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&lt;p&gt;The specter of six figures of &lt;a href=&quot;/blog/vaults-law-blog-legal-careers-and-industry-news/is-your-law-school-ranked-highest-for-soul-crushing-debt/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;debt&lt;/a&gt; and the desire to gain legal work experience may lead some &lt;a href=&quot;/blog/admit-one-vaults-mba-law-school-and-college-blog/advice-for-the-1l/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;first-year law students&lt;/a&gt; into the job market before their 1L summer. However, the American Bar Association’s guide &lt;em&gt;How to Survive the First Year of Law School&lt;/em&gt;&#160;states that “working outside of school is best avoided during your first year of law school.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While discouraged by the ABA, working during &lt;a href=&quot;/blog/vaults-law-blog-legal-careers-and-industry-news/1l-fall-five-things-i-wish-i-had-known-1/&quot;&gt;1L&lt;/a&gt; may be unavoidable for some students for financial reasons or simply because they need to remove themselves from the &lt;a href=&quot;/blog/admit-one-vaults-mba-law-school-and-college-blog/law-school-survival-guide-advice-to-1ls-from-law-school-podcaster/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;1L madness&lt;/a&gt;. For those considering working while attending law school, attorney Matt Weinstein offers some insight into life as a full-time student and a part-time employee. Matt worked for a U.S. Senator during all three years of law school as a legal fellow. He conducted research for legislative proposals, helped prepare for hearings and markups and assisted with various press projects.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: Tell me about your work in the Senate. Was it legal in nature? Did you receive payment or credit? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt: &lt;/strong&gt;It wasn’t legal in the traditional “write memos and motions” sense, but I got to learn about federal law from the legislative side. I got to see how laws were made—or not made—outside the four corners of a law school textbook. I also got a holistic view of how the law forces all three branches of government to work together from the drafting stage to the rulemaking process to anticipating or reacting to legal decisions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was very lucky: I got paid and I received benefits for my work in the Senate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: Why did you decide to work during your first year of law school?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt: &lt;/strong&gt;Two reasons: (1) in politics work experience is more valued than law review or other typical law school extracurricular and (2) I wanted to find a way to take a break from the claustrophobic 1L atmosphere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q:&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;How did you balance your job responsibilities with your school responsibilities? Did you ever feel overwhelmed? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt: &lt;/strong&gt;I never felt overwhelmed mostly because my office was very flexible about my hours. If I had a legal writing project or final coming up, my office was very good about letting me do what I needed to do for school.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: Do you believe your 1L grades suffered because you worked? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt: &lt;/strong&gt;Working probably had a neutral impact on my 1L grades. I can’t deny that working took hours away from studying. On the other hand, the psychological benefit of getting a breather from 1L probably kept me saner than I would have been if I had not worked.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: Did your job during law school help you find work post-graduation? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt: &lt;/strong&gt;Yes, I wanted to work on the Obama campaign after graduation and was connected with the campaign through my contacts in the Senate&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Q: What advice do you have for students who are working during their 1L year? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt: &lt;/strong&gt;Make sure you really want to work. Obviously 1L is very stressful and all-consuming; if you don’t dedicate yourself to your job and to your studies then both will suffer.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Matt Weinstein is a political lawyer who has served as a deputy voter protection director for the 2012 Obama Presidential campaign and was the voter protection director for the 2013 McAuliffe gubernatorial campaign in Virginia. He is a 2006 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and is a 2012 graduate of George Mason University School of Law and licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Matt can be reached at mjweinst@gmail.com.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Follow Vault on Twitter&#160;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/vaultlaw&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;@VAULTLAW&lt;/a&gt;, Instagram&#160;&lt;a href=&quot;http://instagram.com/vaultcareers&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;@VaultCareers&lt;/a&gt;&#160;and&#160;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/vault&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;&#160;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/admit-one-vaults-mba-law-school-and-college-blog/advice-for-the-1l/&quot;&gt;Advice for the 1L&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/admit-one-vaults-mba-law-school-and-college-blog/law-school-survival-guide-advice-to-1ls-from-law-school-podcaster/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Law School Survival Guide: Advice to 1Ls from Law School Pod&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/job-search/back-to-school-tips-for-1l-success/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Back to School--Tips for 1L Success&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/vaults-law-blog-legal-careers-and-industry-news/1l-fall-five-things-i-wish-i-had-known-1/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;1L Fall: Five Things I Wish I Had Known&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/admit-one-vaults-mba-law-school-and-college-blog/clueless-about-clubs/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Clueless About Clubs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/blog/vaults-law-blog-legal-careers-and-industry-news/is-your-law-school-ranked-highest-for-soul-crushing-debt/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Is Your Law School Ranked Highest for Soul Crushing Debt?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Kaitlin Edleman

Article

1L Fall: Five Things I Wish I Had Known 

Is Your Law School Ranked Highest for Soul Crushing Debt? 

Back to School—Tips for 1L Success

Law School Survival Guide: Advice to 1Ls from Law School Pod

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