LARGE FIRM/LARGE STATE & FEDERAL AGENCY “FALL�
SPRING RECRUITING “SEASON�
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICE “YEAR�
SMALL FIRM “YEAR�
THE VOLUNTEER “YEAR�
CLERKSHIP “YEAR�
1L “YEAR�
THE ALTERNATIVE CAREER "YEAR"
THE HIRING “YEAR�There is more than one “Hiring Year.� All but one contain more than 12 months and they all have their own characteristics and casts of characters. Because these “years� overlap, there is absolutely no time when it is “too late� to begin or revive a job search.
LARGE FIRM/LARGE STATE & FEDERAL AGENCY “FALL�
“Fall� recruiting for 2L summer and 3L permanent positions with large law firms and agencies begins for 1Ls and 2Ls in February with applications for the Loyola Patent Law Interview Program which is usually scheduled for the first weekend of August. The CPDC’s “Fall Interview Kickoff� program is set for early April.
“Fall� recruiting for employers participating in on or off campus interviews begins in early July when applications are due for off campus programs. “Fall� recruiting for large state and federal agencies begins with applications in late July or early August. Some government employers participate in on and off campus interviews; others can be found in the Arizona Government & Honors Handbook (password protected on the CPDC website), which you may search by class year for available agencies and deadlines.
For Fall 2008, the U of MN on and off campus interview schedule is as follows:
August 15 – West Coast
August 18 – Chicago
August 20 – Washington DC
August 22 – New York
Week of August 25 – 100+ interview schedules during the week before school starts)
These interviews are conducted before school start to keep students competitive with other early-interviewing schools, and to minimize disruption of fall classes. When the market shows signs of strength, 3Ls may find that large law firms continue to hire through the spring and into the following fall (yes, after graduation).
The “fall� ends – more or less – in December. For Fall 2008, the NALP Guidelines for the Timing of Offers and Acceptances will have a rolling offer system, which will give students 45 days from the day they receive an offer to accept, decline or negotiate for more time. The CPDC will provide updates when the NALP rules change.
SPRING RECRUITING SEASON
Spring recruiting includes both on campus interviews and a set of public interest job fairs including Minnesota Justice Foundation clerkship interviews and the Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conference. Unlike fall OCI, when the employers come to interview within a concentrated time frame, spring campus interviews take place throughout the semester. Interview schedules are posted in the OCI section of Symplicity, and required credentials should be uploaded 10 days before the interview date.
Local and national employers recruiting in the spring post jobs for the private sector (small and medium sized law firms), the public sector (Minnesota prosecutors, public defenders, government offices, Legal Services and other non-profits), work-study positions, and others. During the Spring, some public sector employers recruit for post JD fellowship positions.
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SERVICE “YEAR�Local prosecutors, defenders, legal services agencies and other non-profits hire 1Ls for the summer after first year and may have them continue through second and third years. They also hire 2Ls and 3Ls, except when their budget shortfalls mandate a hiring freeze.
Non-Minnesota agencies accept resumes for summer employment during the fall or spring, depending on their budgets. Some state and local agencies do not consider applicants for permanent employment until candidates have passed the bar exam (prosecutors and public defenders in California). The University of Arizona’s Government & Honors Internship Handbook password-protected on the CPDC website), the CPDC’s Public Interest webpage, and Symplicity are good starting points for research.
The Equal Justice Works Conference allows students to interview for national public service employers in October. Later programs include the Midwest Public Interest Law Career Conference, Minnesota Justice Foundation clerkship interviews and other, smaller programs.
THE SMALL FIRM “YEAR�
One of law students’ consistent concerns is that there appears to be no direct connection to small and mid-sized firms because they do not participate in structured interview programs.
It is true: there is no “season� for these employers, because hiring on a regular, annual basis is not part of their business model. Small firms are like small businesses everywhere – they hire when they have a need and a budget line to do the hire. Lawyers often think about hiring about two weeks after a staffing crisis overtakes the office. In terms of summer work, they may not begin to think about summer hires until summer looms large in their personal lives – for example, when the snow melts and they start booking summer vacations or April and May.
An oddity of the law school hiring: law students are focused on jobs for the summer of 2008 in August of 2007 with large law firms and agencies. The rest of the legal marketplace (and the rest of the business world) hires based on need and usually no more than six to eight weeks before a start date.
