Should you get a college internship if you are applying to law school? The short answer is yes, but don’t obsess over the prestige of your college internships, having one is enough especially if you are planning to go straight from college to law school. The most scrutinized components of your law school application tend to be your LSAT/GRE score and undergraduate GPA. Having an internship on your resume from college, however, can boost your application and may be helpful for your post-law school job search.
There is no particular major or internship you need to apply to law school. You should apply to the positions you find interesting. Further, it is not necessary to apply for internships in a Congressperson’s office or law firm. In fact, the internship does not even need to have a legal focus. Some of my former college classmates who are now attorneys worked for art museums, PR firms, banks and non-profits. In my view, the most valuable aspects of a college internship are learning how to function in a workplace environment and testing out your interests.
Work experience from a college internship signals that you know how to behave properly in an office setting. Once you make it to law school, you will interview for legal internships and/or post-grad positions. Having at least a college internship on your resume conveys that you know how to draft work-appropriate emails and dress for the office. It may seem obvious, but your post-law school job will differ significantly from any summer jobs you held in high school or college. The summer of my sophomore year, I interned at a Congressman’s office. I took the internship because it was close to home and aligned with my undergraduate major. Within the intern bullpen seating arrangement, I learned how to act in an office and about the expectations of interns in a professional setting. Although my position did have a legal focus, almost any internship could have taught me these valuable skills. Because I spent time in professional environments throughout college, I was able to escape the stereotype that K-JDs do not know how to carry themselves in a law firm.
College internships also present great, low-pressure opportunities to explore what is out there. While going to law school can delay the looming question of “What do I want to do with the rest of my life?” it does not eliminate it entirely. There are innumerable ways to specialize your practice as an attorney. For example, if in college you enjoyed an internship at a sports agency, look into sports and entertainment law. Having at least a general idea of what you want to pursue before starting law school may save you some jumping later on. Even more importantly though, you will have enough stress studying for the LSAT/GRE and applying to law school. Use college as an opportunity to have fun and see which career paths you find most captivating.
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