Legal Recruiters and Where to Meet Them

Most law schools have people on their staffs whose job it is to publicize the school's good points, hand out publications, answer your questions, and encourage you to apply. These representatives may be law professors, or even currently enrolled law students who receive law school funds to travel to their alma maters for the hometown law school fair. Usually, however, they are full-time professionals specializing in enrollment management. Their formal tides vary, we can refer to them as recruiters, representatives, or reps.




Law schools want you to talk to their reps. Reps will often come directly to your campus. The prelaw adviser, the prelaw club, or the placement center will maintain a calendar and arrange for reps to speak to interested students.

Reps are available at the annual open houses that many law schools hold, and they also attend college and university law school fairs. Most of the reps at a campus fair come from law schools in the region. (If there's a recruiter from a school far out of the immediate area, a school that your prelaw adviser tells you has not drawn any of your college s graduates in recent years, he is probably there because that law school is trying to increase its geographic diversity by enrolling more students from your region. Your application may be viewed unusually favorably at such a school.)

If your campus does not hold a law school fair, ask your prelaw adviser about neighboring campuses. If you are a nontraditional student, ask the prelaw adviser at your alma mater, or at the nearest university, when the fair will be held. No one will object if you come and ask a few questions. You can also speak to reps at one of the national law school forums that the Law School Admission Council sponsors each year. Reps like to talk about the strong points of their schools and are knowledgeable about course offerings, special programs, unusually good faculty members, and similar details. If they re astute, they will know something about their students, especially those who are alumni of your college. They may have promotional videotapes and other advertising materials to show you, and usually bring catalogs and other publications with them.

Many have been trained to emphasize one or two things that distinguish their law schools from other law schools; therefore, they can often discuss truly unique educational programs. A rep can explain what you'll be studying if you want to specialize in, say, environmental protection law, and how his or her school differs from other schools with this emphasis. He or she can also tell you how many students take this option and what kind of placement history they have. Catalogs are often vague about such details.

Reps can also discuss student life, including such details as class size, financial aid, and the availability of housing. But remember, the rep is not an impartial informant. Reps work for law schools and their job is to try to present their schools in the best light. They will not volunteer details of the campus's crime problem or parking problem. If you tactfully ask a rep direct questions about such things, you will probably get honest but vague answers. Similarly, don't expect definitive answers about your chances of admission. If you explain your status and grades to a rep and are discouraged from applying-if, for example, the rep gently suggests that you take extra coursework or graduate work to improve your grades before you apply-then you can assume that your chance of admission isn't very good. But the reverse isn't true. If you are encouraged to apply, don't assume that you are assured of acceptance. It's part of the rep's job to encourage you to apply. Law schools like to have the luxury of a large applicant pool from which they can choose the best-qualified students with the maximum geographic and ethnic diversity. Unless your application status is hopeless, the rep wants to put you in this pool.

Whenever you talk to a recruiter, you will be asked to put your name and address on a list or to fill out a card. You may observe the recruiter taking notes about your conversation. Don't panic. This does not mean that your interview is part of the application process or that it will "count" in any way. The rep is going to put you on a mailing list for follow-up contact; if you've asked detailed questions you can expect to get more information in the mail or a letter from a specialized rep, such as a minority group adviser. The rep also monitors his or her own performance by keeping track of what kinds of questions students ask. If people keep asking the same question-perhaps, for example, about the incidence of date rape on campus-the existence of widespread concern will be reported to the rep's superiors.

Visits

Some law schools have annual open house programs, one- or two-day affairs meant to attract large numbers of people to campus at one time. Open houses provide the tours, speakers, and classroom visits that Gonzaga lists in the above quotes (although more and more law schools offer only "simulated" classes), and meetings with law professors and students, as well as with recruiters. There are often special small group sessions or workshops for candidates with special needs or problems; if you're a member of a minority group, for example, you will have an opportunity to get together with other minority candidates and minority law students. Some law schools offer receptions or luncheons and a few even make overnight accommodations available.

Some law schools have also started "outreach" programs. These are designed to promote the law school among minority group members and others whom the law school is making a special effort to attract. Schools with outreach programs take extra steps to publicize their open houses, by means of special mailings to prelaw advisers and undergraduate minority student organizations and fraternities, and sometimes to community groups as well. You may find details of open house programs on church and social group bulletin boards or in advertisements and activities listings in your campus newspaper.

You will be able to see more of the law school and talk to more people if you visit during an open house. But as with any open house, the law school is prepared for your visit and on its best behavior. The floors are carefully swept and the skeletons the law school is ashamed of have been carefully stored in dark, locked closets. Moreover, there are often crowds at open house programs. You may find it difficult to get all your questions answered.

If you visit individually, the reps may have more time to spend with you and you may get a glimpse of the law school's ordinary routine. But because you can't intrude too much on the working life of the school, you may not be able to visit classes, get a complete tour of the facilities, or talk to faculty members or students.

You should always call the law school admissions office for an appointment. At a minimum, this guarantees that there will be a rep available to speak to you. Admissions offices are usually very accommodating and will work around your schedule. But you should honor any request to choose another day: they try to avoid disruption during law school final exams or when some special event is scheduled. If you have some special need or interest, mention it when you make your appointment. The admissions office will try to answer your questions about, say, financial aid for minorities, if it knows in advance that the questions will be asked. Find out where visitors are supposed to park.

Take the time to look at the schools facilities. The library should be open early; in fact, many law libraries are open around the clock. Whatever books or equipment the school provides should be accessible and in use.

Look at the bulletin boards in the classroom buildings and library. Among the posters offering to sell used cars there should be advertisements for numerous activities, some course-related (speakers, exhibits), others career-related (book and software company advertising, law firm recruitment visits), and still others simply social (law fraternity activities, intramural sports, picnics and dances, even movie and theater nights). If the school is a vibrant intellectual community there will be a place where students post cartoons and joke memos. The only way you'll be able to find out about the existence of such valuable services as a night escort program for women will be to see it advertised on a bulletin board or in a publication.

Remember, all these are just impressions. Don't be too quick to write a school off. All cities have some noise, pollution, and crime. All law schools are hectic, busy places and a certain amount of congestion and stress is both normal and desirable. But as you travel from school to school, you can compare one with another.

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