Career Planning For EveningParttime Students

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Career Planning For Evening/Part-time Students
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Office of Career Planning Professional
Development

• Location
• We are located in the Student Services building
  next to the law school on 5th and Lawrence.
• Please use the side entrance behind the black
  iron gate
• Career Counseling
• Individual counseling appointments are available
• Email careerplanning_at_camlaw.rutgers.edu to
  request an appointment
• Once you have an assigned counselor, you can
  email that person directly for future
  appointments

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Quick Employment Facts

• The majority of Rutgers Camden students and
  graduates work for small or mid-sized law firms,
  at government organizations and public interest
  agencies.
• Large Law firms represent approximately 15 of
  the legal market.
• Nationwide, only a small percentage of law school
  graduates work at large firms.
• Small or mid-sized law firms, government
  organizations and public interest agencies
  generally hire only a few months in advance of
  when they need someone to begin working (Late
  Fall Semester and Spring Semester for Summer
  Jobs)
• Most employers DO NOT advertise their available
  positions
• The majority of successful candidates obtain
  employment through direct targeted mailings
  networking

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Resources

• Career Planning Website - http//www.camlaw.rutger
  s.edu/
• Law Firm
• Public Interest
• Government
• Judicial Clerkships
• Career Planning Guide (job search, interviewing
  resume and cover letter advice)
• And more..
• Symplicity Accounts
• Internet based program that the Office of Career
  Planning uses to deliver a number of our web
  services
• review job postings and apply for jobs
• RSVP for events
• sign up for mock interviews
• apply to employers participating in our on campus
  recruiting programs and sign up for interviews
• obtain contact information on judges for judicial
  internship and clerkship applications
• upload resumes and cover letters for counselor
  review
• Account access information will be emailed to you
  in the beginning of November

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Cover Letter

• 1 page
• Articulate why you are interested in that
  employer and why they should be interested in
  you
• First example of your writing skills so needs to
  be flawless (no typos) and well written
• Tailor it to the specific employer or at least
  to the type of employer you are writing to
• Explain why you would be a good fit for the
  employer
• Find a name to send the letter to (avoid Dear
  Hiring Partner)
• Model Cover letter in the CP Guide on the website

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Opportunities For Evening/Part-time students How
Do I get Legal Experience when I already have a
full-time job?

• Evening students face a special set of challenges
  
• Typically already have full-time job on top of a
  busy course load
• Generally unable to devote summers to legal
  employment
• Yet, legal employers expect you to graduate law
  school with practical legal experience
• Employers want to know that you can apply the
  skills you developed in your law school classes
• Want know that when they hire you, you can hit
  the ground running
• Because you have an extra year you may
  consider waiting until your second year to begin
  exploring options

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Pro Bono Public Interest Programs
• Various opportunities for law students to obtain
  legal experience through Pro Bono Public
  Interest Programs.
• Some programs meet at night or on the weekends
• Bankruptcy Pro Bono Project - evenings
• Children's SSI Project
• Community Dispute Resolution Committee (CDRC) -
  municipal court mediations 600 PM Tuesday
  nights.
• Domestic Violence Pro Bono Project
• Immigration Pro Bono Project
• Pro Bono Research Project - hours to be scheduled
  at the student's discretion.
• Defender Project,
• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Project - T and
  W 4 7 at the library, Sat mornings at Campus
  Center Feb, March and the first 2 weeks of April
• Election Protection Project
• Financial Literacy Project
• Street Law Project

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Assistant to Law Professor
• Many professors hire research assistants to help
  them with legal research for conferences, legal
  publications or books that they are writing.
• RAs usually meet with the professor periodically
  and then conduct research.
• Great opportunity to get to know a professor on a
  personal level, which may come in handy for
  recommendations in the future.
• Students can approach professors directly about
  opportunities or apply for advertised positions
  with a resume and letter.

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Per Diem/Project based work
• Busy small and mid-sized law firms often hire law
  students to conduct research and writing
  assignment on a per diem or project to project
  basis.
• Depending on the project, assignments usually can
  be completed at home and emailed to the
  supervisor.
• Students can check their Symplicity account for
  these job posting, but since few positions are
  advertised, we recommend that students send a
  cover letter and a resume to small and mid-sized
  law firms offering assistance on research and
  writing assignments.

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Full-time Law Clerk or Paralegal
• Some law firms hire law students to work as
  full-time paralegals or law clerks.
• This is an excellent way to make contacts in the
  legal community and begin exploring your options.
  
• These types of positions are usually advertised
  but students may want to be proactive and contact
  firms they have an interest in working for.

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Write an article for publication in a law journal
• All legal employers value strong writing skills.
  
• Writing and publishing an article is an excellent
  way to hone those skills and to demonstrate your
  interest in a particular area of law.
• Employers recognize the significant time and
  effort required to write and publish an article.

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Externship
• Third-year students can gain academic credit
  while working 12-15 hours each week for various
  public and private nonprofit agencies and for
  state and federal judges.
• Students also attend seminars relating to the
  work done in their placement.

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Clinical Programs
• Excellent way to obtain legal experience.
• Children's Justice Clinic
• Civil Practice Clinic
• Domestic Violence Project

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Options for Evening/Part-time students

• Summer Legal Positions
• Some evening students use vacation time, with
  their employers consent, in order to work in a
  summer position.
• Other may be able to negotiate with their
  employer for part of a summer off, or for a
  schedule that allows a day or more off each week.
  
• Most legal employers that hire 1Ls for the summer
  begin their hiring process in the Spring
  semester.
• The exceptions are large law firms, federal
  judges and some government agencies.

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Finding jobs applying

• Job Listings
• Access job listings on the Career Planning
  webpage - various types of job openings
  (Symplicity accounts will be assigned later in
  the week)
• PSLawnet.org - public interest and government
  positions
• Be aware that only about 20 of all job openings
  are advertised.

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Finding jobs applying

• Direct targeted mailings
• Apply directly for jobs that are not advertised
• Research firms and find contact information
• Martindale Hubbell, martindale.com
• The NALP Directory, nalpdirectory.com
• Search the NALP directory for law firms that hire
  1Ls
• NALP directory is not a comprehensive database of
  all legal employers and contains primarily large
  law firms and some government organizations.
• VERY Limited opportunities for 1Ls at large law
  firms
• Research Government Public Service
  organizations
• PsLawnet.org
• Government Honors Internship website
• Use Symplicity (under Clerkships) to obtain
  contact information on judges for judicial
  internship applications

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Finding jobs applying

• Networking
• Networking is the process of establishing links
  with individuals in a position to connect you
  with the job you want. While networking does
  require more effort on your part, it is the
  single most effective way to land a job.
• Career Planning Fall Spring Symposiums (our
  Spring Symposium is schedule for Saturday
  1/26/08)
• Career Planning mock interview program in the
  early Spring semester
• Bar Associations events memberships
• Informational interviews
• Career Plannings Mentor Program
• Dinners and events sponsored by the law school
  and student organizations

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Finding jobs applying

• Job Fairs
• PIPS Public Interest/Public Service Job Fair in
  February
• Philadelphia Diversity Law Group in February
• Delaware Minority Job Fair in January
• Questions? Email Gwen Tolbert gtolbert_at_camden.rutg
  ers.edu, Program Administrator at the CP Office.
  Gwen coordinates all job fairs.

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Finding jobs applying

• How to apply
• Most positions just require a resume, cover
  letter ( usually transcripts).
• Some positions require writing samples.
• In some agencies, the odds are improved by a
  personal visit.

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• Questions?