1Ls should spend their first-year summer obtaining real-world legal experience. The first-year summer is a time to explore an issue area, practice setting, and/or geographic region of interest to you. Most students do not obtain an offer of permanent employment at the end of their 1L summer, which allows for great flexibility in choosing your experience.
The following chart shows the types of work HLS 1Ls engaged in during the summer of 2025. As you can see, a large number of 1L students work for a government or public interest employer, taking advantage of HLS’s guaranteed Summer Public Interest Funding Program.
Summer 2025 Data for the Class of 2027
Updated September 9, 2025
| Employer Type | Percentage of Students |
|---|---|
| Academic | 1% |
| Business or Industry | 3% |
| Government (other than judicial) | 32% |
| Judicial* | 8% |
| Law Firm | 26% |
| Law Firm – Plaintiffs’ and Private/Public Interest | 3% |
| Military | 1% |
| NonProfit | 25% |
| Other | 2% |
*In Summer 2025 SPIF was temporarily expanded to include Judicial Internships due to the cancellation of many Federal Government internships. In prior years, 1-3% of reported jobs were Judicial Internships.
Review the Who Worked Where lists to see where rising 2L and 3L students have worked the last few summers.
Top Ways 1Ls Secure Summer Jobs
- Public Interest Job Search
- Targeted Mailing to Law Firm or In-House Legal Departments
- Spring Interview Program (SIP) and International Summer Employment Program (ISEP)
- CSM Job Bank Postings
- 1L Scholarships at Law Firms
- Job Fairs, including the Massachusetts Law School Consortium Interview Program
- Networking
- Targeted Mailing to Judges