Job Search Strategies Workshop

Office of Career and Professional Development

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Source: NALP 2008 Survey

Sources of Jobs (National Avg.)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Fall OCI

Job fair/consortia

Job posting

Commercial internet site

Return to prior job

Start own practice

Spring OCI

Temp agency

Other

Referral

Self-initiated contact

Sources of Jobs (National avg.)

37.4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Fall OCI

Job fair/consortia

Job posting

Commercial internet site

Return to prior job

Start own practice

Spring OCI

Temp agency

Other

Self-directed

Combine referral and self-initiated into SELF-DIRECTED

What students did during their first summer

Percent of Maurer Students

Worked Only 88.1

Worked and studied 6.9

Summer school/study abroad

3.5

Did not work or study 1.5

Where students worked% of IUB Students

Judicial Clerkship 22.4%

Firm (all sizes) 19.9

State (govt & AG’s) 13.4

Public Interest 12.9

Federal 10.4

Local (govt, DA’s & PD’s) 10.4

Corporations/Business 4.5

Research Asst 2.0

Other (Academia, Int’l, Mil) 4.0

Source: NALP Suvey 2003

Timing of 1L Summer Job Offers

% of Students

April 27.4%

March 23.9

May 19.7

February 10.5

June 6.8

January 6.1

December 2.3

July 1.8

Large Law Firms

Some accepting applications Dec 1-15; some not until you have semester grades

Make decisions based on grades Will take applications and then ask for

transcript when it becomes available About one 1L opening for every five to twenty

2L opportunities – based on 2L hiring yield & long-term

What does large mean?

Large Law Firms – Resources

Martindale HubbellGeographic specificTop 100

Westlaw & Lexis NALP Directory – www.nalpdirectory.org

Small- to Medium-Sized Firms

Depending on market – some medium firms will make early spring offer

Most accept apps & make offers Jan-April – many on a first-come, first-serve basis

Generally don’t have application process Can contact firm to see if they hire 1L’s

and/or have openings

Small- to Medium-Sized Firms – Resources

NALP Directory – www.nalpdirectory.org OCPD website – Online Resources Other law school career services

sites Yellow Pages Not posted

Judicial Clerkships

Many like to have free help due to budget cuts

Often a phone call will answer your questions

Applications accepted in the spring Think of different types of courts (i.e. tax,

family, juvenile, trial vs. appellate) Federal Courts Clinic – US District Court for

the Southern Dist of IN – send resume and cover letter to Prof Seth Lahn

Judicial Clerkships – Resources

County and state courts OCPD Online Resources

http://www.law.indiana.edu/careers/resources/index.shtml

The Vermont Guide http://www.vermontlaw.edu/x1101.xml

www.statelocalgov.net“Indiana Legal Directory”

Judicial Clerkships – Resources

Federal Courts“The American Bench”https://oscar.uscourts.gov/index.php?

_tab=home and register as an applicanthttp://apps.law.indiana.edu/careers/where-

are-they-now/clerkships.asp

Public Interest

Legal Aid or Public Guardian’s Offices, Nonprofit organizations, Associations

Most open for proactive applicants Some with processes Available throughout spring semester

many on a first-come, first-serve basis

Public Interest – Resources

PSLawNet – www.PSLawNet.org OCPD web site – Online resources Everett Public Service Internships -

http://www.everettinternships.org/search/internships.cfm

Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conf. or Equal Justice Works

State & Local Government

Includes City or County General Counsel’s Office

Public Defender or District Attorney Any state government agency Available during spring Contact them to find out about

availability

State & Local Government – Resources

“National Directory of Prosecuting Attorneys” – DA’s and PD’s

www.statelocalgov.net Almost any area PD’s or DA’s office Govt Honors & Internship Handbook -

http://www.law.arizona.edu/career/honorshandbook.cfm - See OCPD for username & password

Federal Government

Some deadlines are coming up soon – those with a need for a security clearance

Others on a first-come, first-serve basis Some help you with FT positions later on

while some will not Federal Govt is not only D.C.

Federal Government – Resources

Govt Honors & Internship Handbook - http://www.law.arizona.edu/career/honorshandbook.cfm - See OCPD for username & password

Federal Govt site – www.usajobs.gov Internship & Student Info –

www.studentjobs.gov Agency Information Gateway

http://www.studentjobs.gov/agencies.asp

Corporations

Very limited opportunities to work with a corp. general counsel’s office

Cook, Inc. Bloomington: IP/Patent 1L summer

Should be industry-specific relationship to your practice area interest

Often going back to a previous employer

Corporations – Resources

“Directory of Corporate Counsels” – in law school library

Corporate Counsel – Fortune 500 Search http://solis.365media.com/ALM/corpcounsel/search.asp - Need to sign in and create account

Other Resources

OCPD Outreach & Posting to Symplicity

Spring On-Campus Interviews (OCI) and Resume Collections (RC)

Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines

Things to Keep in Mind

Many opportunities are unadvertised Most first-year summer internships are

unpaid but are much more valuable (both for your career and your long-term financial well being) than many things you could do

Don’t limit yourself to the Bloomington area

Try to establish or re-establish yourself in the geographic location of your choice