Career & Professional Development Blog

Concurring Opinions' Tips for Summer (and Junior) Associates

Two posts from Concurring Opinions for summer and junior associates and other law clerks:

Some tips for summer associates: navigating work and play

Some more tips for summer (and maybe junior associates): work assignments

Susan Gainen, University of Minnesota Law School

Communication alert: use the employer's correct name

What's in a name?  Everything when it's misspelled.

When you write to a prospective employer or to a networking connection, be very careful about how you spell the employer's name.  In law firms, blood is (metaphorically) spilled in management committee meetings when partners' names are added or deleted, and when the committee decides to use a "comma," it is a purposeful decision.  Also "periods" in L.L.P, LLP, LLC, L.L.C., P.A. and PA matter.  Using an agency's correct name matters, too.

This is the first detail that you can miss in your very first writing sample, and everyone who sees your documents will notice.  Forever.

For example:

Arnold & Porter LLP is NOT:

Arnold and Porter

Arnold and Porter L.L.P.

Arnold & Porter

Arnold & Porter L.L.P.

Susan Gainen, University of Minnesota Law School

Networking or Information Interview Alert!!

From an alum:  Although you are not expected to be a subject specialist when you go for a networking or information meeting, you owe it to yourself and to your host to be more than minimally prepared.  You, after all, called the meeting.

Bad Beginning:   "Hi. I'm interested in construction litigation.  Can you tell me all about it?"

If your meeting is based on your interest in the lawyer's practice area and she has been working in the field for a decade, you ought to have reviewed her martindale.com listing, Googled her and be able to name the topic areas of her recent reported cases.  And yes, it would be excellent if you noted that she had litigated one of the really notable cases in her field.

Another Bad Beginning: "Hi. I'm interested in [your city], but I'm not sure what practice I'm interested in.  What's hot in [your city.]?"

Your networking connection just disconnected.  You have asked a busy stranger a question that he can't possibly answer in a helpful way. A smart lawyer knows that just because a practice is "hot" doesn't mean that any particular student or lawyer is right for it.  A busy lawyer my not have the slightest idea that an obscure practice area is the hottest ticket in town.  And this person doesn't have the slightest idea about who you are and in what area you might thrive.

Susan Gainen, University of Minnesota Law School

Guard your On-Line Reputation as You Would IRL

As you prepare to send your resume out into the world, do a few quick checks. First, you do not want to have a silly, casual, or goofy e-mail address on your resume. Even “LawGuy80” sounds a little too informal as you delve into the legal world, a world in which professionalism is key. A few tips: • Keep it simple and professional • Avoid any numbers that would give a clue to your age • Avoid the words girl, guy, sweet, little, party, beer, any off-color words and the like The general rule of thumb is that you do not want to provide potential employers with any sort of preconceived notions about you through your e-mail address.

Maintain an E-mail Address That You Can Keep After Law School

Second, if you are a third-year law student, make sure you have an e-mail address that you can keep up with after you graduate. At our law school, e-mail accounts are purged twice a year – once in February/March and again in October/November. To avoid this problem altogether, you may want to set up a non-university e-mail account (for example, with Yahoo, Google, or MSN) solely for the purpose of your job search.

Professionalism Applies to Voice Mail Messages, Too

Third, just as you want to project a sincere and professional image through your e-mail name, you also want to do the same for your voice mail message for the telephone number provided on your resume. The last thing you want is for a potential employer to call you up to offer you a job and hear a message intended for your close friends. I have called students before only to hear, “Yo, this is ___.” Now imagine if I was a potential employer. Remember, you want the employer to hire you, not laugh at your voice mail message.

