As you do this evaluation, you might find, MT, that the underlying problem was actually that you sabotaged yourself. Ask yourself: Did you really want the job, or did you really not want to be rejected? If you didn't want the job, you may have subconsciously dropped the ball to avoid having to turn down an offer. You wouldn't be alone, MT-studies show that as many as a third of law students don't actually want to be lawyers! And if that's the case for you, your firm did you a favor by encouraging you to determine right now, instead of five years down the road, exactly what it is that you do want.
Now that you've learned about what went wrong along with what the firm will say, plan what you yourself will say. The key here is to focus on what you learned as a result of your non-offer. For instance, if the problem is that you didn't ask questions about your assignments, you can say something like, "Frankly, I was afraid of looking stupid, so that when I got assignments I sometimes researched issues that my supervisors didn't really want to know about. That taught me a valuable lesson about making sure I have my assignments crystal clear. When I did clarify my assignments, the lawyers I worked for were very happy with my work. In fact, here are their names and phone numbers-they can tell you about the quality of my work"-at this point, of course, you'd fork over the list of attorneys who'll say nice things about you.
The key here, MT, as the Director points out, is to "Practice what you'll say, until you feel as comfortable talking about it as you would talking about the weather." Be sure not to answer a monosyllabic "no" when you're asked about whether you got an offer. Remember: It's not the substance of what happened, but rather what it portends for your future employers. If you can credibly explain why your summer bugbear will not reappear, you've vanquished the problem.
- See Law Schools That Send the Most Attorneys to United States Supreme Court Clerkships for more information about getting a clerkship in the US Supreme Court.
LawCrossing knows that you will find it hard to believe that you can overcome a non-offer this easily- but you can, MT. In fact, no matter how much it hurts right now, in the long run you really will be much better off. Why is that? As the Director explains, "A rejection forces you to do something everyone should do, but most people don't: think about what you're really good at, what you really want." So your rejection will unwittingly ensure your happiness in the long run. LawCrossing can-ahem-attest to this first-hand. She summer-clerked for a mega-firm that told her, at the end of the summer, that, unlike Jesus, she wouldn't be coming back. If not for that rejection, LawCrossing might never have become LawCrossing. (Of course, while she is ultimately grateful to that firm for rejecting her, the firm nonetheless does not make an appearance in LawCrossing's new-and-sure-to-be-a-blockbuster, America's Greatest Places to Work With a Law Degree. So, MT, follow the steps LawCrossing has outlined for you-and realize that your unlucky summer does not mark you for life any more than it defined us.
