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What to Know if You’re Thinking about BigLaw

December 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment

What to Know if You’re Thinking about Big LawThis week we welcome guest writer Alexis Storey, Law School Toolbox tutor, to talk about the ins and outs of BigLaw.

Like many students who go to law school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with a law degree. I was generally interested in trying to “help people” but I didn’t have a clear idea of how to go about doing that. When asked, I would tell people I had no desire to work in BigLaw. (I am the type of person who turns into a monster on less than 9 hours of sleep, so I wanted to stay clear of billable hour requirements!) But then I got my 1L grades, I was pleasantly surprised to see I had done well enough to put myself in the running for summer associate positions at BigLaw firms, and figured “why not upload a resume to a database and see what happens?” I put as little effort into the process as possible, only applying to firms that did not require a cover letter. And with that first click to upload my resume, I stepped onto the conveyer belt to BigLaw. [Read more…]

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How to Prepare for Callbacks

August 20, 2019 by Leave a Comment

How to Prepare for CallbacksThis week we welcome back guest writer Briana Borgolini to talk about some advice for handling callback interviews.

First, congratulations on finishing (or almost finishing) OCI, and reaching the callback stage! This can be a very exciting time, but it can also be very stressful. It is one thing to get through a twenty-minute interview on your own campus, and quite another to get through an hours-long interview at the firm itself. For many, the callback interview is a very new experience. Fortunately, there are a few things you can consider doing to prepare yourself for successful interviews. [Read more…]

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Be the Next Great Trial Lawyer

July 23, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Be the Next Great Trial LawyerThis week we welcome guest writer Jordan Dickson to talk about how to set yourself up as a law student to be a trial lawyer later on in your legal career.

The first kind of lawyers almost all of us are introduced to are trial lawyers. On those TV shows all aspiring lawyers seem to watch, we see trial lawyers yelling “objection!”, pointing determinedly at the defendant, and (improperly) telling juries to “send a message.”

For those of you who want to pursue a career as a trial lawyer, be it as a prosecutor, defense attorney, or some other kind of litigator, there are steps you can take in law school to prepare. These practical steps can help prepare you to come into the courtroom ahead of the game. [Read more…]

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Using Your Law Degree for a Career in Social Entrepreneurship

June 11, 2019 by

Using Your Law Degree for a Career in Social EntrepreneurshipThis week we welcome Natalie Holzaepfel, bar and law school tutor, to talk about how you can find an alternative legal career path in the area of social entrepreneurship.

During law school, we’re primed to walk the traditional path into a role as an attorney, whether that’s at a law firm, in government, or at a non-profit. But there are many other options worth exploring, whether you’re still in law school or already in practice. Right now, an increasing number of attorneys are using their law degrees in the growing field of social entrepreneurship. [Read more…]

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How to Know When a Job isn’t for You: Tales of Terrible Interviews

May 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment

How to Know When a Job isn’t for You: Tales of Terrible InterviewsThis week we welcome back guest writer Alexandra Muskat to talk about some bad interview stories and why you should remember you are also interviewing your future employer, as well as being interviewed.

I sometimes wonder why the veil of naivety was so strong with me when I was in law school. I assumed, like many outsiders, that I’d go to law school and come out with a job. It was that simple. It didn’t really dawn on me until I graduated that finding a job might be harder than I thought – especially since I had no idea what area of law I wanted to go into and (at the time) was feeling quite repulsed by a career as a lawyer in general.

Since passing the bar in April of 2018, I have gone on a number of terrible interviews. Looking back, I understand that all of them taught me a valuable lesson – especially the two I’ve laid out for you below.

[Read more…]

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Could A Designer Purse Cost You a Job Offer?

April 16, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Could A Designer Purse Cost You a Job Offer?This week we welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan who discusses how to dress for a job interview and what questions to ask yourself before making certain fashion choices.

Could a designer purse cost you a job offer? Well, according to an attorney who posed this question at a diversity conference I attended, it sure could. Do I think that this opinion should impact how you prepare for an interview? Well possibly, but keep reading to find out.

