Archives for the Month of May 2007 on CSO Blog
Log On to Symplicity!
Still looking for a summer job? Be sure to keep checking the latest job postings on Symplicity! New jobs are being posted on a regular basis and there are still positions out there that need to be filled. In fact, three new law clerk positions were posted just last week, along with several positions for new associates.
Remember, the CSO staff remains available throughout the summer. We are here Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Please feel free to call or stop by and visit us with any questions or concerns!
Starting Your Summer Job Out Right!
So, you are about to start your first day as a law clerk or perhaps you are a returning veteran to the law clerk or summer associate world. Either way, this is a great time to think about how to best prepare for your summer, what to do during your tenure as a law clerk, and what not to do before you pack it up to head back to law school. A great resource is What Law School Doesn’t Teach You by Kimm Walton (a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law!) and here are just a few pointers based on the suggestions in her book. The book is full of great advice and copies are available to be checked out in the CSO’s Resource Room.
Be Prepared
Know before you even walk into the office this summer what it is that your employer is expecting from you. Kimm has a top eight hit list that includes excellent output, good judgment, enthusiasm, flexibility, appreciation, ability to “fit in,” an understanding of the organization’s goals, and realistic expectations.
And about walking in the door – be sure that you have scoped out parking, travel time, etc., prior to your first day of work. Make sure you know exactly where you are going and exactly how long it is going to take to get there. Be sure to bring whatever the employer requested if you will be filling out paperwork upon your arrival.
What to Do
Dress the part. Wondering about the dress code? Wear your interview attire until you figure out what is acceptable dress for the office. More employers seem to be moving toward business casual or business casual for the summer but understand that not everyone's idea of business casual is the same. Your best bet is to dress more formal during the first few weeks until you have a firm grasp on what your employer considers business casual.
Get down to business – you were given you first assignment! Now what? Well, Kimm Walton has great advice for making sure you get the assignment done right. Always right down the assignment, ask questions about what type of product the attorney wants (does she want a five minute briefing in three hours or a three page memo in five days), and be sure you understand the issue you are being asked to address. Most importantly, get clarification - don’t leave the attorney’s office before you have briefly repeated back exactly what you believe she is asking you for.
What Not to Do
Don’t miss deadlines! The fastest way to make a bad impression is to promise to have a memo to an attorney on Tuesday, then on Tuesday say you will have it finished on Thursday, and then finally admit on Thursday that you were so swamped all week that you never got to the assignment! When you receive assignments be sure to ask how long each one should take you to complete. The best thing you can do is talk to your assigning attorney as soon as you realize that you will not meet a deadline about the situation and see how he/she wants to proceed – ask if it is ok for you to take extra time.
Don’t forget that social events are still “work events.” A work outing to Jacobs field is not the place for overindulgence. You don’t want to be the summer clerk that everyone remembers for having one too many. Absolutely go out on the town with your co-workers and supervisors for work functions but know your own limits. Always have fun but remember that you are still being evaluated even though you are not technically in the office.
You've Graduated & You're Still Looking for a Job? Don't Panic!
If you are graduating from law school this Sunday but still have not secured a permanent job, do not panic! You will find a job. Your legal (or post-law school) career is just starting, and when you look back to this time years from now you will hardly be able to remember why you were worried.
Many employers do not hire until law graduates have sat for or even passed the bar. These employers can include smaller firms and government and public interest employers. However, you want to keep applying for jobs so that your resume is in the mix when employers are ready to hire. If you are interested in small firms -- which is where the majority of practicing lawyers work -- you should also be open to the possibility of working as a law clerk until bar results come in; some firms will bring graduates in as law clerks and at a reduced pay rate so that everyone can test the waters, and they hire them for associate positions once they are licensed. Also, you should consider broadening your horizons as far as areas of practice and work settings.
Also, keep in mind that studying for the bar exam is a full-time endeavor for most people. You don't need to abandon your job search altogether, but spend the vast majority of your time preparing for the bar so you only need to take it once!
