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April 30, 2008
Opportunities with the U.S. Department of Justice
The CSO recently received an email from the Department of Justice introducing some important changes to their Attorney General’s Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program for 2008-2009. The text of their message follows:
There are exciting new developments in the Attorney General’s Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program! Highlights include:
• An earlier application deadline and a faster review and selection process. The applications open on July 25th and close on September 2nd, 2008 (12:00 midnight Eastern time).
• Four United States Attorneys’ Offices (USAOs) and the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA) are hiring approximately 16 entry-level attorneys through the Honors Program. Due to the level of responsibility held by AUSAs, these opportunities are only available to applicants who are admitted to a bar or, in some cases, who have taken a summer 2008 bar examination with results due in fall 2008. Participating USAOs are:
o The Central District of California, Los Angeles, CA
o The Southern District of California, San Diego, CA
o The Western District of Michigan, Grand Rapids, MI
o The Middle District of Florida, Orlando, FL
o EOUSA, Washington, D.C., with possible assignments nationwide
• The USAO for the District of Wyoming is participating in the Summer Law Intern Program and offering a position in either Cheyenne, WY, or in Yellowstone National park.
• The Honors Program application has been expanded to permit applicants serving in post-J.D. legal fellowships to apply online on a conditional basis.
Please visit www.usdoj.gov/oarm for more details!
The CSO also received a PowerPoint presentation detailing this information. To receive a copy of the PowerPoint, please send an email to lawjobs@case.edu
Posted by kcc17 at 12:27 PM
April 24, 2008
CSO Continues Employer Outreach Efforts
The academic year is drawing to a close, but, as you know, the CSO’s continues to be available to you every day from 8:30AM until 5PM. Not only that, we also continue our employer outreach efforts year-round. Interested in where we’ve been going and who we’ve been meeting? Check out the bulletin board outside the CSO where we list the employers with which we’ve met.
To date, we’ve invited more than 3,000 employers across the country to participate in our 2008 Fall Interview Program and we’ve sought to establish personal contact with hundreds of employers in various markets. During this academic year, we’ve met face-to-face with more than 100 employers to share information about the law school and to obtain information that is useful to you as you make decisions about your legal career.
We want to share what we know with you. As you continue your job search efforts, please feel free to bring a list of your target employers to the CSO. We’ll tell you what you know and point you in the right direction to get more information.
Posted by kcc17 at 11:10 AM
April 21, 2008
Guest Blogger's Advice for How to Make the Most of Your Summer Legal Job
Periodically throughout the year the CSO will be posting blog entries from guest bloggers about various topics. Please note that the views expressed by our guest bloggers are the personal opinion of each blogger and are not necessarily the views and opinions of the CSO. The CSO guest blogger entries are intended as an opportunity for attorneys currently practicing in the legal field to share their insight and advice with law students.
Our guest blogger for the month of April is Haroon Hamid, Esq. (class of 2006). Mr. Hamid is an Associate at Baker & McKenzie in New York. In his blog, Mr. Hamid offers advice to students for how to make your summer job experience a successful one.
"For all of you who are getting ready to start your summer work experiences, first keep things in perspective and make sure you have a great time. Second, I recommend the following:
1. Use your summer experience as an opportunity to explore different areas of law:
Most firms either have rotation programs where you move through different practice areas or have a central assignment program from which summer associates select their assignments. You can experience and gain maximum exposure to different areas of law to make an educated decision on what area most interests you through either one of these programs. If there is no such program, you can take the initiative to explore different practice areas to the extent possible.
2. Get involved in firm activities:
Your grades, your interview, and getting the job are only half the battle. The other half is networking and getting to know not only the other summer associates but also the attorneys and staff members throughout the firm. The more exposure that you have to members of the firm, the stronger your chances of receiving an offer at the end of your summer experience.
3. Treat each assignment with enthusiasm, pay attention to detail, and be on time:
The basic building block of your summer experience is high quality work. Everything else that you do presupposes that your work product is of the highest quality. Make sure that every assignment you take on is completed with enthusiasm and on time. If you feel you need more time to complete an assignment, inform the appropriate people of the additional time requirement well in advance of the due date.
4. Ask questions:
Asking questions shows that you are intelligent, curious and generally interested in what you are learning about. This is the one point that I cannot stress enough!
5. Know the facts:
You can rarely complete an assignment well if you do not know the real life context of the legal issue at hand. When given an assignment, find out as much of the factual background as possible.
Note: While the foregoing refers directly to a summer experience at a law firm, the recommendations are generally applicable to any summer legal experience."
Posted by cld30 at 09:09 AM
April 14, 2008
REMINDER: How to Have a Successful Summer Workshop Tomorrow!
Interested in making the most of your summer legal job? Wondering what employers will be expecting from you this summer?
