How to Stand Out For Getting a Good Legal Job

When asked what one thing he would tell a law student to do to increase her chances of getting a job, an attorney responded that he would tell the law student to differentiate herself from her fellow students. This is sound advice, since legal employers often have a difficult time choosing among numerous qualified applicants.

The time-tested way to differentiate yourself from your fellow students is to get better grades, particularly during your first year. As previously noted, first-year grades, perhaps unfairly, are the most crucial factor among the criteria governing law students' job possibilities.


This is largely because these grades are the only ones available when law students interview for important summer associate or clerkship positions. Comparisons of students based on first-year grades are also easier and arguably fairer than in subsequent years when the curriculum becomes largely elective. Accordingly, you need to make every effort to receive good grades during law school, especially during the first year.

Besides good grades, you can also distinguish yourself from your fellow law students by participating in law review or other legal journals, particularly if you can become an editor. If the legal journal focuses on an area of law practiced by some firms that interest you, so much the better. Success in moot court is also generally considered to be a plus by legal employers. Externships and judicial clerkships also have good resume value. Some legal employers are also impressed by part-time work experience, especially if other factors are positive.

To increase your marketability, you may also want to consider obtaining a joint degree. For example, if you want to go into the land use field, consider obtaining a joint degree in law and urban planning to distinguish yourself from your peers; if you want to go into business law, consider obtaining an MBA along with your law degree. Most law schools allow their students to participate in joint degree programs, although participating will probably extend your course of study to four years. Furthermore, although such programs usually must be applied to before law school, some joint degree programs accept students after they start law school.

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Other options include selecting specific courses that will give you particular skills or knowledge that will be attractive to legal employers. For instance, if you want to work for a firm that practices intellectual property law, take some courses in copyright and patent law. You may also want to take some undergraduate science classes if your law school is connected with a university or college. Most law schools give their students credit for a limited number of undergraduate classes if the classes are related to their legal education.

Another way to gain an advantage in the job market is to become an expert in a certain area of the law. This is not as difficult as one may think. Most law schools offer their students the opportunity to take seminars during the second and third years of law school in selected areas of study. Normally, students enrolled in these seminars are required to research and write a scholarly paper or article for their class grade.

After the paper is written, the student will often know more about its topic than any other person. Try to pick a subject matter for your seminar paper about which little has been written. A paper on a new statute or reported case often fits this criteria. Your professor will also usually be willing to help you find a good topic. Once you decide on a tentative topic, check with your law school librarian to make sure that the article you want to write has not already been published. Also, consider whether the topic will be of interest to legal employers (for example, do not write about Chinese law in the 1800s), since one of the goals of writing the paper is to use it to help you find a job.

After the paper or article is finished, you can further increase your marketability by getting it published. Depending on its length, quality, and content, the article or paper may be suitable for publication as a law review note or comment. Also, consider submitting a condensed version of your paper (just the highlights) to editors of legal magazines or to the local bar newsletter. Such publications are regularly seeking material to fill their pages.