Twenty-eight days later

Today the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) released “28 Tips for 28 Days,” an informational handout with tips for law schools and employers regarding its new timing guidelines.

The NALP Board of Directors unanimously approved two changes for the 2010 recruiting cycle:

1. The adoption of a 28-day rolling response deadline for candidates not previously employed by the employer; and


2. A Nov. 1 response deadline for candidates who have been previously employed by the employer.

Two years ago, NALP replaced the former Dec. 1 response date with a 45-day rolling response deadline. Students who had not previously worked for an employer had 45 days to respond to an offer from that employer for summer or permanent employment.

Feedback from law schools and legal employers has indicated that a shorter period will still allow students sufficient time to choose among competing offers.

Therefore, beginning this month students will have 28 days to respond to an offer from an employer for which the student has not worked. For offers to candidates who have been previously employed, the response deadline will be Nov. 1.

Based on a quick read of NALP’s new tips, and my experience with the fall on-campus interview process, here are the most salient points for law students:

1. Read “Student Professionalism During the Interview Season: A Quick Guide to Your Ethical Responsiblities in the Offer and Decision-Making Process,” available at www.nalp.org/studentprofessionalism.


2. Learn as much as you can about organizations with which you interview. This may include asking the Office of Career Services to put you in touch with students and alums who have worked for those organizations in the past.


3. Upon receiving an offer, set reminders on an online calendar of upcoming response deadlines.


4. Don’t be afraid to stay in communication with employers between the time you receive an offer and when your respond.


5. Don’t let an offer deadline pass without sharing your decision. Declining an offer may be hard, but it’s an important part of the process.


6. Students who are actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations may request that a private employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1.


7. Understand that employers having a total of 40 attorneys or fewer in all offices are exempted by NALP from these timing guidelines. Those making offers for full-time employment on or before Dec. 15 are encouraged to let them remain open for at least three weeks or until Dec. 30, whichever comes first. Offers made after Dec. 15 should remain open for at least two weeks.


8. Similarly, employers offering candidates positions for the following summer and having a total of 40 attorneys or fewer in all offices are encouraged to let offers made on or before Dec. 15 remain open for at least three weeks following the date of the offer letter or until Dec. 30, whichever comes first. Offers made after Dec. 15 should remain open for at least two weeks.

Todd Rogers,
Assistant Dean for Career Services

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Help! I don't know any lawyers!

More members of the KU Law Class of 2010 reported finding jobs through referrals and self-initiated contact (32 percent) than through on-campus interviews (25 percent). While most job-seekers intuitively understand that meeting a potential employer in person is preferable to contact by mass-mailed resume, law students often lament that they can’t network with attorneys because they don’t know any.

One of the best strategies for meeting attorneys is to go where attorneys go. And where are all attorneys required by law to go? Continuing Legal Education seminars, known as CLEs. For example, Kansas attorneys must complete at least 12 hours of CLE credit per year, and Missouri attorneys must complete at least 15 hours. CLE courses are sponsored by various groups, including the Kansas Bar Association, Topeka Bar Association, Johnson County Bar Association, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and KU Continuing Education. Most of these organizations will allow law student members to attend programs for free or at a greatly reduced cost.

Attending CLEs as a way to meet practitioners is a recognized method of networking. The following excerpts from two of the most popular reference books about legal job-hunting describe the benefits of attending CLEs:

Excerpt from "The Legal Career Guide: From Law Student to Lawyer," by Gary A. Munneke

(pp. 168-69) Many students who enter law school do not personally know any lawyers. If you are in this situation, you will want to develop a network of professional mentors. Your objective is not to develop specific job opportunities, though that frequently occurs, but to develop a better understanding and knowledge of what it actually means to practice law.

***

Take advantage of CLE programs that allow you to mingle informally with attendees. Your law school provides many such opportunities, such as lectures, competitions, receptions and career services panels. Local bar associations also offer CLE programs that are open to law students.