A Final Word: You on the Internet

When you were in high school or college, you may not have realized that future employers would Google you. So, your stories about partying and the like posted on an online social network website may do you more harm than good. This is not to say that you should not blog or maintain a website. I have a law student who has a website that is focused on his law school career. He’s developed the perfect (and professional) way to market himself – for free! He posts personal items, as well, but only those that would share with a potential employer a little bit about who he is, while all the while maintaining a level of professionalism that is expected of those in the legal community. On a networking trip to Washington, D.C., I met with one of the hiring attorneys at a federal agency. He said that one of the things they will do in reviewing candidates' materials, is conduct an internet search on the person. He said, “We use common sense in discerning whether the information is accurate or whether it is actually that person,” but if the employer finds your page on an on-line social network and it is obviously you, the last thing you want is for your future employer to read about how you enjoy swilling beer after class. If you do participate in an online social network, make sure your settings are on private so that only close friends can view your blog and photos. Even then, be wary of your friends' pages that might be public where your comments on those friends' pages are viewable by others.

The key is to guard your on-line reputation just as you would guard it IRL (in real life).

By Anetra D. E. Parks, J.D. University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, Wyoming

Podcast series to aid transition from law student to legal professional

Suffolk University Law School launched a free podcast series titled "Transitioning from One-L to Summer Legal Work. The series, comprised of 19 podcasts, provides law students with valuable information and practical advice on how to successfully transition from law school to legal work settings, including how to draft e-mails to partners, etiquette at social work functions, and interacting with support staff.

Professor Jeff Lipshaw first alerted the legal blogging community about this new career development tool on the Legal Profession Blog on May 28, 2008. Professor Lipshaw introduces the new resource to law students with a persuasive encouragement.

It's time to clean up, put on the suits, and go to work. And Suffolk University Law School's acclaimed legal research and writing program now has just the iPod content you need for those commutes into the office.

You can read the complete post at the hyperlink below.

http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2008/05/new-free-podcas.html

I encourage readers to share these podcasts with their respective students. Imagine the results if more law students entered the practice with crisper skill sets related to the profession. The podcasts are availables Suffolk University Law School's iTunes U.

http://www.law.suffolk.edu/iTunes/

Carlos Davila-Caballero, Tulane University Law School

As reference season begins again...

Whether you are asking for a reference or, as in this Q&A from spring semester email, serving as a reference, clear, direct communication between candidate and recommender is absolutely crucial.

Q. From a student:  I received a call morning from a potential employer of one of my legal writing students. He hadn't warned me that they might call, and I was caught off guard because he wasn't one of my best students. I just said that he is very personable (which is true) and that he has never missed a deadline (also true). What I didn't say was that he rarely shows up for class and doesn't put much effort into his work. I didn't want to mislead the employer, but I also didn't want to ruin his chances of getting the job, so I stayed fairly tight-lipped. I talked to some friends who are also legal writing instructors, and no one really knew what to do. What should I do in that kind of situation?

A.   When your potential recommender calls to tell you that she has been surprised by a reference call – and not in a good way – you promise yourself never ever to do that again.  Never apply for a job without thoroughly prepping your references.  That prep does three things:

(1) it allows the potential recommender to decline gracefully;

(2) it lets you know if the recommender will be unavailable; and

(3) it allows you to prep your recommender with updated information that will be useful for this particular job.

When you are the reference and you get the surprise call, you have three choices. 

(1) Be honest and say that you can’t provide a good reference because you don’t know the candidate well enough to give a fair evaluation.

(2)  Lie and give a glowing reference. Murphy's Law says that this will come back to haunt you.  Also, you'll feel sick about it. 

(3) Fudge and tap dance backwards. I was once called by a friend about someone for whom I had served as a reference for a job for which she was marginally qualified. She was now applying for a job for which I believed her to be uniquely ill-suited. I fudged and tap danced, suggesting that perhaps there were qualities in one of his competitors that he admired.  I urged him to inquire closely as to whether this candidate had enough of those qualities to make the job satisfying for her.  Even though he “heard” my signals, he hired her anyway.  It was not a good match.

It's hard to say "Ewwwwww," but it's also hard to say "Wow!" for a person for whom you're not enthusiastic.   Remember, recommendations require requests.

Susan Gainen

University of Minnesota Law School