I just got an offer for an UNPAID internship with a law firm should I take it?

Obviously there is a long list of things you should consider (e.g., opportunity cost, whether you'll have a real experience, etc.) The one thing I'll pick on: If you're at all unsure about whether you really want to do corporate law as a career, then I think taking an unpaid internship is a great way to get exposure to the industry and get a better sense as to whether this is really what you want to do long term.

Sarah mentions opportunity cost, and I think this decision starts and ends there. It's it merely a notch on your resume or are you getting yourself in a position which will unlock more value in the future as you're giving up financial reward now? If you're in a situation where you're even considering unpaid internships, you should probably be maximizing exposure to great work and great people and embrace the ability to spend some time unpaid.

Nate's right. If you're willing to work unpaid, you shouldn't take the position unless it's the best opportunity for you to learn and grow. Have you reached out to your network to uncover opportunities that don't exist yet? I'm not talking about internships that someone forgot to mention - I'm talking about offering yourself as an vital member of the team before you're even hired.

Here are some links to get you thinking: http://main.susanhiresaboss.com/ http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/learning-from-the-mba-program.html

I agree with the comments that an internship with a law firm is a good way to determine if law firm life is right for you. But if you think you have some idea about areas of law that interest you, then make sure that you're going to be getting exposure to those areas. Working for a malpractice defense firm, for example, is not likely going give you much of an idea how suited you might be for big-firm corporate law. Similarly, if you have ambitions to work for a mega-firm on mega-deals, then working for a small suburban firm may not be that informative.