***

(pp. 228-29) If you are interested in a particular area of practice, go where the lawyers are. Many CLE conferences are offered free or at reduced rates for law students. This approach may require you to be assertive in meeting people and arranging interviews and can offer informal opportunities to talk during breaks or discussion groups.

Excerpt from "Guerrilla Tactics For Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams," by Kimm Alayne Walton

(pp. 134-35) I’ve mentioned CLE classes before; they’re “continuing legal education” classes, and lawyers have to take them periodically to maintain their licenses to practice law. Something most students don’t know is that law students can also take CLE classes.

***

There are several excellent benefits to taking CLE classes, including:

• You meet practitioners in an area you’re interested in.
• You learn what’s going on in the practice area, and that kind of education is valuable in and of itself. It may generate article ideas for you (if you’re interested in writing), and it’ll key you in on what’s on the minds of practitioners.
• You get a great resume item.

While neither Munneke nor Walton come right out and say it, the most intimidating aspect of attending a CLE is also the best reason for going: You’ll likely be the only law student in a room full of practicing attorneys. Think about it this way: Would you rather be the only job-seeker in a room of 40 potential employers or one of 40 resumes in a stack on a potential employer’s desk?

So take advantage of these CLE discounts and attend a program or two each semester. When you do, be prepared to talk to attorneys. Here are a few suggestions on questions to ask during breaks in the presentation:

• What publications should I read to keep current in this field?
• Are there professional organizations that I can join now?
• How did you prepare yourself for this kind of work?
• What skills and abilities have you found most important in your work?
• Could you suggest a couple of colleagues or acquaintances who you feel would be good sources of information about the field?
• Could I use your name when I contact them?

The one question you should NOT ask is “Can I have a job?” This approach will likely be a conversation killer. Remember, your reasons for attending a CLE are to meet attorneys and to demonstrate an interest in a field of law.

By engaging the attorneys present at the CLE in conversation, you’re hoping that you can learn more about what they do and — best case scenario — add them and some of their colleagues to your network of contacts. Networking is, on the surface, a slower process than mass-mailing cover letters and resumes, but it almost always is more effective.

Todd Rogers,
Assistant Dean for Career Services

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Small firms, big opportunities: Prepare now for hiring increase on the horizon

In the legal profession, more than 80 percent of all private practitioners work in law firms of 50 or fewer attorneys, and only 10 percent work in firms of more than 100 lawyers. Hiring at small (two-10 attorneys) and mid-sized (11-25 attorneys) firms accounted for 41.1 percent of the law firm jobs accepted nationally by the Class of 2009. More than 50 percent of 2009 KU Law grads who accepted jobs in private practice went to work for a small or mid-sized firm.

The small and mid-sized firms that employ so many lawyers tend not to recruit law clerks and associates through on-campus interviews. Indeed, over the past decade, national employment surveys reveal that only about 25 percent of graduating 3Ls reported permanent employment as the result of an on-campus interview. For the class of 2009, the national figure was 24.7 percent, and the KU Law figure was 24.6 percent.

Many more students find jobs through networking, referrals, responding to job postings and sending targeted mailings. More than 60 percent of the KU Law Class of 2009 traced its permanent employment to one of these activities.

Each summer, Karen and I visit with attorneys who work for employers who do not interview on campus, most typically small law firms. The majority of attorneys with whom I’ve spoken this summer have reported an uptick in business over the last several months and a belief that the worst of the recession may be over.

The time is ripe for law students to prepare for the increase in hiring that could potentially be on the horizon. At each of my summer meetings with attorneys, I’ve asked for advice and suggestions for law students seeking summer or permanent employment.

Ian Bartalos of Harris McCausland P.C. in Kansas City revealed that his firm’s most recent hire got the job because of his persistence and tact. Harris McCausland had not advertised an interest in receiving applications, but the student got in touch by a well-written letter and followed up with two phone calls over a period of several weeks. The student performed well in the interview and had sparkling references. After the interview, the student sent the firm a thank-you note.

