Great! You’ve secured a position for the summer! There will be a variety of social activities at your firm, everything from softball games, outdoor concerts, and yes, even a firm dinner. Think of the time with your firm as a really long interview, one that lasts all summer. So, dust off that glove, sharpen those research skills, and polish your silverware etiquette.
We move pretty fast these days, texting instead of writing letters and swinging by the drive-through instead of enjoying sit-down dinners. Your firm dinner will be an opportunity to get to know your potential future employer in a more formal setting, perhaps even with a client present. Paper napkins, sauce packets, and sporks won’t be on the table. Not entirely comfortable with formal dining etiquette? Not sure which fork to use first? Do you put your napkin in your chair or on the table if you have to briefly excuse yourself? Do you spoon your soup towards you or away from you? Should you order the least or most expensive entree on the menu? Is alcohol a definite no-no or simply keep it to a minimum?
A little prep will go a long way to increasing your dining confidence and putting your best foot, or more accurately, your best fork, forward. Do a little online research or stop into your nearby bookstore for some pointers to help you do your best. No one expects you to be Ms. or Mr. Manners but you will feel more comfortable and able to focus more on making a good impression all the way from the courtroom to the dining room.
Trending: #TwitterCausesMistrials
Social media has become so pervasive in our culture that it has even begun to disrupt our judicial system. As an attorney, you should be aware of the ways that jury misconduct could affect your client’s right to a fair trial.
The Wall Street Journal reports that an Arkansas murder conviction was recently thrown out simply because one juror was tweeting throughout the trial. Though judges typically do not allow the use of smartphones in the courtroom, jurors still have access to a wide variety of social media outside the jury box, and this has been causing headaches for attorneys across the country.
Convictions and appeals are increasingly being challenged by attorneys who claim that jurors are improperly communicating with each other outside the courtroom on Facebook, and even sending Facebook friend requests to defendants and plaintiffs.
Courts are struggling with ways to prevent jurors from using social media improperly during trials, but the fact remains that this type of behavior is very hard to detect without compromising juror privacy. Some attorneys have begun to request that jurors turn over their Twitter handles or even allow access to their Facebook accounts during the course of a trial so that any inappropriate communications can be detected, but this again opens a new can of worms when it comes to privacy concerns.
Tips for Overcoming Bad Law School Grades
The sluggish legal services market has made job seeking all the more difficult even for top performing law school students, so what hope is there for those who simply don’t have the best grades? The bad news is that if you do not happen to be one of the lucky few who manage to rise to the top of the class, you are not likely to be successful in securing on-campus interviews with so-called “BigLaw” firms. The good news is that many students who do obsess over grades and other resume-boosting extracurricular activities often fail to distinguish themselves by developing practical legal skills.
When it comes to those coveted BigLaw jobs, grades and class rank are really the only proxy for ability, because these types of firms base their hiring decisions almost entirely on first-year grades. Such firms are not really interested in the kind of legal skills a student might have acquired, largely because the firm will provide the new associates with the kind of training required for that particular law practice.
Tip #1: Aim for the Middle
Mid-sized and smaller firms typically do not have the time or resources to spend on training green attorneys, so they are less interested in class rank and more interested in the tangible skills an applicant possesses. While still in law school, seek out clerkships in the type of firm where you would ultimately like to land a job after law school graduation. Don’t set your heart on getting an offer at that particular firm, as most smaller firms simply don’t have the budget to hire new associates every year. But, make the most of the time you have at the firm by seeking out attorneys to provide mentoring, and by learning all you can about that type of law practice. Keep asking for new and more complicated tasks so that you will be able to set yourself apart from other former law clerks.
Tip #2: If Government Work is What You Seek—Volunteer
Lots of new law students dream of being a prosecutor or public defender, but with budget cuts and hiring freezes, these positions are increasingly hard to come by. The only way to have a shot at this kind of job is to intern at a public office and “put in your time.” Almost all of these positions go to applicants who have volunteered their time throughout...
Four Interview Mistakes to Avoid
In our last post, we discussed ways that your legal resume might not be hitting all the right notes with potential employers. Today, we will focus on the most common mistakes applicants make in their job interviews.
1. Not Realizing That the Job Could Be Yours to Lose
If you have made it to the interview stage of the hiring process, it means that you have been deemed to be qualified for the position. Employers have gone through dozens if not hundreds of applications to identify interview candidates, and that pool is very small. When you are called into an interview, what the hiring party is really looking for is whether or not you, personally, would be a good fit for the team. This is where many applicants get into trouble, because they believe that they have to continue to prove their credentials instead of merely being themselves and showing the employer that they would be a good fit for that office. Employers want to know that you will be able to get along with everyone and that you will not be difficult to work with, so focus on letting your personality shine through.
2. Making Disparaging Remarks About Your Former Employers
It is almost inevitable that you will be asked why you left your last job, and this is where so many job applicants end up shooting themselves in the foot by making negative remarks about their last employer. You will not endear yourself to a prospective employer by reciting a litany of horrors that you experienced in your last job. For one thing, it shows a severe lack of judgment on your part. In addition, it demonstrates a lack of loyalty. How is the potential employer to know that you won’t be making these kinds of comments in a future interview to another employer? Make sure to keep your answers to these types of questions respectful and positive.
