It’s your lucky day! All Girl’s Guide interviews are below, in one handy list and categorized for your convenience.
We’ve talked to a bunch of people about how to identify and get the job you want after law school and how to succeed once you have it. As an added bonus, almost every interviewee discusses his or her own career path, so that should give you lots of ideas, too!
Figure Out What You Want
- Is Lawyering the Right Path For You? Lainee Beigel, founder of Career Esquire, shares some advice on how to figure out if law’s the right path for you (before you start and after you’re in the middle of it).
- Is Balance Possible in the Legal Profession? We Interview Lawyer/Yogi Flynn Coleman Feeling stressed out and unsure of your path? Check out this fantastic interview with a very centered lawyer/yogi.
- Trying To Figure Out Your Legal Career? Expert Advice From a Career Guru After seven years in BigLaw and several years in-house, Katie Slater decided to shift into career coaching. She shares her hard-won experience about how to figure out what you want from the legal profession — and then get it.
- Will You Be a Happy Lawyer? A fantastic interview with Jennifer Alvey, lawyer turned career coach for "thwarted creative" lawyer types. She’s got great insight to share about what personality types are most likely to be miserable working in the law. Check it out!
- Should I Become a Lawyer? Advice From the Author of Best Friends at the Bar Susan Smith Blakely, author of Best Friends at the Bar: What Women Need to Know about a Career in the Law, shares her insight about the challenges women face in the legal profession, and how they can be overcome.
- Want to Be Content in Your Legal Career? Great Advice from Happy Go Legal Chelsea Callanan, one half of Happy Go Legal, shares what she’s learned about being a lawyer, and discusses how to be content in the legal profession.
- The More Things Change... Great interview with Kate McGuinness, a legal trailblazer. She started practicing law in 1977, became a BigLaw partner and GC, then left to become a writer and women’s rights activist. Suffice it to say, she’s got some stories to tell!
- Wondering if Law School is Right For You? A Lawyer Turned Positive Psychology Expert Shares Her Insights Former lawyer Paula Davis-Laack, graduate of the master’s program in applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, shares her insights about the legal profession and who’s likely to be happy there.
How to Get the Job
- Riding the See-Saw: Maintaining Support at Home and Finding School/Life Balance Law school can be all-consuming, but you don't want to lose your loved ones or your happy life at home as a law student. Mark Livingston is talking about how he's managed to maintain good relationships at home as a law student and how you can do it too.
- Wondering How To Get a Job? Here's Advice From a Law School Career Counselor Philip Guzman, a law school career counselor with a wide variety of experiences in the law, shares his insight into getting a job and deciding if law school’s the right choice for you.
- Want to Start Marketing Yourself in Law School? It’s never too early to start positioning yourself for the job you want! Jared Correia shares some tips on using social media and other creative approaches to leapfrog the competition.
- Searching For a Legal Job? The Author Of "From Lemons to Lemonade" Shares Some Ideas Richard Hermann, author and lawyer, has some practical advice for finding a legal job in a tough economy.
- Want a Legal Job? Listen to Shauna C. Bryce Shauna C. Bryce, author of How to Get a Legal Job: A Guide for New Attorneys and Law School Students shares some great tips for getting the job you want!
- What Are Law Firms Looking For? Get the Inside Scoop From a Legal Recruiter! Looking for a law firm job? A legal recruiter tells you what firms are really looking for and how you can maximize your odds of getting the job you want.
- Do I Need a Recruiter? What Do They Do, Anyway? Wondering if a legal recruiter might be able to help? Angela Kopolovich, lawyer-turned-legal-recruiter, explains what recruiters can, and can’t, do for you.
- Want a Public Interest Job? Find Out How to Get One Here! Public interest type? Get advice on securing your dream job from my law school roommate, Gráinne O’Neill, who managed to do it!
How to Succeed in a Legal Job
- Want to Make a Good Impression at Your Law Firm Job? Check Out This Interview With Greenhorn Legal! Wondering if you’re really prepared for law firm practice? Get ready with these useful tips from Desiree Moore of Greenhorn Legal.
- Feeling a Little Unprepared to Practice? Not to worry, Faith Pincus can sort you out. She shares tips on getting the information and training you need as a young lawyer, and also has some great advice on how to get a clerkship!