The Gossip Mill
Gossip is simply an unavoidable presence in all workplaces. As you begin your summer positions, take Holly English's advice and keep the following "gossip rules" in mind:
1. Some gossip is good - That's right. Some gossip can actually be beneficial. Good gossip includes discussion of the latest events and informal workings around the firm. You want to make sure that you are plugged in and aware of what's going on. The way to do that is to have lots of relationships with many people, and to stay connected with them, find out what they're doing, and to hear about what other people are doing.
2. Bad news is a red flag - A simple rule of thumb is that when the gossip being repeated is negative about an individual, you should be on the alert.
3. Beware of people's motives and act accordingly - If someone is passing along negative information about a colleague, you should instantly be alert as to their motives. If you suspect that they are deliberately trying to backstab or otherwise undermine someone else, these are exactly the kinds of conversations to steer well clear of. If not, you could somehow wind up implicated as one of the gossip mongers!
4. Don't repeat information that is ostensibly confidential - Many times people come in possession of confidential information, and inadvertently repeat it, only to find out that the assumption was that the information was closely held. The very fact that you possess the information will be held against you, even if you learned about it innocently. Therefore, be careful about what you repeat to others.
Case Western Reserve University Law School students selected for 2007 Equal Justice Works Summer Corps Program
Two Case Western Reserve University Law School students will spend this summer serving with nonprofit public interest law organizations as a part of the Equal Justice Works Summer Corps program. Jennifer Becker and Marc Epstein will each earn a $1,000 education award voucher through this national AmeriCorps-funded program. These students were among 592 applicants for 350 participant slots nationwide.
The 2007 Summer Corps members are first- and second-year law students from 117 law schools. They will each serve at least 300 hours in public interest projects, providing critically needed legal assistance to low-income and underserved communities in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Summer Corps members will also gain first-hand experience and legal skills in areas such as client intake, individual representation, research and writing.
Summer Corps members work on a broad range of issues, including civil rights, community economic development, death penalty, disability rights, housing, domestic violence, education, public benefits and workers’ rights. In addition, 42 members are part of the Equal Justice Works Katrina Summer Corps, providing disaster-related legal services to populations affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Jennifer Becker will serve with The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland in Cleveland; Marc Epstein with HIV/AIDS and LGBT Project of the National ACLU in New York.
Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information about Equal Justice Works, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.
Digital Dirt
Do you have a MySpace, Facebook or Friendster profile? If so, you need to find your "digital dirt." Digital dirt is the information about you that is available on the internet. This can include postings to others' websites, information about your likes, dislikes, and hobbies, photos, profiles, rants, raves and resumes. This trail of information that you leave behind is usually in plain view for others, including prospective employers, to see.
It is becoming more and more common for legal employers to look at social-networking sites in order to qualify job prospects before calling them in to interview. According to Gina Rubel, Esq., owner of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc., there are five steps to take to clean up your digital dirt.
1. Narcisurf - Search for your name on the internet to find your digital dirt. Search for information about yourself in every way possible (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, etc.).
2. Clean your profiles - Go to every site on which you have a profile that you can control and clean it up! Make sure everything on that profile is 100% accurate. Then make sure that if you have posted something, you would not be ashamed to forward it to your grandmother or future employer to read or see.
3. Ask to be removed - If you have a posting on a site that you can't control, contact the site's webmaster and ask that your post be removed.
4. Fill in the spaces with clean dirt - Sometimes irremovable dirt can be covered up a bit with clean dirt. Crowd your internet profile search with positive information about you or your studies.
5. Monitor yourself - Set up a Google alert with your name included. This way you know what's being said by and about you.
Remember - every nugget of information that you post or that someone posts about you on the internet can last for many years to come!
Introducing Our First "Guest Blogger" Entry: Tips for a Successful Summer, from Michael R. Gordon '85
Next year, the CSO will unveil a "guest blogger" series, in which alumni and practitioners will post their advice and insights on the CSO Blog. As a prelude to this series, here is our first guest blog entry. Michael R. Gordon '85, Partner with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP in New York City, generously contributed his time and wrote out the following tips on how to have a successful summer work experience. While Mr. Gordon is with a large law firm, there is something for everyone here, whether you are working with a large, mid-size or small firm, or with a public interest, government, academic, business, or other type of employer. Please read on, as his advice will serve you well. And many thanks to Mr. Gordon for his insights.
