L grades.
I said this in another thread but I think connections are way more important for a 1L SA. I had below median grades at a T10 and got a 1L SA in a major market just by working connections. I think grades are more important for the very formal programs like the Skadden 1L program and the like. But otherwise, just trying to rely on really good grades from one semester probably won’t do much.