Good trial attorneys tenaciously pursue the facts. Job candidates who aggressively, but tactfully, pursue an opening will be willing as attorneys to doggedly track down a witness or comprehensively question a deponent to prepare for trial.

Matt Merrill of Brown & Ruprechet in Kansas City mentioned when applying to law firms, students should understand that resumes and cover letters matter. Misspellings, grammatical errors and mail merge mistakes will absolutely sink an application. Attention to detail is an important trait in successful job seekers and attorneys alike.

Jeff Peier of Klenda Mitchell Austerman in Wichita stated that smaller firms are often seeking utility players who can practice in many different areas. Students should consider enrolling in a variety of classes and artfully describing their diverse skill set in both a cover letter and interview.

Jeff recommended taking full advantage of opportunities to practice interviewing skills. In a smaller firm, the ability to communicate with clients and supervising attorneys is critical, and firms will evaluate a candidate’s confidence, poise and ability to communicate clearly in an interview.

Todd Rogers,
Assistant Dean for Career Services

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Compelling 'accomplishment stories' key to successful job interview

As spring semester finals wrap up, the majority of our 1Ls are preparing for clerkships with law firms, externships with state government agencies and nonprofits, clinical experiences such as the Judicial Clerkship Clinic, and summer classes. Last year, 80 percent of 1Ls reported summer employment and/or enrollment in summer school, a law school clinic or a study abroad program, and this year's numbers are shaping up to be similar.

Although it's a little hard to believe, the fall recruiting period for jobs to begin in the summer of 2012 begins on July 1, when rising 2Ls and 3Ls will get their first look at the list of employers that have registered to interview over a six-week period. The deadline to submit a resume for consideration by the Week 1 employers is Monday, Aug. 8, and the first week of fall OCI will take place from Aug. 22-26.

As we've blogged about previously, the first step to a successful fall OCI period is to distill your previous academic accomplishments and work experience into coherent "accomplishment stories."

In the current hiring climate, employers are relying with increasing frequency on behavioral interviewing questions designed to evaluate a candidate's competencies. As described in an article in this month's National Association for Law Placement Bulletin, "[i]n a competency-based behavioral interview, employers work to discover whether candidates possess desired skills and qualities by asking them to discuss a past situation and their response to that situation. Questions beginning with 'Tell us about a time when' are common in behavioral interviewing."

Questions of this type are easy to answer provided the interviewee has thought about his or her academic and work experiences, can recall specific details, and can wrap up the story in a logical and compelling manner. Anecdotes that relate past accomplishments to the potential for future success with that employer are the secret to effective interviewing.

For several years, we've been suggesting the STAR method of responding to behavioral interviewing questions. The method, which is recommended by many interviewing experts, is referenced again in this month's NALP Bulletin article, "Behavioral Interviews — Preparing Students to Tell Their Stories."

The STAR method is simple. In response to a question, walk an interviewer through these steps:

• Situation or Task: Describe the situation you were in or the task you needed to accomplish. Don't rely on a general description of a past event; be specific. Pepper your description with memorable details.
• Action(s) you took: What steps did you take to address the situation? What tasks were necessary?
• Results you achieved: How was the issue resolved? What happened and what did you learn?

An effective "accomplishment story" holds the interviewer's attention and keeps the focus on you, the interviewee.It also provides an interviewee a memorable way to organize and deliver his or her thoughts.

I enjoyed how the NALP Bulletin article, written by Amanda DiPolvere of Penn State Law and Gwen Tolbert of Rutgers Law-Camden, matched specific competencies/traits/skills sought by legal employers to sample behavioral interview questions. For example:

Competencies/Traits/ Skills Sought	Sample Behavioral Question
Taking ownership of assignments.	Talk about a time when you made a mistake and how you recovered from it.
Team orientation	Discuss a situation in which you were on a team and disagreed with the team leader.
Clear communication	Tell us about a time when someone misunderstood your instructions.
Attention to detail	Describe a situation in which a detail you thought to be unimportant turned out to be very important.
Ability to handle stress	Tell us about a stressful situation you have encountered and how you coped with it.

