How did you land your first job after law school? Excluding OCI. There are far too many of my peers from my graduating class still unemployed.

I failed the job search game while in law school. Figured I would pass the bar and find a job after. Took the LA bar, and passed only a 60% pass rate that year. Couldn’t get a job in LA, moved back to FL sent more than 100 job apps (no exaggeration I kept a spreadsheet). I ended up taking a job teaching middle school English in FL. Did that for 6 months and knew I couldn’t do it forever, also was dying to practice law but my LA law license was no good in FL or any other state for that matter. Career services from my law school told me not to take the FL bar bc they heard it was difficult. Ignored them and took the FL bar and passed. Got a job investigating teacher misconduct, and then parlayed that experience (8 months) into a job prosecuting teacher misconduct for the department of education. So two years and two bar exams later I got my first job as an attorney. I love my work now, work 40 hours a week, have great benefits and never have to come in on the weekends. If you look long enough opportunity will find you. Good luck

Rank 100 or so school. Struck out at patent law fair in Chicago. Struck out at every OCI. Graduated top third of my class with executive board experience on law review, a high tech journal, and SBA. Had a judicial clerkship and worked in-house at a tech company during school as well. Passed the bar on my first try and still was unemployed for four months after that. Finally got my first job through Craigslist at a workers comp defense firm. Didn't want to practice in that area but when you're down to $400 and need to pay next months rent you take whatever is offered.

About that time my significant other was in biglaw and was looking at me like dead weight. Wanted to move somewhere far more expensive and wanted me to still cover half of rent. Obviously was not going to do that. So queue single me moving into a postage stamp apartment while doing a job I hated.

Second I put in my year I started applying to everything I could. Recruiters were worthless because they only wanted to plop me into workers comp roles. Found my next job with a solo firm, again through Craigslist. That place was a different kind of hell. Paralegal threw a fit and claiming discrimination when she found out I negotiated more vacation time on hire than she did.

Boss decided to just take away my already earned vacation as a solution. Quit on the spot. Hired me back for more salary but I was already looking for new jobs.

A friend (not in the legal field) happened to know a lawyer he thought I'd mesh with and made the introductions. He was right and by the end of the month I had a new job with a large law firm in a practice area I enjoyed. I now love the people I work with and do not plan on leaving any time soon.

The path getting here was not easy. It nuked an almost four year relationship I thought was going to turn into twenty. Homelessness was on the table since I was too stubborn to go home a failure. Even when I did find work the pay was shit and I was treated like the disposable attorney I was. I hated myself and my career path. Dove into alcohol and drugs to cope.

Was not a great time but gave me an important perspective on life. I kept a positive and go getter attitude. I refused to accept that this was the position I was allotted in life. I am very grateful for where I am now.

So anyone going through something similar. Keep your head up. It can get better but it's only going to come from your effort and not feeling sorry for yourself. Use your dissatisfaction to fuel your personal growth until you land where you feel you belong. Most importantly. Lean on your friends. I had a Facebook chat with my closest friends from law school and we bitched about how shitty everything was. We weren't alone in our struggle and that helped all of us while we were unemployed or in contract attorney hell. Years later that chat is still active and now we use it as a free resource in our law practice.

"Anyone ever handled an ex parte in x county?"
"Anyone have experience with this judge/attorney?"
"Client needs a family law attorney, know any?"

We're now a force multiplier for each other in our practice.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Keep your head up. It does get better but you gotta work towards that.

I did OCI, got a few interviews, but nothing came out of it. I got my current job in 2L through networking and connections. They decided to keep me on for the summer & throughout 3L and now after graduation.

Third tier law school grad at top 10 AmLaw 100 firm—struck out at OCI but played the numbers game and broadly applied to firms and networked with anybody I could until one of those connections went to bat for getting me hired early in my 3L year.

I agree with all the advice above and the only thing to add is - maintain a good reputation with other lawyers in your bar jurisdiction!!! I didn’t do OCIs and after I finished an internship, the opposing attorney on a file I had worked on knew there was an opening at their firm and recommended that the partner interview me. Also similar situation when I lateraled. Cliche af but it really is about who you know (coming from a first generation child of immigrants and first lawyer in the family/circle of friends).

My old job cut my hours significantly due to budget cuts and I saw an ad for a law clerk job... the rest is history !

Tier 2 law school. Struck out in OCI with Law Review and above-average grades. Found out about a DC Superior Court clerkship (not super competitive) through a professor. Clerked there for a year. Now clerking at an Art III court.

