My Summer After 1L Year

The summer after your first year of law school as an evening student is not quite the same as what a full-time student might experience. Evening students aren’t expected to work at a firm, public interest organization, etc. after their first year because they still haven’t finished up the first year curriculum. Further, many evening students work full time in jobs without flexible schedules, so summers are really up in the air.

However, as a tutor, my schedule offered the flexibility I needed to take some time to remind myself why I went to law school in the first place. So, I decided to work as a volunteer law clerk at Neighborhood Legal Services 3 or so days each week. I still got the experience of working over the summer and was part of a cohort of clerks from other law schools, but it was great that I was able to continue working during that time, while also taking Constitutional Law.

My time at Neighborhood Legal Services, helping with their clean slate initiatives was really valuable for me. Everyone that I worked with was really hands on and helpful. It’s a unique experience to be able to spend time somewhere where attorneys and other staff members are truly interested in giving you the best experience possible. The attorney that I worked under helped me learn so much about the criminal justice system, how to interview and interact with litigants, and complete paperwork. While I may not have had the full experience that other interns had, I think this gave me a solid foundation to continue to pursue other related opportunities, while also getting to help those in my community.