Successful Law-Job Search

The last law-school course - the job search - is usually the most difficult. This article provides tutorial assistance in that vital conclusion to the law-school career. To compete effectively with the swelling numbers of law students entering the market this year, you must prepare for the unique intricacies of the law-job search. The placement office of a law school can be useful in matching prospective employers and employees, but no placement office attempts to educate the student in the art of image-presentation, and few placement offices have the capacity to serve the individual job interests of each student. This article meets an unsatisfied need of law students - assistance in presenting an effective composite that meets the esoteric and demanding specifications of the law-job employer.

Click Here to Find Law Student Jobs on LawCrossing


Because principles essential to a successful law-job search do not vary in application to different city-markets, this article does not focus on a small number of geographic areas but rather on certain fundamental principles applied to various fields within law practice. It supplies effective assistance in all areas of preparation for securing a job in law. Slight variations in the fundamental principles appear in different fields of practice.

Thus minor differences in requirements and expectations of employers in the following areas are examined:

1. private firms (including corporations);
2. public interest employers (criminal-defense and other); and
3. federal and state government agencies.

The term "appearance" arises often throughout these pages, and it is capitalized because of its unique importance in the field of law. Appearance, as a concept, characterizes the practice of law as it does no other occupation. All activity is behind the scenes - there is no plant, no visible production line. Things happen magically: requests come in, are processed, and a package emerges, polished and costly. It may be good, but, as importantly, it must look good. That is the practice and object - the Appearance of an effortless, stylized production. The object of business production more straightforwardly is sweaty production for its own sake. Law produces to build trust and awe. You, as the applicant, must produce similarly - hard work before performance and effortless appearance throughout. Make the "look" good.

You must approach law-job hunting with an attitude and preparation that reflect underlying substance and overriding style. The article steps through each phase of the total approach to Appearance, to prepare you for the unique world of law-job interviewing. Three distinct areas emerge from the hunt: preparatory investigation and contacting of organizations; interviewing; and written submissions.

Click Here to Find Summer Associate Jobs on LawCrossing

One principal aim of a professional educational institution should be the placement of its students in the industry. A placement office should be a vital part of a law school, but because it often lacks the necessary vitality, students flounder in searching for law jobs. The placement office should aid students in finding practices interesting to them; provide instruction in resume-drafting and preparation for interviewing; and attract organizations to the law school for on-campus interviewing. Because the placement office often cannot achieve fully all these goals, this article is necessary.

The placement office usually consists of a director or dean of placement, perhaps one or two assistants, and support staff. Use every service offered by the placement office, including its people, to your best ad-vantage. Learn from the director of placement about resume formats and opportunities for a person with your background and interests. Use the secretarial help for less costly typing. Wring as much guidance as possible from the placement office, but recognize its shortcomings. Use these guidelines to supplement the placement office's activities - the article cannot set up interviews, but it will, better than any placement office, provide usable instruction in approaching the interview and succeeding in it. Active placement efforts and an effective director are invaluable, but this article is necessary to fill the gaps to best maximize your potential in the law-job hunt.

Click Here to View the 2015 LawCrossing Salary Survey of Lawyer Salaries in the Best Law Firms