Career Services for Students

Summer Employment Provisions for First-Year Students:

• Law schools should not offer career services to first-semester first-year law students prior to October 15 except in the case of part-time students who may be given assistance in seeking positions during the school term.
• Employers and first-year law students should not initiate contact with one another, and employers should not initiate or conduct formal one-on-one recruiting contact with students, including applications, interviews, or offers to first year students, before December 1.

Getting Started on Your 1L Summer Job Search:

• Most importantly, make an appointment to discuss your job search strategy and review your application documents with a counselor!
• Appointments can be made by emailing cls-careers@cornell.edu.

What kind of work should I do?

• All students are strongly encouraged to have a law-related experience over the summer.
• Options include working for government agencies, non-profit organizations, judges, law school faculty, or law firms, or studying law abroad.

Geographically, where should I go?

• Many students choose to go home, or to another place where they can live inexpensively with family or friends. Others stay in Ithaca.
• For students who are interested in working in a place where they have no previous connection, working there for the summer can help to establish ties to aid future job searches in the area.

When should I start looking for work?

• 1Ls should not think about their summer job search before, and may not apply for jobs before December 1. Many students will choose to wait until after fall semester finals to begin their search.
• All students are encouraged to make an appointment with a career counselor prior to the start of the spring semester.

Will I get paid?

• Work for government agencies and non-profits is usually uncompensated, however, Cornell Law School’s PIF program guarantees to fund for all qualified government/public interest employment. In addition, other funding sources exist for these types of employers.
• Judicial internships are usually unpaid as well, and eligible for PIF funding; Students working for judges may alternatively register for academic credit. Cornell law school faculty pay students on an hourly basis.
• Law firms will pay summer associates, though compensation will vary by region.

Summer Internships

• Cornell Law School Summer Grants(Public Interest Fellowship (PIF) and Federal Work-Study Grants)
• Cornell Law School Harold Oaklander Summer Fellowship Program
• Outside Funding Sources

Post-Graduate Public Interest Fellowships

• Cornell Law School Frank H.T. Rhodes Public Interest Law Fellowship
• Cornell Law School Robert B. Kent Public Interest Law Fellowship
• 2020-2021 International Court of Justice Clerkship
• Gideon’s Promise Fellowship
• Outside Sources for Post-Graduate Fellowships (including Skadden and Equal Justice Works)

Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance

• Cornell Law School Public Interest Low-Income Protection Plan (PILIPP)

Public Sector Job Search Expenses

• Cornell Law School Call-Backs for Public Service

PSLawNet maintains a comprehensive list of national summer funding sources for law students. These funding programs may provide a supplement to work-study funding or an alternative to Cornell’s summer PIF Program. In addition, some of these specialized sources of funding can provide special mentoring opportunities and are an honor that you can list on your resume.