Setting Yourself Apart From The Rest In The Legal Career Search

This week in the law school insider I am bringing back Dean Charles Toy, Associate Dean for Career and Professional Development at Cooley Law School.

This week we are talking with Dean Toy about the job search and what you can do to prepare yourself for finding the legal job of your dreams after graduating fom law school.

Dean Toy said that he tells students from very early on in their law school career to use their Career and Professional Development offices early and often. However, he also prefaces this by saying that in your first term you have to study and get comfortable in your new environment. 

After you get to the end of your first term Dean Toy said that in your second term and preceding terms look for ways to explore the different avenues of the law. Whether this is through volunteering, finding internships or externships or other means, this will help set you apart form others and will let you get a better feel of the type of law that you will want to practice.

Dean Toy mentioned that there are some things that you can do to set yourself ahead in the legal career search:

1. Know Thyself - do an honest assessment of your skills and strengths, what you are passionate about, what are your values and where do you want to work.
2. Investigate the areas of the law that you identified in #1.
3. Network with lawyers in the areas of law that you have an interest in through joining your local bar association and possibly even a subsection of the local bar that focusses on the area of law that you are interested in.
4. Research all that you can on the career areas that you are interested in so there is no question about what the career area entails.
5. Show passion for the area of law that you end up focussing on. This is particularly true as you enter job interviews as employers know who is truly passionate about a position and career area and who is there just looking for a job.

As you consider your options, Dean Toy mentioned that there are some firms and judicial clerkships that are available for students. However, you need to be aware that in some of thesem you have to be thinking far ahead of when you wish to participate in them. For example, many judicial clerkships are interviewing students for positions a year in advence. Thus, you have to think ahead to be prepared for these opportunities.

I asked Dean Toy about the differences between a legal resume and a resume you may have built in the past. Dean Toy mentioned that in a legal resume you first need to make sure that you are following directions. If the firm you ar applying for asks for a one page resume, then you have to give them a one page resume. You also will find that with a legal resume you will be focussing only on relevant legal experiences, not all of your past positions will be listed, only those that are pertinent to the position. You also will not need a purpose statement as law firms know why you are there, and if you are in the interview you have made the initial cut for consideration. Dean Toy gave a great tip about how to explain the work that you did in the past and that was to make it quantifiable, such as : Helped draft 25 motions that were successfully for civil litigator - all motions were granted. Thus, you are quantifying what you did and showing quality in the statement as well.

If you are not in law school there area few things that Dean Toy recommends that you do to prepare yourself for law school and the leagal career search:

1. Go out and meet attorneys in different areas. When you meet these attorneys ask questions and get some informal mentoring. Ask about their jobs and career as well as their law school experience. Gain insights into their journey and see what you might want or need to do within your own journey.
2. Go on an excursion to a local courthouse. Sit around and watch what attorneys do and how they represent themselves, but also their clients. Talk to the attorneys while there if given the chance.
3. See if there is a possibility to do a legal internship as a part of your undergraduate program.

Did you like this interview? Do you have a question for Dean Toy? Leave a comment below to let me know!

Are you a practicing lawyer? A law student? Would you like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Law School Insider? Send me an email at lawschoolinsider@cooley.edu