The CSO will provide advice about making the most of your summer work experience and a student panel will be available to answer questions.
When: Tuesday, April 15 at Noon
Where: Room A57
Posted by kcc17 at 04:25 PM
April 11, 2008
A Best-Kept Secret of the CSO
When you come in the CSO, do you ever wonder what’s in all those filing cabinets around the room? Well, wonder no more! Most of them are chock full of some of the best resources in the CSO – firm brochures, newsletters, and marketing mailers from employers all over the country! These materials are veritable gold mines of insider information about an organization’s practice areas, attorneys, culture, pro bono opportunities, recent achievements, and more.
Use this information to identify employers in line with your career goals, to learn who the leaders in a particular city or practice area are, and to help prepare you for interviews.
The information in these cabinets is updated regularly. In fact, just this week we received a Pro Bono Update report from Mayer Brown and information about applying for student and summer opportunities with the District Attorney of the County of New York. Stop by and check them out!
Posted by cld30 at 11:10 AM
April 10, 2008
How to Have a Successful Summer Workshop
Interested in making the most of your summer legal job? Wondering what legal employers will be expecting from you this summer? Then come to the CSO's Workshop on "How to Have a Successful Summer." The CSO will provide advice to make your summer job experience successful and a student panel will be available to answer questions.
When: Tuesday, April 15 at Noon
Where: Room A57
Posted by cld30 at 04:40 PM
April 08, 2008
LGBT Panel - April 10
The CSO invites you to listen as local attorneys provide insight, advice, and participate in a discussion addressing legal job search and employment issues and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students/attorneys.
When: Thursday, April 10, 12:00-1:00 pm
Where: Room A57
Pizza will be served!
Posted by kcc17 at 03:01 PM
April 07, 2008
Judicial Clerkship Information Session
Interested in Judicial Clerkship opportunities for after graduation?
Plan to attend the Judicial Clerkship Information Session this Wednesday, April 9th at 12:00 noon in Room A57. You will learn about the application process, including the timeline for applying, necessary materials, factors to consider when selecting recommenders, different methods of application, and differences between the State and Federal process.
Feel free to bring your lunch to the session!
Posted by cld30 at 08:50 AM
April 04, 2008
Fall Interview Program Overview Sessions
Attention 1L students:
Although the fall and your 2L summer seem far off, the Fall Interview Program will actually begin during the upcoming summer. In order to introduce you to the Fall Interview Program, the CSO will hold 1L workshops Monday, April 7, Tuesday, April 8, and Wednesday, April 9 at noon. Because the CSO understands that scheduling at this time of year can be difficult, we ask that you attend the session that is most convenient for you.
Please note that if you intend to participate in the Fall Interview Program it is mandatory that you attend one of the three sessions. If you do not attend a session, you will not be allowed to participate in the Fall Interview Program and will be blocked from bidding for employers.
Information covered will include
* Off Campus Interview Programs
* Early Interview Week
* On Campus Interview Program
* Resume Collect/Resume Direct
* Important Dates & Deadlines
* Participation Agreement
Dates
Monday, April 7 (Room A57)
Tuesday, April 8 (Room A57)
Wednesday, April 9 (Room 157)
Time
12:00 pm - all days
Posted by kcc17 at 05:19 PM
April 02, 2008
Did you miss today’s Patent Law presentation?
If you missed today’s presentation by Gene Quinn from the Practicing Law Institute, you missed some great information about the patent bar exam as well as “insider’s tips” on preparing for and conducting a patent law job search. Fortunately, though, your friendly CSO staffer was there taking notes! Mr. Quinn’s advice for students included the following:
• Networking is crucially important in the patent law field. He encouraged students to get out and talk to people, attend meetings and social events, and attend CLEs. (PLI actually offers student “scholarships” to their patent CLE programs, allowing students to attend for only $25. To learn more, email mdighton@pli.edu.)
• A patent law resume should not look exactly like a typical law school resume for a general practice firm or public service organization. A patent law resume should highlight experience (including patents held and articles published) wherever possible. In the case of students with extensive previous experience, a resume that looks more like a CV is acceptable.
• Employer research is critical. You must know how to position yourself to each employer’s specialties and needs. You must research what scientific areas an employer specializes in and make sure that your background matches their needs and clientele.
• Don’t be shy about providing detailed information on your resume about your past experience, including detailed descriptions of what you’ve done in the past, what programs/technologies you’ve worked with, etc. Patent law firms are unique in that the person reviewing your resume will almost always be a person with a hard science background as well. This means that the usual rule of avoiding technical language or industry jargon doesn’t always apply when applying for patent law opportunities.
Stop by the CSO to pick up some extra handouts from the session, and please direct any questions you may have to a CSO counselor.
Posted by kcc17 at 04:05 PM