1-2 year paralegal before law school

[Anonymous]

I got a paralegal job for a big DC-based firm straight out of college. It was easy. I wrote directly to an attorney that I wanted to work for (very niche area) and she hired me. There were a dozen others at the firm in the same situation. All of us just trying to explore law before committing to law school. I ended up opting for a different path, because I found out it wasn't for me. Great use of a year instead of diving straight in.

My son has just submitted his law school applications and has the stats and other qualifications for a T14 law school. He has been planning to defer for 1-2 years in order to get some real world experience. He has just started setting up informational conversations with a few attorneys to get advice. But in looking for litigation paralegal positions in DC, what he is seeing is the requirement to have 5-10 years experience first.

Is this just the AI impact? Where are all the entry level jobs? Is there seasonal hiring? Have those vanished? Do law firms now want only career paralegals? DC's internships during his college years have all been law-related, but are nonprofit and state governmental experiences.

Thanks for advice!

[Anonymous]

try small firms and solo practitioners and legal aid and non profits. non paid leads to paid over time

[Anonymous]

If he can get into top schools now, why wait to attend? Is the real world experience so that he can decide if he wants to go? I think it would be better to go right to school and then get experience as an actual attorney (the pay will be more too). I don’t think one year as a paralegal really tells you what it is like to be a lawyer. There are so many different types of positions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he can get into top schools now, why wait to attend? Is the real world experience so that he can decide if he wants to go? I think it would be better to go right to school and then get experience as an actual attorney (the pay will be more too). I don’t think one year as a paralegal really tells you what it is like to be a lawyer. There are so many different types of positions.

Thanks for these replies. He just wants a year off and he knows that once he starts law school, it'll be summer associateships and starting a job right after law school. So now is the time. He would live at home during that gap year in order to save some money for living expenses during law school. He has to pay his own way, and the debt is staggering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he can get into top schools now, why wait to attend? Is the real world experience so that he can decide if he wants to go? I think it would be better to go right to school and then get experience as an actual attorney (the pay will be more too). I don’t think one year as a paralegal really tells you what it is like to be a lawyer. There are so many different types of positions.

Because law schools want to see real
Life experience. 80% of Harvard Law’s in class has talent least two years off.

[Anonymous]

The smart thing to do was to apply after he has work experience, not before. Not every law school lets you defer. And you stand out more with experience in the law school pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a paralegal job for a big DC-based firm straight out of college. It was easy. I wrote directly to an attorney that I wanted to work for (very niche area) and she hired me. There were a dozen others at the firm in the same situation. All of us just trying to explore law before committing to law school. I ended up opting for a different path, because I found out it wasn't for me. Great use of a year instead of diving straight in.

My son has just submitted his law school applications and has the stats and other qualifications for a T14 law school. He has been planning to defer for 1-2 years in order to get some real world experience. He has just started setting up informational conversations with a few attorneys to get advice. But in looking for litigation paralegal positions in DC, [i]what he is seeing is the requirement to have 5-10 years experience first.

Is this just the AI impact? Where are all the entry level jobs? Is there seasonal hiring? Have those vanished? Do law firms now want only career paralegals? DC's internships during his college years have all been law-related, but are nonprofit and state governmental experiences.

Thanks for advice!

This is for regular career paralegals. Top firms still hire recent grads for one or two year periods - I just snagged two for top grads at UVA at White & Case and Covington & Burling - but the applicant has to have a strong resume. Your kid needs to go to their college career office and also work current professors for ideas and LOCs.

[Anonymous]

I work at a mid-sized firm. All our paralegals have at least 20 years of experience. So if we are replacing one, we need them to hit the ground running, and not need training beyond "here are the programs we use specific to this firm".

[Anonymous]

Paralegals are usually professional paralegals these days.

A few law firms have what is now called Project Analysts and that is the position out of college.

Mintz has a program like this. Kobre and Kim does as well.

[Anonymous]

I got a job as a legal secretary at Holland and Knight back in the late 90s, with just a BA from a top college. I did it with a plan to do it for 1 year, while I applied to law school. I was technically underemployed, but I’m glad I did it.

Turns out I hated lawyering or at least what I saw of it; most of the lawyers seemed miserable. Even the senior ones.

I went after that and got an entry level job in sales and marketing after that and then got an mba. Have had a successful corporate career but am VERY glad I dodged the lawyer/ law school bullet by trying it first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a paralegal job for a big DC-based firm straight out of college. It was easy. I wrote directly to an attorney that I wanted to work for (very niche area) and she hired me. There were a dozen others at the firm in the same situation. All of us just trying to explore law before committing to law school. I ended up opting for a different path, because I found out it wasn't for me. Great use of a year instead of diving straight in.

My son has just submitted his law school applications and has the stats and other qualifications for a T14 law school. He has been planning to defer for 1-2 years in order to get some real world experience. He has just started setting up informational conversations with a few attorneys to get advice. But in looking for litigation paralegal positions in DC, what he is seeing is the requirement to have 5-10 years experience first.

Is this just the AI impact? Where are all the entry level jobs? Is there seasonal hiring? Have those vanished? Do law firms now want only career paralegals? DC's internships during his college years have all been law-related, but are nonprofit and state governmental experiences.

Thanks for advice!

What on earth are you talking about? Biglaw DC continues to hire recent graduates for two-year paralegal positions. Nothing has changed in this regard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a job as a legal secretary at Holland and Knight back in the late 90s, with just a BA from a top college. I did it with a plan to do it for 1 year, while I applied to law school. I was technically underemployed, but I’m glad I did it.

Turns out I hated lawyering or at least what I saw of it; most of the lawyers seemed miserable. Even the senior ones.

I went after that and got an entry level job in sales and marketing after that and then got an mba. Have had a successful corporate career but am VERY glad I dodged the lawyer/ law school bullet by trying it first.

I wish all law school applicants were forced to see law firm life as a non lawyer before attending law school. I worked as a secretary and then paralegal. I decided I did not want to go to law school after. Only one partner encouraged me to attend law school. But I loved being a paralegal. Did it for 5 years before going in house for a company for another 5 years and then deciding on a masters in a different field. I learned so much from that time. How to work really hard at a high level. How to interact w clients. Traveled the US and the world. Made a ton of money since I got paid OT. It was so valuable as a 21-26 year old. But I can only imagine how much the industry has changed since then!

[Anonymous]

It’s a good plan for him OP.

Look befor you leap!

[Anonymous]

I did two years as a legal assistant at a boutique firm before law school. It helped solidify my decision and helped me get interviews/job offers because people I interviewed with knew the partner I worked for. Now as a hiring lawyer I don't like bringing on law clerks who don't have any real world 9-5 job experience.

[Anonymous]

My form hires a mix of the top credentials right out of college and the professional paralegals. They have different skill sets. But only staying a year is a real pain. We really like people to stay at least 2 years (or close to it) because they don’t really hit a stride until the second year. They are really of limited use for the first 6 months generally.
Also I wish they had better writing and critical thinking skills. It used to be these kids were better at proof reading, data analysis, and even substantively checking to make sure a case citation was substantively correct, not just technically correct.