- Do You Have, Or Want, A Summer Associate Position? Some Tips For Success Andrew James, creator of the Summer Success Crash Course, shares some useful tips on succeeding as a summer associate (and on getting the job to begin with).
Advice for Would-Be Solos
- Thinking of Starting a Solo Law Practice? Avoid These Traps for the Unwary If you’re thinking about going solo, there’s a lot to consider. Jared Correia joins us to discuss some frequent issues he sees working with solo attorneys. Pay attention to these common mistakes, so you can stay well clear!
- Considering Going Solo? Wisdom From the Founder of Solo Practice University Susan Cartier Liebel shares lessons from her unique career path and talks about how to have a successful solo practice as a new law grad.
- Can You Start Your Own Firm Right Out Of Law School? Here's Someone Who's Actually Doing It! Thinking about starting your own law firm eventually? Why wait? Ruth Carter talks about starting a firm right out of law school (and why one of her specialty areas is going to be “flash mob law”).
Alternative Paths
- Want to Save the World? Meet a Lawyer Who Is Meet Lara Pearson, a small firm trademark attorney who’s built her own niche "Protecting the Brands that are Changing the World®."
- Want To Chuck Your Legal Career and Become an Entrepreneur? A Report From the Field Lots of attorneys dream of ditching the legal world and running their own business (cupcakes, anyone?). Before you jump, get the inside scoop on the entrepreneur’s life from Jeanne Pi, lawyer turned serial entrepreneur.
- Transitioning to a Non-Traditional Legal Career Law school often prepares students to go in one direction after school - to a traditional legal career, whether in a law firm, government work or a public interest job. Kathryn Blair writes about her non-traditional path to academia after a law firm career, as well as some other profiles of lawyer with alternative legal careers.
- Considering an Alternative Legal Career? Tips From a Professional Development Expert Not sure law’s actually for you? Serena Claire Josephs, professional development expert at an AmLaw 100 firm, talks about how to figure out what alternative career would be a better fit.
- Had Enough? Time To Quit And Hit The Open Road Forget about this whole law thing! The open road is calling. Check out this funny and insightful interview with Tyler Coulson, a law firm associate who quit his job to — wait for it — walk across the country. Yeah, the whole country. By himself, with only his dog for company.
- Thinking About a Non-Traditional Law Career? Get a Bird's Eye View Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor at the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, shares his own pathway out of the practice of law and into a satisfying career helping lawyers.
- Alternative Careers - Investigator For Workplace Complaints Joanna Sattler, Law School Toolbox tutor and former BigLaw attorney, talks about her experience transitioning to the world of workplace investigations. She explains the positive and negative aspects of her current position and also talks about general advice for finding a non-traditional legal job.
How to Handle Law School Debt
- Freaking Out About Your Law School Loans? Get Help From a Debt Guru If you’re like most law students, you’ve got massive debt to keep you awake at night. It’s scary, right? Luckily, you’re not alone. Anna Newell Jones, debt guru extraordinaire, talks about how to get your debt under control so you can live the life you want.
- Struggling With Your Student Loan Debt? The Law School Loan Expert is Here to Help Heather Jarvis, capital defense attorney turned student loan expert, shares great advice on handling your student loans — even when they seem really overwhelming!
- Thinking About Public Interest Work? Find Out About LRAP, Getting the Job You Want, and More! If you’re interested in public interest work, and you don’t know all about Equal Justice Works, stop what you’re doing and read this interview with Radhika Singh Miller, their program manager for Educational Debt Relief and Outreach, right now.
How to Succeed in Law School and On the Bar Exam
- Think You’ve Got a Lot to Do? We Talk to an Entrepreneurial Law School Mom! You think you’re a busy law student? We check in with Ciara Vesey — law student, mother, and entrepreneur! The founder of Confessions of a Law School Nobody shares her tips for success.
- Nervous About 1L Exams? Here’s Advice From a Rockstar Tutor If you’re starting to get nervous about law school exams, it’s your lucky day! Here’s some fantastic advice about getting ready for law school exams from Lee Burgess, co-founder of the Law School Toolbox.
- Flipping Out About the Bar Exam? An MBE Expert is Here to Help MBE expert Sean Silverman shares his tips for conquering the Multistate Bar Exam, one of the most feared tests around.
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~ Have ideas for interesting interviews? Let me know! ~