To formulate impressive responses to questions like these, you must first appreciate that you’re likely to be asked to recall the specifics of your experiences (both academic and work related) during an interview.

Approach your summer classes, clinic or work experience with that in mind, and pay attention to details that might enliven your interview responses. Jot down ideas for accomplishment stories this summer, and you’ll be better prepared to excel in interviews this fall and beyond.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

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A realistic look at a summer legal job search

As many people know, there has been a heightened focus on the legal job market in the media lately. Most notably, the New York Times recently ran an article on the doom and gloom of the legal job market and the unemployment struggles of new law grads. As a 2L inching closer to my impending graduation in May 2012, I have spent much of the last year and a half job searching. And with the less-than-encouraging stories in the media I thought it would be valuable to provide prospective 1Ls and current 1Ls alike with some realistic insight into a 1L legal summer job search.

A law student’s job search begins halfway through 1L year. This is when students can finally meet with Career Services, per rules of the American Bar Association, and begin to contact legal employers. The Office of Career Services provides several opportunities to begin your job search. For starters, Career Services holds Legal Career Options Day in the fall where students have the opportunity to speak with different types of legal employers (firms, corporations, government, etc.). Career Services also has a mentor program where 1Ls are matched up with KU Law alumni. The program provides a great way to begin networking and gives 1Ls the opportunity to ask questions of people who have been in their shoes. In the spring, 1L on-campus interviews (OCI) take place. During OCI, employers come to campus over several weeks and interview selected students. OCI is a great way to get experience with legal interviews, and some students do get jobs through them. But a majority of students find summer employment through other avenues. Along with checking job postings on the Symplicity website, other avenues include networking with family, friends and alumni.

I took advantage of all of these opportunities provided by Career Services during my 1L year. I also attended various workshops for resume writing and information sessions on different types of legal employment. After four or five months of my 1L job search, sending out countless emails and networking, I found myself without a job. Although I was a bit discouraged at first, I spoke with Career Services Dean Todd Rogers, took a week or two off of looking for work, and then resumed my search.

When late April rolled around, I still didn’t have anything lined up, so I enrolled in two summer classes. After enrolling, I continued to apply to postings on Symplicity, and I finally received an unpaid clerkship at a courthouse, along with a part-time position with a small law office. My summer turned out to be the best of both worlds; I was able to gain legal experience while taking additional courses.

In the end, my 1L job search was more difficult and took longer than I had thought it would. However, I think it prepared me for my 2L job search (another blog entry entirely) and my future post-law school job search. Something others can take away from my 1L job search is that, although the economy is tough, there are opportunities out there for 1Ls to gain legal experience and position themselves for their future job searches.

Here are some tips, pointers and thoughts to keep in mind for the 1L job search:

• Do something law related, whether it is taking a class, doing an unpaid externship or working a paid job. As nice as it might sound, do something other than sit around the entire summer.
• Be persistent. It is unlikely that one email or phone call – or even interview – is going to get you a summer job. Continue to search, apply and interview until you find something.
• Take a break. There may be times where you feel discouraged. Take a week to stop job searching. Get outside, hang out with friends, focus your efforts on school work or do something else. When you get back to it the next week, you will feel rejuvenated and ready to continue your search.
• Networking is as important as everyone says it is. In a tough job market, nothing can get you a job faster than networking. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Ask your family and friends for referrals. Once you meet someone, follow up with them and keep the lines of communication open. Networking is more than just asking for a job.
• Career Services is your friend. Todd Rogers, Karen Hester and LaVerta Logan are great. Make an effort to introduce yourself and get to know them. They are there for you if you need someone to review your resume and cover letter, to help you create a job-search plan, or even if you just want to talk. Work with Career Services!

Matt Meyer, 2L and Student Ambassador

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Right place, right time: not quite serendipity

On this gloomy winter Friday in Lawrence, let’s brighten things up by highlighting the job hunting successes of three current students and one very determined recent grad.

