RI’s Super Quick Guide to Finding a Summer Intership*

If you’re a 2L, it’s best to start this during your fall semester (in other words, right now!) Beginning of January at the latest, if you’re a 1L.

Be aware of deadlines! – TONS of internships have October/November deadlines for 2Ls, and early January deadlines for 1Ls.

1. Convince yourself it’s okay if you don’t get paid.  Experience is your payment!

2. Make a list of all the areas of law you are interested in.  Better if the list is specific (ex. labor union vs. labor law; public defender vs. criminal law).

3. Make a list of all the geographical locations you want/can be in during the summer.

4. Keep checking your school’s career services page for opportunities, go to campus programs on job search skills (especially resume and cover letter building), and update your job search docs (resume, writing sample, reference lists, cover letter templates).

5. Research any firms, organizations, government agencies, and people who work in the field of law and geographical locations on your lists.

6. Check to see if those groups/people have formal internship programs (might be a paid one in there! Score!) by looking at their web pages or sending a friendly inquiry via email to the general counsel (or other important sounding person depending on the size).

7. If there isn’t a formal program, call or e-mail the general counsel offering them a FREE LEGAL INTERN!  Include a resume if e-mail.  Tell them you are really interested in that organization and field of law, and would love to help out during the summer.

8.  Rinse and repeat until you find something to do. If you’re lucky, you might get a stipend or some sort of pay.  Most likely, it’ll just be an awesome experience!  Be sure to talk up front about your expectations and goals for your internships, and don’t be afraid to walk away from an opportunity if it’s not going to teach you anything about the organization/field of law – you’re not paying all this tuition to serve coffee!

*Guide created from personal experience and guides distributed by the Penn State Dickinson School of Law Career Services Office

Not Another Argument Against Technology in the Classroom (Part I)

I cannot deny that I am addicted to technology.  I watch way too many tv episodes on hulu, send email from my phone, walk around with white headphones in my ears, have two laptops (netbook and full size), and love playing with the occasional smart board or touch pad I pass by.  I am the last person to be saying that technology is a bad thing.

I also believe that technology belongs as part of the classroom experience, and the education trend to move to more usage is a good thing.  Laptops, smart boards, projectors, those cool little digital overhead dealies, videoconferencing, wikis.  However, I argue that we are on the borderline of misuse of such technology, at least from my perspective at my institution of legal education.