Value of 2L Summer Job

[PlatoandSocrates]

Hey all,

I was just offered summer employment at a law firm. The firm practices in areas I am interested in, but my chief concern is that it is in another city and I would have to promptly move there, alone.  I am struggling to decide what to do, and would love some guidance on some of my questions.

1. What is the real value of summer employment? Is it the experience, the resume building? It seems somewhat unlikely that I will secure another position in the city I am already in at this point, would it be highly detrimental to not work a law job for the articling recruit? The firm I received an offer from has not indicated one way or the other whether they would take their summer student on for articling, so this might be a non-starter.

2. Further to the articling recruit, can anyone who has summered in one place and still taken part in the articling recruit tell me how that went for them? Will it be a problem to not be in the cities I might be applying in? Was it cumbersome to find times that worked for interviews when you were working elsewhere? Is there etiquette concerns here that I haven't considered?

3. Will employers in other cities draw any inferences about summering in a different location? I can demonstrate a connection to a number of other cities, but I am worried this may seem like a flight risk concern.

4. What is the etiquette of going to work at a place I am not sure I would want to article at? They have not indicated that a full articling position could be on offer, but if they do extend that is it untoward to decline? This is prospective, and I am not sure it will be relevant, as I may well love it there and wish to stay on, or they might not offer, but I would still like to know. My reservations about staying on largely stem from personal reasons, I am not sure whether I will be able to be far away from my family long term, which is also the basis of my final question;

5. Personal reasons. As it stands, I am located close to my family and partner. This is an essential support network for me, and I get a fair amount of anxiety at the idea of being away from them. Is it a terrible idea to not pursue job experience for these personal reasons? I appreciate that it is not a long-term engagement, and I am sure I can handle it should I chose to, but the idea of spending several months apart is definitely something I feel like I have to consider. Of course, if I face problems for having no job experience later I could regret choosing to prioritize family time, whereas if it turns out to make no substantive difference in the long term I may regret going to spend time without them.

 

If anyone could give me any guidance here it would be much appreciated. I am especially interested in hearing from people who did not summer and still articled, and people who summered one place and articled in another. I appreciate that a lot of these questions are fairly subjective and difficult to answer, but I would really appreciate some guidance all the same, to whatever extent y'all can provide it.