Often a law student will tell us that he or she landed a job by being “at the right place at the right time.” Statements like this suggest that serendipity is to thank, when in fact the vast majority of successful job hunters make their own luck.

What appears on the surface to be a fortunate and unconnected series of events leading to a job is almost always a planned and cultivated strategy. While organized job seekers may not always be able to predict the end result of their searches with perfect clarity, through diligence and determination they increase their odds of ultimately being hired.

For example, I recently spoke to a 1L who landed a position with a highly respected mid-sized litigation firm in Topeka. The firm didn’t interview on campus, so how did he do it?

He met two attorneys from the firm at Legal Career Options Day in November. Neither attorney indicated that the firm had a summer law clerk position available, but the attorneys and student had a pleasant conversation. The student followed up with a thank-you note a few days later.

After the New Year, he sent one of the attorneys a cover letter and resume to inquire about summer opportunities. He was the first 1L to approach the firm after it had made the decision to hire a summer clerk. A couple of weeks later, the attorney contacted the student to set up an interview, which resulted in a job offer on the spot.

Or consider the case of a 2L who, after being rejected last spring for a number of paid positions for which she was well-qualified, finally took an unpaid summer position with a federal district court.

She parlayed this experience, and the recommendations she garnered from it, into a part-time, paid summer position with a small law firm, which undoubtedly helped her secure on-campus interview invitations. She prepared for these interviews carefully and eventually accepted an offer for paid summer employment with a large law firm in Kansas City.

Then there’s the 3L who knew that he eventually wanted to work out of state, but for a variety of reasons choose to work during his first two summers in Kansas. He spent his 1L summer as a volunteer clerk with a state court judge. During his second summer, he worked for a small law firm as a paid law clerk. He met several times with our office beginning in the fall of his 2L year to discuss how to best narrow down his geographic targets for full-time employment.

Armed with comprehensive lists of KU Law alumni, he made specific inquires about the job markets in a number of cities. Eventually, he narrowed his choices down to one city each in the two states with which he had the deepest connections.

A number of applications resulted in one job offer in each state, and he will proudly walk across the stage in May as an employed grad, without ever accepting a position from an on-campus interview.

Our final story of grit and determination comes from a recent grad who did well in law school but couldn’t quite decide where he wanted to practice. On-campus interviews didn’t pan out for him in either the spring of his first year or the fall of his second.

As a 1L he enrolled in the Judicial Clerkship Clinic. He secured a summer job offer as a 2L through a position advertised on Symplicity.

He initially hoped to land a post-grad federal clerkship, and got close on several occasions. When clerkship season ended he decided to take the Missouri bar, but not before submitting applications to firms in a number of other states. He soon received invitations to interview from firms that shared one thing in common — they weren’t in Missouri.

The interviews didn’t pan out, and no firms in Missouri were biting. By the time he graduated in May 2009, he was back to square one, questioning his Missouri bar plans and wondering how to restart his job search.

He took and passed the bar exam and eventually began working part-time reviewing legal documents in order to pay the bills. One of his co-workers, a recent grad from another law school, told him about an interview she had lined up with a local law firm with offices at a well-known Johnson County intersection. When he inquired about the firm’s name, she begged off.

Undeterred, our student drove to the intersection, wrote down the names of all the firms with offices there, and contacted each one by letter and resume. He secured an interview with the one firm that was hiring, impressed the partners with his attitude and preparation, and landed the job. He’ll sit for the Kansas bar next week and soon will be an employed member of the bar in Missouri and Kansas.

Right place, right time? Sure. Serendipity? No way. The moment these grads stumbled on something fortunate was the culmination of months, and sometimes years, of carefully crafted effort.

Todd Rogers, assistant dean for career services

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Career services dean answers employment questions from prospective students

Let’s address some questions about employment raised byprospective students over the last few weeks.