How do you create a “door� when there no opening? Broadly speaking, there are two ways to connect to lawyers at small and mid-sized firms who are not hiring right now.
1. Be where lawyers are. Without a “season,� there is no consistent, open door for summer hires. There are, however, many opportunities to meet and to work with lawyers in all practice areas with whom you may create those doors. Your participation in bar association activities – especially in committee work – allows you to make a good impression on a group of people who are active in bar work, and who are often similarly active and influential with their employers. Your contribution to a project – however small, helps to create A Rebuttable Presumption of Excellence in All Things, making it acceptable for your new colleagues to recommend you to others or to hire you directly. You know how this works: with even tangential interactions with people, you make judgments. If a person is smart, contributes to the project, and is pleasant to deal with, you are willing to work with her again, and to say good things about her. This can work for you, too.
You should also attend relevant Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs. Your willingness to invest in your own career by learning practical, substantive information and skills helps lawyers “see� you as worthy of hire. List the CLE programs you attend on your resume under EDUCATION heading or under PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS and ACTIVITIES.
2. Understand job postings that these employers offer throughout the year.
(a) “Part time now, full time summer,� which often leads to permanent offers or to recommendations for you that read “While we are not expanding our office now, if we were, we would hire this student whose work, work product, and work ethic have been exemplary;�
(b) “Part-time now,� which might lead to full time summer or permanent employment; or
(c) “project work� which often becomes a regular part time schedule and then leads to summer or permanent employment.
There is not a moment during the year when small firms might not hire students or lawyers. The school calendar – including school and bar exam schedules – is of no consequence to an office full of busy lawyers needing help NOW.
THE VOLUNTEER “YEAR�This “year� can begin during the first week of your 1L year and continue for the rest of your life. The choices are unlimited:
(1) Follow your dream toward a particular kind of practice. This may be the hardest but most rewarding work that you ever do because you need to decide what you want, to reach out to the people who are doing the work here or around the world and to make yourself known to them for your dedication and interest. Doing research projects – even long distance – can make you indispensible. For your particular individual strategy, consult your CPDC counselor.
(2) Explore the vast array of opportunities available through MJF and PSLawNet;
(3) Take volunteer work that you performed as an undergrad and add law student expertise to work that matters to you;
(4) Connect to organizations around the country or around the world. Know which agencies do specific kinds of work; target your volunteer efforts toward work that interests you. Understand your target organization’s management and funding sources.
(5) Be where the lawyers are: The best approach to these employers when they are NOT hiring, is to get yourself into the room and at the table where they are sitting. How? When lawyers are not hiring, and not working on client files, they are in Bar Committee Meetings, in Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs, and working on Pro Bono Projects. Once you have done good work on a project with a group of lawyers you will acquire have acquired “The Rebuttable Presumption of Excellence in All Things,� paving the way for your new colleagues to recommend you for employment or to hire you outright. (See #1, above).
Many of these paths might lead to a post-JD fellowship or to summer or permanent post-JD employment. Many post-JD public sector opportunities often come with loan repayment.
THE CLERKSHIP “YEAR�The recruiting process for judicial clerkships begins for 2Ls with programs in the Spring and Fall. Learn more about the application process at the CPDC Clerkships Page. While the majority of federal judges adhere to the Federal Clerkship Hiring Guidelines by recruiting 3Ls in the very early fall, some will also hire post JD clerks on their own timelines. Some, but not all, state appellate courts recruit during the spring of 2nd year. The Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals now review resumes in the summer and interview in late August and early September of 3rd year. A handful of Minnesota trial courts (3rd Judicial District) hire during 3L OCI. By contrast, most Minnesota trial courts hire when their clerks move on to new jobs, which can be anytime during the year. There are also additional opportunities to apply for clerkships when new judges are appointed or when a current clerk leaves before his or her term is complete.
THE 1L “YEAR�The only “year� with fewer than 12 months is the 1L “year,� which begins on November 1. Employers will not look at 1L resumes until December 1, which is not a deadline but the beginning of 1L hiring. December 1st employers are, for the most part, Large Firms and Major Agencies which made tentative plans to hire 1Ls when they published hiring goals in the NALP Directory of Legal Employers the previous February. Most employers hiring 1Ls begin to post jobs between late February and early May. The 1L “year� ends in mid-July when students begin to apply for interview programs and government honors programs for the following summer.
Continue reading "The Hiring "Year" Deconstructed" »