1. Do excellent work and lots of it; get on the scoreboard at least once per week.
2. Propose solutions, don’t just spot the issues or identify problems.
3. Think, research, write and speak with precision.
4. Return every phone call the same day you receive it; keep voicemail messages informative yet short and sweet.
5. Protect firm and client confidences.
6. Ask questions when you receive an assignment; know what is expected.
7. Bill your time daily – accurately and completely.
8. Make written work product look impressive – and most importantly - PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD!
9. Welcome criticism and learn from it.
10. Start off building your reputation. Take initiative and be proactive. Be positive and enthusiastic about everything you do. This includes, assignments, summer events and training programs.
DO
1. Ask as many questions as you need to make sure you completely understand the assignment that’s been given to you, including what sort of deadline is involved. Be candid with your assigning attorney about what’s on your plate and any concerns you have about being able to finish an assignment on time.
2. Spend time learning about the firm – become genuinely interested in the firm. Exhibit an enthusiastic curiosity about the work the firm does. Try also to get a sense of the big picture each time you are assigned to work on something new.
3. Be proactive. If there is a person at the firm who does work you are particularly interested in, give him or her a call and introduce yourself.
4. Take advantage of the firm’s resources. If you are asked to draft a contract or a memorandum, ask to see well-done samples. Talk to associates who have worked with specific partners to get a sense of their individual expectations.
5. Carefully review each piece of work that you hand in for typos and other mistakes; never hand in less than completely finished work to a supervising partner or associate.
6. Strike a balance between the work and social elements of your summer. Take your work very seriously and tread somewhat cautiously at social events. Use the social activities during the summer to demonstrate your level of maturity.
7. Get a handle on budgeting your time early on. Take on as much work as you can without reneging on existing deadlines and underperforming on projects that have already been assigned to you. If you do get caught and don’t think you can meet a deadline report it to your supervising attorney ASAP.
8. People hear about how you treat everyone, including support staff (secretaries, paralegals, recruiting staff and library personnel). Let the word get around that you treat people well.
9. Help other summer associates – you are in this together as a firm. Do ask for help from other summer associates. They may have some insight on your project or they may have worked with the same assigning partner before and can offer you some advice.
DON’T
1. Don’t try to do an assignment without fully knowing what’s involved out of intimidation or fear that a partner or associate expects you to already know everything. Don’t be afraid to ask what you don’t know or understand.
2. Don’t do the bare minimum. Don’t fail to ask any questions about how your work fits into the big picture.
3. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel by ignoring the hours of work done by associates who came before you. Ask the assigning attorney, your mentor or other associates if there are existing memos or research files that may assist you with your assignment.
4. Don’t hide in your office with your head in a pile of paper in order to avoid human contact. When you pass people in the hallways, say hello. Go to the planned events, go out to lunch with as many as attorneys as possible and attend any training programs or practice group lunches that are offered while you are there. Get to know the people who make up the firm.
5. Don’t hand in working drafts or work that has not been proofread to a partner, no matter how laid back he or she may seem. Use this test: Ask yourself whether you would be less than confident in the quality of your work were it to be distributed to every lawyer at the firm for their review. If so, go back and take another look.
6. Don’t let up. As one 3L puts it: "Beware of week six; it’s the point in the summer when the learning curve flattens. There is a tendency to say, ‘I’ve done enough work,’ and get a little lazy." All the work product you produce counts.
7. Don’t focus only on work to the exclusion of enjoying your summer. Firms like to hire people who lead relatively well-rounded lives. Plus the social events are another great opportunity to get to know the people you work with.
8. Don’t be late to anything including summer events, client meetings, training programs or even lunches. Being on time shows that you are dependable.
9. Don’t check your blackberry during a training program even if you see other attorneys do so. It is disrespectful.