(1)  When will employment statistics be available for KU Law’s mostrecent class?

For each graduating class, KU Lawmeasures employment at graduation and nine months after graduation. Each February, every law school in thecountry submits final employment data to the National Association for LawPlacement (NALP). In June, law schoolsreceive a detailed report from NALP of national and school-specific trends.

We will submit our class of 2010report to NALP on February 22, 2011. Atthat time, we will update our website with the “employed at graduation” and“employed nine months after graduation” data using the US News formula (whichdiffers slightly from the NALP formula).

Here are the US News numbers fromthe 2006-09 graduating classes:

Graduation Year	% Employed at Graduation	% Employed Nine Months after Graduation	US News Ranking
2009	63.2	89.0	TBD (April 2011)
2008	69.4	93.6	67 (April 2010)
2007	67.1	95.5	65 (April 2009)
2006	65.9	94.7	73 (April 2008)

(2)  What’s the geographic dispersion of recent KU Law grads?

For the class of 2009, the lastclass for which we have complete information, 51.2 percent of the class wasemployed in Kansas, 21.7 percent in Missouri and 27.1 percent in other statesand countries.

Most students reportingemployment in Missouri were employed in the greater Kansas City area.

Outside of Kansas and Missouri,the most traveled-to states by the Class of 2009 were:  Washington, D.C. (7), Arizona (3), Oklahoma(3), Colorado (2), Illinois (2) Maryland (2), New York (2), Texas (2), Virginia(2) and Washington (2).

Historically, between 65 percentand 75 percent of our students remain in the West North Central Region, asdefined by NALP to include Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, NorthDakota and South Dakota. The bulk ofthese students find employment in Kansas and Kansas City, Mo. 

Other popular regions for ourgrads are South Atlantic (on the strength of D.C.), West South Central (mainlyin Texas) and Mountain (primarily in Arizona, Colorado and Utah).

(3)  How has the recession impacted on-campus recruiting?

Nationally,the most dramatic impact of the current economic situation was on fall 2009recruiting of 2Ls for summer 2010 positions. At the largest national law firms,the median number of summer offers dropped from 30 in fall 2007 to 18.5 in 2008to just 8 in 2009. The percentage of callback interviews resulting in summerjobs fell from 60 percent to 46.6 percent to 36.4 percent over that three-yearperiod. The acceptance rate of 42.8 percent was an all-time high.

Our on-campus interview (OCI) numbers serve as a rough barometer of the overallhealth of the legal economy, especially regionally. By tracking the last threeacademic years, it becomes clear that the recession was in full bloom in latesummer/early fall 2009, the same time period in which employers were decidingwhether to participate in the fall 2009 OCI program to recruit 2L law studentsfor the summer of 2010.

Over half of law schools surveyed reported a decrease of 30 percent or more inthe number of employers on campus in fall 2009 compared with fall 2008. Ourdrop was 40 percent, from 72 to 43 employers; 38.2 percent of schools in theMidwest reported a decrease of more than 40 percent. 

Some good news: In the fall of 2010, 50employers from 7 states conducted 670 interviews on campus, as compared to 562on-campus interviews in the fall of 2009. An increased number of call-back (second) interviews, offers andacceptances were also reported by our students.

(4)  What did last year’s 1Ls do over their summer break?

Eighty percent of the Class of2012 reported summer employment and/or participation in summer school, a lawschool clinic or a study abroad program.

• 45 enrolled in a summer school class.
• 40 enrolled in a clinic in which they received course credit forcompleting practical legal work.
• 15 participated in a KU Law-sponsored study abroad program.
• 10 received a Bremyer Summer Clerk Scholarship for summer workwith a legal employer in a less populous Kansas community.
• 15 received a KU Law Summer Stipend for volunteer legal work witha public interest organization. Stipend recipients worked in Kansas, Missouri,Arkansas, California, New York, Texas and Washington.
• Finally, 25 students secured a legal internship with an employeroutside of the Bremyer or KU Law Summer Stipend Programs.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

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