Non-Firm Summer Lunch

While Jeremy humorously recounts the way summer associates scramble to get free lunches from their firm, my non-firm summer job has bought me (and the other summer interns) lunch only one time in three weeks. Pizza. Good pizza. We loved it.

Meanwhile, Sam says lunches with firm partners can be awkward. Not a problem in our public defender's office; even the head attorney—the Public Defender—is cool and easy to talk to. The general lunch deal is most of the interns bring a bag lunch, while the attorneys go get something from a local "budget" establishment (top contenders: Chipotle, Subway, Popeye's, local non-chain sandwich shops). Then everyone takes their food to the conference room and we all eat together. It's really the best part of the day, and so far there hasn't been a single awkward moment.

So although some people may be making thousands of dollars this summer working at firms, see what they have to put up with? Stressful email competitions to get a place at the table, and awkward silences with partners. You're not likely to have these problems at your public interest summer internship. In fact, if you're like me, you won't even have a computer or an email address/program with which to compete in an email competition. (I can't believe how little our office uses email, but then, most accused criminals who qualify for a public defender aren't going to have email, are they?)

Yep. The public interest summer legal job. That's where the fun is!

Posted June 10, 2004 06:40 AM | 1L summer