Also, consider state and fed honors programs.

I was no-offered from my biglaw 2L summer job. I hated that job but I was still devastated. The work was fun but I just didn't mesh with the team for the practice area. So I decided to try searching for jobs based on whether or not I liked my potential future coworkers instead. I did a ton of coffee dates with attorneys and met a few that I thought would be fun to work with. I basically hounded that firm until they finay had a need (about six months after I met them) and brought me in to interview. They went with someone else. I kept on it. A month or two later they needed someone else. I came in for what I thought was an interview and they just offered me the job. I've been here since I graduated law school and anticipate being here for a loooong time.

Craigslist.... you’d find some jobs on there, but I can’t vouch for the quality of the position. I will say though, you would quickly realize how good of an attorney you are from working those jobs.

Worked with my law school career counselor for any leads and applied through the school job board. She followed up with them because they had gone radio silent and it was at that point they offered to interview me.

Ask your professors if anyone has reached out to them too. It kind of turned out to be a dud for me, but they are very well connected and might have a few good leads for you.

during fall 2L I Applied for a biglaw clerkship for the summer, but they wanted someone for the semester, so I took it anyway and got offered summer, stayed through the next year, and then offered an associate after graduation

Also want to know, and expect for lower ranked school grads. Following.

Top 50 school away from the city I now work in. Saw a posting on my now current firm’s website after exams ended spring of 3L year. Interviewed and got the offer a little over a month after graduation.

Top 50 school in a medium-sized market (non-coastal). This may be a little different because I had a targeted industry/area of law I wanted to work in. In some ways it was easier because I’d be a better fit for the specialty, but in some ways it was harder because there were very few jobs available. I worked hard to meet people in the practice area (bar association events for that section, interned during law school, endless lunches and coffees just to get to know people). I sent targeted application materials to firms with the practice area I wanted even if there was no job opening, explaining that I wanted to work in that specific area and that specific firm, and to keep me in mind if there was an opening. I got interviews at 5 out of 7 or so firms. (I also did not want to relocate.) All but one interview ended in “thanks but we really don’t have an opening,” but one ended with a job at a firm that was working hard on growing that practice area. I had to agree to working 50% in the area I wanted and 50% more general, but it was a great starting point. I’ve since moved on to a bigger firm that’s a better fit, so it is possible to start where you need to and move around later.

Job hunting is terrible. But keep fighting the good fight. It gets easier after the first job.

I did document review for Special Counsel for my first two years. That got me to have a job with “attorney” in the name after bar passing. Worked to then get here a higher paying paralegal (!!) job that was also essentially document review but in a different major city. After that I was able to parlay myself into a small firm in another new city. Top 26% of class, technically cuz was like 1 off from 25. But also went to law school in a far away state from my first bar jurisdiction so that probably contributed to my strange path haha

Patent Law Interview Program, like OCI but off campus and in a compressed timeframe. Flew to Chicago and did almost twenty interviews in two days.

Literally a Google search. Landed me on the website of a local boutique looking for a noob associate. I sent in my resume, was asked to come interview, was hired on the spot.

I attended job fairs and submitted my resume for job consortiums.

Dennis is good at hiring out of law school. However, he calls all the attorneys Junior except for himself and Luis, who by my proposed and implemented social media program is just now getting attention to the masses beyond his certifications, even Molly, whose now getting attention with the new program, is even occasionally called junior and his friend. He did recently add new benefits for attorneys that stay at least a year, including billboards, but the starting wages are pretty low and the hours are sometimes grueling since attorneys are required to attend the marketing events and supporting staff is extremely low requiring extra work by the attorneys. Plus, attorneys only get to apply basic law since the use of auxiliary settlement items are rare at that firm -> they just sue the insurance company and don't go after loss wages, loss of lifestyle, etc.

Scrapping. Worked outside my city 6 days a week. Three as a part time licensed contract attorney and three as a clerk at a way lower pay rate. Hustle. Now I’m in six figs after four jobs about one a year. Looking for stability more than pay at this point

I graduated top 23% of my class and i had applied EVERYWHERE and had zero job offers. I was stumped. Then I had a friend who has graduated the year before more and he was working at this PI firm and he told his boss about me and I got hired the night before I took the bar exam. I didn’t believe anyone when they told me it was more about how you knew than your grades. I am
Not happy that it is more about who you know but it was the reality of my situation.

Over half of my graduating class stayed unemployed for over a year. It’s tough. :/