Articles
June 20 2011
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Your Check Is In The Mail: Summer Internship Rates
MONEY! You know that is one of your main focuses and possibly a main reason for attending law school, so lets get right into it. When I was looking for a job the summer after my first year, one of my biggest questions was what do they pay law students? And true to the most used phrase in law school…”It depends.”
First, it depends on what type of job you want. Law students can work for law firms, sole practitioners, government agencies, political interest groups, legal aid clinics, judges, professors and in-house legal departments. For the most part, these employment opportunities can be put into four different classifications: non-profit, academic, government, and law firms.
Non-profit Organizations
If you work for a non-profit firm or organization you will likely have to work pro bono, meaning for FREE! Some non-profits may pay minimum wage but they will be in the minority. While this might seem disheartening to most students with loans to pay it is the most viable option for many first year students who can’t obtain a paid internship. To the majority of law students their first summer is to gain legal experience through an unpaid internship. In the end, paid or not, you need to have some kind of legal job your first summer and non-profit organizations provide a wide variety of opportunities. Many schools offer credit for pro bono work, so if you choose this option check to see if you can obtain school credit during the summer.
Research Assistant for Professors
Professors are always looking to hire law students to help them with their law review articles and other publications. Usually professors pay law students between $10-$15 per hour. Professors usually need law students to work during the summers and in a lot of cases they can’t afford to hire students full time, so it might be best to supplement this work with a part time job. It is also easy to supplement these types of positions with say a restaurant job or landscaping work. The hours are generally flexible.
Public Interest Organizations & Government Agencies
Government agencies and public interest organizations are equally split between paid and unpaid positions depending on the specific department. If they don’t pay make sure to look into possible pro bono school credit. If they do compensate it is usually on a pretty strict pay scale ranging anywhere from minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Law Firms
Law firms usually have to provide law students with some compensation based on employment laws. However, this pay varies greatly depending on the size of the firm. Sole practitioners and small law firms (less than 20 attorneys) usually pay between $10-$25 per hour for legal interns. Medium law firms (20-130 attorneys) have a wide range depending on the size of the firm anywhere from $12-$30 per hour for summer interns. Big law firms (130+ attorneys) usually pay between $1,900-$3,100 per week for a specified number of weeks during the summer. These rates generally follow geographic standard of living scales. Most internships with big law firms last between 10-12 weeks during the summer.
About the Author: Christy
christy@thelawstreetjournal.com
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