If you’ve been working with an employer for a summer or two and no one has brought up the subject of postgraduate employment, you may want to initiate that discussion as the summer is winding down. If you’re interested in working there, be sure your employer knows it. Although you might be feeling good about your prospects, it would be awful to assume that everyone is on the same page and that an offer will be forthcoming only to find out at some point during your 3L year that everyone was not on the same page, an offer is not forthcoming, and you’ve missed out on a lot of other opportunities. [Read more…] about Talking with Your Current Employer About the Prospect of a Postgraduate Job
About Kala Mueller
Five Tips for Excelling in a Professional Workplace as a Summer Law Clerk
As the school year ends, many of you are probably gearing up for your first summer clerkship, which might also be your first experience working in a professional work environment. For many, it is an exciting, though slightly intimidating, endeavor. Below are some tips to help ensure that you start off and continue on the right foot. [Read more…] about Five Tips for Excelling in a Professional Workplace as a Summer Law Clerk
Judicial Clerkships: An Overview
In my experience working with law students, I’ve found that many of them don’t know what a judicial clerkship is. This isn’t meant to be a dig; I didn’t know what they were until I was a practicing attorney, and the “clerkship” terminology can be confusing since we often refer to summer legal internships in the same manner.
A judicial clerkship can be a great way to begin your legal career. It’s important that you have an idea of what the work entails and why it’s a valuable experience so you’re able to make an informed decision about whether it’s something you want to pursue. [Read more…] about Judicial Clerkships: An Overview
Advice for a Long-Distance Job Search
A common piece of advice regarding law school is to attend a school in the city or state where you’d ultimately like to work. I don’t disagree, and doubt anyone would tell you that being in or near the location where you’re searching for a job doesn’t make that process much easier. However, the reality is that (1) this isn’t always an option, (2) you may not know where you want to be, and (3) plans can change in the course of law school. You might also decide that you want to do a specific type of work – criminal prosecution, for example – where some geographic flexibility can open up more job opportunities.
I’ve helped many students successfully search for out-of-state summer clerkships and post-graduate jobs. Although it often requires more initiative and effort on the part of the student, it can certainly be done. Fortunately, there are a number of mechanisms in place or at your disposal that can help the process along.
Emerging Legal Careers: The Ever-Expanding JD Advantage Market
This is the third post in a multi-part series designed to explore how the legal market is changing and introduce you to some of the options it presents for future law graduates. We’ve already taken a look at opportunities that have arisen with the emergence of new technology and a few “hot” practice areas. We’ll round things out by examining some jobs in the JD Advantage market for those of you who feel like traditional legal practice may not be your jam. [Read more…] about Emerging Legal Careers: The Ever-Expanding JD Advantage Market
Public Service Loan Forgiveness: An Overview
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 in an effort to encourage more people to pursue a career in public service by offering a path to loan forgiveness. PSLF makes it more tenable for attorneys to work in lower-paying public interest jobs, but even after ten years, there continues to be a lot of confusion regarding program requirements. Below we’ll take a look at some of the criteria of the program, along with the current state of PSLF affairs. Although things are looking a bit grim at the moment, there are some reasons to be optimistic. [Read more…] about Public Service Loan Forgiveness: An Overview