3. Making Disparaging Remarks About the Employer’s Clintele
This seems like a no-brainer, but it actually happens more than you would think. Many applicants believe they can curry favor with a prospective employer by being “in the know” about the people the company deals with. Sometimes this manifests itself as being disrespectful to the very people that keep the company in business. Some applicants will even report that the very reason they left their former position in the first place was because...
“I’ve got an amazing resume, so why won’t anyone hire me?”
Gaining entry to the legal services market is more challenging than ever, because there are twice as many applicants as job openings. Setting yourself apart from the competition is crucial, but many law students are unwittingly setting themselves up for disappointment by neglecting to present themselves in the best possible light on their resumes. Here are just a few of the ways that your legal resume is failing to impress potential employers:
1. Not Including a GPA
Many students whose grade point averages are less than stellar steer clear of pointing out their academic shortcomings on a resume, and rightly so. It’s better to focus on your personal achievements and transferable skills when grades are not the best way to demonstrate what you have learned. However, some students believe that they shouldn’t list their GPAs unless they are in the top of the class. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When an applicant fails to include grades, most employers assume that the applicant’s GPA was lower than 3.0.
Remember, the law is a prestige-oriented profession, and your academic standing will be an issue throughout your career. While it is true that once you have actually forged concrete legal skills your grades will be less important, for the first several years, grades matter. Add your GPA to your resume if it is 3.0 or above to avoid being unfairly judged.
2. Exaggerating Accomplishments
It is tempting to embellish and elaborate on the practical legal skills you have obtained through clerkships and other summer positions, especially if your grades are not the best. But one way that you will quickly frustrate employers is to characterize yourself as possessing significant legal experience when really all you have done are mundane daily tasks. For example, veteran legal recruiter Joe Ankus cautions that candidates who claim to possess “extensive pretrial and motion experience” typically only conducted very simple tasks in their previous positions, such as attending calendar calls, and did not actually write or argue substantive motions.
Recruiters and employers quickly see through these kinds of overstatements, so be honest. If you are lucky enough to make it to an interview, your puffery will quickly be revealed when it becomes clear that your deposition “experience” boils down to having merely watched one instead of actually defending one.
3. Including an Objective...
Law School Classes that Build Practical Lawyering Skills
The heavy emphasis that most law schools place upon teaching students to “think like a lawyer” sometimes obscures the fact that the legal profession requires more than just a theoretical understanding of how the law works. Practical skills are vital to the successful practice of law, so it is imperative that students seek out opportunities to build those skills before graduation.
One of the most common complaints from legal employers is that new JDs emerge from their alma maters lacking the ability to draft the most basic contracts or to draw up a simple will. Even if you do not intend to focus on transactional law, as an attorney, legal drafting should be one of the arrows in your quiver, so make sure to add at least one such class to your schedule. Many law schools even offer drafting classes for specific areas of law, and if you can find one that applies to your intended practice area, you will stand out to potential employers.
With the increased emphasis on settlements these days, most lawyers will spend more time taking depositions and only rarely seeing a case go to trial. Look for courses that will help you develop the skills necessary to take and defend depositions so you will be able to assist supervising attorneys right out of the gate.
E-discovery is another area that law firms are struggling with, so any exposure that you can gain while still in school is both valuable and marketable.
If you are considering going solo, you should also consider taking a basic accounting course designed to help you deal with the financial aspects of running a legal practice. Some law schools have begun to offer accounting for the solo practice courses, or even more comprehensive courses that can guide you through the process of becoming established as a solo practitioner, so save room in your schedule for that.
Negotiation and mediation classes are also very useful in that they typically allow you to participate in simulations that will help you learn to get the best deals for your future clients.
Finally, if your school does not require you to take a course or seminar in client counseling you should consider adding one to your schedule. Dealing with clients is an art in itself, and requires lots of practice, so make sure you can handle yourself and keep your clients happy.
However you choose to...
Bar Points: “Big Ticket” Items on the Multistate Bar Exam
s most bar takers are well aware, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) tests six areas of law: Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Torts, and Real Property. Many examinees are, quite naturally, a bit overwhelmed by the sheer breadth of material tested.
What many bar takers don’t realize is that the MBE tests certain subtopics within each area of law more frequently than others. What this means for you is that there are a higher number of points to be earned in certain areas of law than others. Once you’ve identified those areas, you will be able to focus your studies and maximize your score.
So, what are the big ticket MBE topics, you ask? Let’s break it down:
Constitutional Law: First Amendment issues comprise about 50% of the questions tested on the MBE. This includes questions on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the Establishment Clause. You can bone up on these topics here.
Contracts: Formation, conditions, and remedies make up approximately 60% of the questions you’ll face in this subject. You can refresh your knowledge on those topics here.
Criminal Law & Procedure: This subject is split pretty evenly between crimes—predominantly homicide—and procedural due process issues. You will need to memorize the elements of every crime, so get up to speed here.
Evidence: Hearsay, relevance, and presentation each make up around 33% of this subject. The hearsay questions can be pretty challenging, so make sure to get plenty of practice in this area. You can review your Evidence concepts here.
Real Property: This subject is among the most challenging on the bar exam, largely because much of what is tested is not taught in most first-year law school classes. Bar takers, on average, only answer 50% of these questions correctly on the actual exam, so this is a prime subject for claiming extra points. Mortgages and landlord/tenant issues dominate this subject, so focus your energies there. You can delve deeper into these topics here.
Torts: Negligence questions represent 50% of the Torts questions you will encounter on the MBE. Intentional Torts and other torts represent the remaining...
