Summer Clerks (1 Viewer)

[= Jennifer =]

Who here has a summer clerkship? what firm? what was the recruitment process like? did you have experience in the legal environment beforehand?

 

[Frigid]

me. a top 10 firm in terms of revenue. a bit random. yes.

 

[= Jennifer =]

me. a top 10 firm in terms of revenue. a bit random. yes.

when you say the recruitment process was random, what did they make you do? like behavioural questions?

 

[thegovernator]

they made him strip

 

[Epic_Postings]

they made him strip

Denny Crane.

 

[Enteebee]

Yep, a national lawfirm. The recruitment was a shitload of interviews, but fairly laid back... I had 2 years volunteer experience plus a previous 6 month position at a boutique lawfirm. My grades aren't as nice as yours though

 

[Frigid]

when you say the recruitment process was random, what did they make you do? like behavioural questions?

there were applications/interviews you put a lot of effort into, that you thought you aced, and you get rejected. on the other hand, there are applications/interviews were little effort was put, that you get accepted.

thus, for my own part, random.

 

[= Jennifer =]

there were applications/interviews you put a lot of effort into, that you thought you aced, and you get rejected. on the other hand, there are applications/interviews were little effort was put, that you get accepted.

thus, for my own part, random.

ah ok congratulations

 

[= Jennifer =]

Yep, a national lawfirm. The recruitment was a shitload of interviews, but fairly laid back... I had 2 years volunteer experience plus a previous 6 month position at a boutique lawfirm. My grades aren't as nice as yours though

congratulations i thought you had to be in your second last year to get a clerkship?

 

[Frigid]

230-270 summer clerks out of 700-odd applications

and the number of offers would, i'd imagine, exceed this number; since people who receive offers might end up working in fields other than law.

 

[thegovernator]

somewhat off topic, but what are peoples thoughts on Clayton Utz?

 

[melsc]

I've been in their office for a practice moot the judged for us and I must admit, I thought I wasn't going to even consider big firms but their uber office made me want to sell my soul right there and then!

 

[Frigid]

somewhat off topic, but what are peoples thoughts on Clayton Utz?

if you want honest answers, you should really speak to a number of graduates at a particular law firm, in an informal out-of-career-event environment. over coffee, perhaps.

 

[RogueAcademic]

if you want honest answers, you should really speak to a number of graduates at a particular law firm, in an informal out-of-career-event environment. over coffee, perhaps.

And if you want REALLY honest answers, make sure there's a drop of vodka in the said coffee, perhaps.

 

[Frigid]

in other news, we return to work on monday. yay!

 

[= Jennifer =]

what is a competitive gpa for summer clerks?

 

[Frigid]

i have a feeling it's low 70s.

 

[melsc]

I assume the firms know about the different GPA calculations? At Mac we seem to use some weird system where fail = 0, CP= 1, P=2, C=3 and D/HD = 4 so the highest GPA is 4 which is lower than a credit GPA using the system UWS uses or do they tell you how they want you to calculate GPA or do they ask for something like WAM (not that Mac uses WAM)?

 

[subdued123]

with respect to marks - when you apply online through CVMail or each firm's system, you'll find that the forms have an option to select either raw marks, grades or equivalent scores. So no-one's disadvantaged.

And Mac people do get clerkships, so nothing to fear.

And frigid is right about the "getting truth" - it does make it hard - but there is a BIG difference between promotional materials and speaking to people who actually work there.

Saying there is work/life balance is one thing; but when no lawyer leaves before 9 during December, you'll quickly find out the truth. Sucks to say this, but the whole work life thing is a gimmick and no large law firm really embraces it yet.

The reality is this: you're going to work hard no matter where you go. I think a lot of students somehow have this fantasy about earning ridiculous $$$ while working 8 hour days. It just doesn't happen.

 

[Frigid]

The reality is this: you're going to work hard no matter where you go. I think a lot of students somehow have this fantasy about earning ridiculous $$$ while working 8 hour days. It just doesn't happen.

might i add that 6.5/7 hours' worth of billable units almost always translates to 9/10 hours of work.

so yeah. good luck leaving the office before 6pm.