We typically all want to look our best before going into an interview, so it only seems logical to pull out your absolute best suit and accessories that serve to complement the image of perfection and professionalism you want to convey. Right? So what’s the issue if your absolute best includes a pair of Christian Louboutin’s, a Dolce & Gabbana blazer or a Hermes purse? Well according to the attorney I saw at the conference, this image could rub some people the wrong way. She stated that she was once conducting an interview for a legal intern position and the candidate came in with a designer handbag. She said that this accessory choice made her wonder why the candidate would even need a job in the first place. She said that this handbag communicated that the candidate was likely well off and therefore not particularly in need of additional income and as a result she did not offer the candidate the job. [Read more…]

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Will I Get the Job I Want If I Wear My Natural Hair?

April 2, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Will I Get the Job I Want If I Wear My Natural Hair?This week we welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to offer her thoughts on wearing natural hair in the workplace (and during job interviews).

I received my first relaxer at eight years old. I was fortunately blessed with thick curly hair, but to my mom’s misfortune, my rambunctious, stubborn hair was extremely difficult to maintain. Therefore, she did what essentially every black mom was doing in the nineties, and she got me my first relaxer. I for one was immensely overjoyed. Although I grew up in Jamaica where the majority of my peers looked just like me and shared similar coiled hair textures, our beauty standards were very much influenced by what we saw on TV, white women with straight hair. Therefore, at the age of eight I was elated to finally share what I believed was a similarity to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. [Read more…]

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5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Letters of Recommendation for Clerkship Applications (and Beyond!)

November 13, 2018 by Leave a Comment

5 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Letters of Recommendation for Clerkship Applications (and Beyond!)Please welcome guest writer Kelsey Russell, a recent clerk for the Chief Judge of the Southern District of New York, to discuss how to get letters of recommendations, an important aspects of clerkships applications.

If you are considering a judicial clerkship, you are likely well aware that your letters of recommendation are an essential component of your application.

As someone who decided to apply for a clerkship pretty late in the game, getting quality recommendations felt like a tall order. Many of my classmates had already taken advantage of opportunities such as research assistant positions, which led to relationships with professors who, in turn, could write personalized recommendations. By the fall of 3L year, no single professor stood out in my mind as a natural recommender. So I started brainstorming: Should I start with the professor who gave me my highest grade? Or the professor who ran my pro bono project? What about employers prior to law school? Given that I was trying to compile my materials in relatively short order, I was also working against the clock. [Read more…]

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Transitioning to a Non-Traditional Legal Career

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Transitioning to a Non-traditional Legal Career

Please welcome guest writer Kathryn Blair, law school tutor and PhD student, to discuss the transition from a traditional law career to something different.

It has been about two years since I left a successful career as an attorney and turned back to academia for the start of what I hope will be my third and final career. This was a difficult transition for me. The joke about law school being an escalator — seamlessly delivering you to a career in Big Law — is funny because it is true. But jumping off that escalator was a big and hard decision, and, despite the support of family and friends, it still felt a bit lonely. But it shouldn’t feel that way. Many attorneys face and make these decisions, and the shared experiences of others can be helpful as you think about these questions. [Read more…]

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What To Do If You Start 3L Year With No Job – Advice From a Fellow 3L

October 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment

What To Do If You Start 3L Year With No Job – Advice from a fellow 3LPlease welcome back guest writer and current 3L Shirlene Armstrong to discuss some options if you find yourself in your 3L year without a job offer.

You did it. You finally get to your last year of law school and you are already looking forward to never going back to classes. You are excited about the next step in your journey and can’t wait until this last year is finished. All you need to do is survive this year, study for the bar exam and sit for everyone’s favorite two-day exam then you will be on your way to becoming an attorney. (Right??) However, something else lingers in the distance: you have to get a job. It is great to have that “Esq.” after your name, but you have to find some sort of placement beyond law school to utilize it to its full extent. But what happens if you don’t have a job when you start your 3L year? Should you panic? What should you do to make sure you snag a position for after graduation? Here are some tips from a fellow 3L in order to help you in your job search at the beginning of your 3L year. [Read more…]

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