How important is pre-law school work experience during the 1L summer recruit ?

[paulpierce5]

Im going into 1L at an ontario school next semester with a strong interest in biglaw career . I know grades are crucial especially for the competitive 1L recruit and I know not getting a 1L summer position is not the end all be all but i was just wondering how much prior work experience matters; Ive had basically no internships throughout my undergrad and have around half a year of experience working in 'minimum wage' jobs in retail and warehouses. 

[MapleLeafs]

getting 1L jobs at a big firm is extremely difficult, as you know. the people at my school who got 1L jobs had several internships and often a business undergrad, masters, or something interesting. retail work experience is still valuable, but might not be valuable enough for the 1L. Get good grades in 1L, and kick ass in the 2L recruit. My experience has been that it is not that difficult to land a 1L related law job (caseworker, RA, law student at firm) so you can do those for your 1L summer. 

[PePeHalpert]

Good work experience is definitely helpful, but its not the end of the world if you don't have any legal related work experience or internships.  Don't discount your experience as "minimum wage jobs"; frame them as customer service roles.  Law, especially Big Law, is a customer service profession and very focused on keeping clients happy. Customer service experience is helpful.  It teaches you how to deal with difficult people and difficult situations and how to manage competing pressures.  There is a positive way to spin those skills in cover letters and interviews. 

[cherrytree]

It's a very common approach to use retail and service sector jobs to demonstrate that you are good at time management, teamwork, customer service and problem solvingetc., and then on the other hand use your more law-y extra-curriculars like participating in a student club or volunteering at a clinic or doing research etc. to showcase the areas of law you are interested in. As it has been pointed out above, it's difficult for 1Ls to get a "law job" that covers all sides all in one, but this dual approach works for a lot of people and you should be fine.

[123]

I once had a hiring lawyer express interest in my work on a pig farm, saying "if you're willing to wade through pig shit, I assume you'll be cool with our bullshit." 

[QueensDenning]

In my experience it’s absolutely vital. Getting a 1L OCI job is not the “be all end all,” it’s almost silly for most students to entertain the idea, IMO. Not saying you shouldn’t apply, because I did and I think you should (it’s a good experience regardless). But the only people I know who got 1L (OCI) jobs has seriously impressive prior work experience and incredibly midterm grades. 
 

However, almost everyone who I respected (I.e. had their shit together) from my 1L class found interesting and rewarding jobs, be it in policy, startups, law or wherever. 

[BlockedQuebecois]

I did fine in the 1L recruit without terribly impressive work experience. Lots of people who land 1L jobs do have impressive work histories, obviously, but its far from a prerequisite. 

[aceattorney]

You don't need to have the most amazing work experience to get a 1L job through the formal Toronto recruit. I didn't. It's less about the title or the prestige. It's more about how well you can link what you've done with the competencies you have, and how those competencies would bring value to firms you're applying to.

Your six months (2 summers?) worth of experience is still valuable. It's important to have customer service skills for example (which you definitely have developed w/ retail). Even warehouse work can show a sense of dedication/hard work.

There's no point in worrying about factors you can't control. The 1L recruit can also be very luck based as personality/fit plays a huge role. There's also only around 5-6 full service firms in Toronto that even recruit through 1L. I wouldn't count on getting a job even if you had "amazing" experience (with that being said, you should still apply when the time comes and give it your best shot)

Get the best grades you can, and try to get involved in first year in something (don't overexert yourself though!). But ultimately, a lot of it may come down to luck.

Edited June 16, 2021 by aceattorney

[LegalPerson]

I was successful in the 1L recruit without any significant work in experience in law, business, etc. That being said, work experience did play a major role in the process in the sense that my significant work experience in unrelated jobs came up many times in the interviews. I definitely think that my ability to discuss these experiences and the interest that the lawyers took in them helped me.

I will say that my grades were such that they didn't have to worry about that portion of my candidacy.

Edited June 17, 2021 by LegalPerson