Should I Take An Unpaid Internship In Law School?

Should I Take An Unpaid Internship In Law School?

At some point during law school, you undoubtedly will have to decide whether to take an unpaid internship. Consistently displaying work experience throughout your 1L and 2L summers (3L summer is bar prep) is important to prospective employers. Why? It shows that you are serious about your future legal career and provides you with relevant work experience. Law firms, in-house legal departments, and nonprofits all like to see what you did to fill your summers. The more impressive the summer positions, the more of a standout candidate you appear!

Should I Take An Unpaid Internship In Law School?

Let’s say you’re halfway done with your 1L or 2L year and don’t have an internship lined up for summer break. Obviously, the goal is to secure a position for the summer, but this may be easier said than done. It can be difficult to find a paid position when many of your classmates are also applying to the same places you are. Additionally, when you consider students of neighboring law schools also applying for these positions, it becomes apparent how competitive things can be!

Paid summer internships are the priority for most students. However, these positions are often sought by almost every other law school student in your area. With hundreds of students applying for only several paid positions, you unclick the “paid positions only” box on your browser. Suddenly, you see a whole host of offerings for unpaid law school internships! Before applying to and accepting an unpaid internship during law school, students usually have two concerns which we discuss below.

Resume Concerns

The first concern is whether an unpaid internship looks as good on your resume as a paid internship. The short answer is yes! Unpaid internships can offer valuable work experience so they look just as good on a resume and, in some cases, even better than paid positions! When prospective employers look at your 1L/2L summer experience, they focus on what skills you learned, what work you performed, and what responsibilities you had.

We here at JD Advising know students who have passed on paid positions and opted to take an unpaid internship. Why? The unpaid opportunities simply offered more experience, aligned more with what that student wanted to do post-graduation, and/or looked better on a resume. For example, clerkship positions under prominent local judges or internships at well-known non-profits are often highly regarded even though they might be unpaid.

Practical Experience

The second consideration that many students evaluate is more practical in nature. How are you going to get through the summer without any income? While student loans might be an option throughout the school year, many times those loans are only available while you are actually taking classes. Student loans to cover summer expenses are few and far between. This can be even more difficult for out-of-state students wanting to work near their law school. If these students can’t find a way to pay for living expenses, they may be forced to move home for summer. Students entering law school should start early by making a plan to address financial difficulties that might arise in the event an unpaid internship is the only option. Early planning might allow for some flexibility to take that awesome unpaid internship!

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