Got offered the fellowship

[sidravitale]

I understand why I didn't say "yes" yesterday (I haven't answered yet): It's not really a junior lawyer position, which is what I expected to be after graduating, and it feels very strange to be staying around the school for another year, though I wouldn't be a student, but staff.

Con: The fellow does a lot of administrative support to the three academic centers (center for intl law and policy, center for law and social responsibility, and business law center) and a substantive project. Most of that is just not stuff you need a lawyer for, so I feel like I'm not "really" getting out there like I should after law school.

Pro: It's a job, a 10-month commitment starting in September, that puts me in a good position to move on to whatever the next thing is after that. I still want a judicial clerkship. The fixed length here means no strings, no long-term commitment.

Pro (writing): Having all of August off means I could be writing during that month, and I REALLY REALLY like that. And, since it's a 10-month fellowship, I could conceivably take next July off, too, before starting whatever comes next.

So, I think I just need to adjust my attitude, but I'm just not jumping up and down about the whole thing. I see room for a lot of frustration, and having to be delicate with people's expectations of what "the fellow" does, and manage relationships, and that's going to be genuinely annoying. I wouldn't have that if I got the mediator job with the A.G., but I haven't been offered that job, I just interviewed for it yesterday.

But, being realistic, I guess I'm always going to have to be delicate with people's expectations no matter what, and manage relationships, and that just happens to be learned behavior for me, not instinctive. Which means more work.

So, I'm accepting the offer to be the Center Fellow for the Center for Law and Social Responsibility, the Center for International Law and Policy, and the Center for Business Law.

Guess I better go tell the guy, huh?

Comments

[umbo.livejournal.com]

Congrats on both the offer and the decision to take it :-)

[sidravitale]

thanks!

[jcortese.livejournal.com]

Do your profs have any advice about this? Is a position like this a typical thing, even for people who want to get "out there?" It may be that this sort of not-quite position is typical for new graduates who haven't yet passed the bar exam ... I don't know what shape a general career evolution path would take in this case ...

[sidravitale]

Most people who graduate go to work for firms or agencies, people they clerked for, judges, that sort of thing. (Assuming they find a job straight out of school at all.) It's expected, generally, that you don't work during the summer when you're prepping for the bar, and then whomever you do work for -- firm or other -- can't let you practice fully until you've gotten a passing score. My guess is the three months you spend waiting for your score involve a lot of document review, interviews, and grunt work, as well as things like sitting second chair in a courtroom (there but not arguing anything) -- stuff that doesn't require a licensed attorney.

This position is certainly unusual in the sense that fellowships offered by schools represents a very small segment of the job market. I can't compare fellowships across schools, but it's something most people don't get to do. And that's a worthy resume hit.

Bottom line, this is not the image I had in my head of what I was going to do out of school -- that's the "new lawyer, working for a firm or agency" or "judicial clerkship" image -- but equally bottom line, I know there's a big fat difference between those ideal images and reality. I'd probably feel pretty damn stupid in the long run if I said 'no' to this opportunity just because it doesn't look like a "me successful lawyer" idea that's still probably based too much on viewings of L.A. Law in the 80's.

So, I'm kind of down about it right this second, b/c I know I just signed up for a lot of grief, but I do believe very strongly in the work the Centers do, and I would get to do my own substantive work in environmental law or international environmental law as part of it.

So... so, now I have to go do bar review stuff, 'cause that started today. And that's probably the real reason I'm down right this second, b/c OMG you can't *read* outlines, for Christ's sake! Who reads outlines?! You *write* them to make sure you know the material -- you don't *read* them to prepare for a class. Awful! Appalling! Another expression of disgust starting with the letter 'A'!

[shakal.livejournal.com]

*hugs* and congratulations and encouragement!