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Discovering What Kind of Law Practices You Are Passionate About
By Dennis Hung • October 11, 2018 •Careers, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
When a new lawyer takes their first job after passing the bar exam, they're happy to be working in their profession. The reality is most lawyers don’t stay with their first firm or continue to practice in the same area of law. It could be a challenge to change an area of legal practice, but it can be done. When a lawyer finds an area of the law that makes them feel passion, it could be motivation to make this switch. Legal Culture It is possible for many attorneys to internalize what the legal culture has given them and…
JD Preferred Career Quiz
By Diana LaMorie • October 02, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
You know those quizzes in glossy magazines that promise to evaluate your personality and offer a tailored solution to any given problem according to your responses? Well, this month I've created my very own 'JD Preferred Quiz' to help jumpstart your thinking on which career path suits you best in using your JD degree in a non-traditional way. Whether you are still in law school but re-thinking the law firm path, or are a post-graduate lawyer thinking of doing something different with your law degree, this quiz can help narrow your frame of reference among the myriad options. Ideally, your…
Friend or Foe? Technology in Our Everyday Lives: Fintech
By Keisha M. McClellan • September 30, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Internships and Clerkships
“Every technological revolution takes about 50 years.” Jack Ma, Co-founder of the Alibaba Group In the case of the Fintech revolution that is upending business models and competition in financial services, it is being digitized, streamed, podcasted and mobile-accessed now. It is a revolution that is taking place today as opposed to in the future. As Forbes Magazine’s Daniel Newman warns us, “If you have not heard about the Fintech revolution that is happening right now, you need to get out from under your rock.” Fintech, the fusion of finance and technology, is here with all of the subtlety and…
First Generation Success Story: My First Legal Job and Opportunities
By Shirlene Armstrong • September 24, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Getting into law school and making it through the school year is one side of the life of a law student. However, the legal journey does not end when the casebook closes and summer begins. Instead, you take on legal jobs, opportunities, and attend events to support your legal education. If you are like me, I have taken on way too much and am constantly bobbing in and out different meetings, jobs, and activities. In law school, your down time is dedicated to studying, living, and breathing the law. Typically, during the summer, law students…
A Career Planning Primer
By Diana LaMorie • September 05, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking
Estate planning. Retirement planning. Trip planning. Family planning. Business planning. Anything worth doing is worth planning. Rarely is anything accomplished overnight. In fact, I don't think there's such a thing as overnight success. Behind the hit song, hit movie, or ascension to CEO (or fill-in-the-blank top of your chosen field), came a lot of hard work, sacrifice and dedication. Success in your profession doesn't happen on its own either. A little bit of deliberation can help get you where you want to go in a more organized fashion and help keep your eye on the prize when you're feeling disoriented…
The Barred Life: A Series of Indefinite Length - Part III
By Jannet Matthew • August 27, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues
Moving Forward While Looking Back **This post is looooong overdue but in my effort to staying committed to improving my writing and self-expression, here it is... I recently met with a legal recruiter to help me navigate the legal job market. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed after unsuccessfully trying for a couple of months. I tell her a bit about myself and what I’m looking for and the conversation proceeds a little something like this… Recruiter: Great! So, what legal software are you familiar with? ...me looking dumbfounded... Me: Do Lexis and Westlaw count? Recruiter: Yeah that’s perfect but… have…
What Kind of Lawyer?
By Dennis Hung • August 13, 2018 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
You’ve met someone new, and you’re having one of those routine icebreaker conversations. You’ve just told the other person that you want to be a lawyer. You brace yourself for a dreadfully familiar follow-up question. “What kind of lawyer?” they ask. “Maybe litigation,” you say. The truth is that you have no idea. Whether you’re a pre-law student, you’ve been accepted to law school, or you’re in your first year, you’ll likely find yourself in this scenario more than you’d like. There are so many types of lawyers. How can you possibly narrow down what field you want to pursue?…
Friend or Foe? Technology in Our Everyday Lives: Drones
By Keisha M. McClellan • June 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Politics and Government, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Other Issues
In his Time Magazine report “Drones Are Here to Stay. Get Used to It,” Alex Fitzpatrick observes that “with any technology, there are certain inflection points when it goes from being something perpetually in the near future to being a part of everyday life.” And this inflection point of drones becoming an everyday part of life is certainly in our foreseeable future. From use in news gathering, sports and entertainment, humanitarian efforts, corporate partnerships, law enforcement, and by general hobbyists, drones present a range of complexities that garner both praise and criticism. For the legal profession, this technology demands an…
Career Directions Outside of Being a Lawyer for Lawyers
By Dennis Hung • June 14, 2018 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Becoming a lawyer is a professional dream that many people share. Many people want to become a lawyer due to the allure of the job as well as the potential for high compensation. While many people do end up having very long and successful careers as a lawyer, there are some situations in which someone may decide that they no longer want to pursue that career. If you are a lawyer and would like to switch into a different career path, there are a variety of different types of jobs that are great fits for people with a legal background.…