1L Summer Employment

The summer after the first year of law school provides a wonderful opportunity for our students to explore employment possibilities and gain insight into what characteristics their ideal employer should possess. Many students at Yale spend all or part of their first summer working in the public sector, either with a government agency or public interest organization. The law school provides  summer funding for students working in the public interest sector through the Summer Public Interest Fellowship (SPIF) Program. Nearly 20% of first-year students spend at least some part of their summer working for a private firm, and a few students conduct research for faculty, work for a corporation, or serve as a judicial extern. The majority of first-year students secure positions for the summer by writing letters and sending resumes to employers. Some students accept jobs from employers participating in the Spring Interview Program at Yale or the NYU Public Interest Career Fair.

Employment Type	Class of 2010	Class of 2011	Class of 2012	Class of 2013	Class of 2014
Law Firm	21% (21%)	9% (9%)	16% (20%)	15% (16%)	15% (17%)
Public Interest Total	74% (77%)	86% (89%)	79% (87%)	83% (92%)	79% (84%)
Government	36% (38%)	49% (51%)	47% (50%)	46% (51%)	41% (42%)
PI Org./Legal Services	38% (39%)	37% (38%)	32% (38%)	37% (41%)	38% (42%)
Academic Employment	4% (5%)	3% (3%)	3% (3%)	2% (3%)	2% (3%)
Business	1% (1%)	3% (3%)	1% (1%)	1% (1%)	4% (4%)
Other	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%

Percentages are based on the total number of students known to be employed. Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding. The parenthetical percentages indicate the total percentage of students who spent any part of the summer working in that sector. Percentages are based on employment information reported by May of that particular year.