Happy Labor Day . . . and Speaking of Labor

The Library Staff wishes you all a happy and safe Labor Day.  

In honor of this day celebrating Labor and the work that we all do, here are a few tips as well as some resources available in the library for finding work post-graduation.

Networking:  So often in today’s job market, it’s not about what you know but who you know.  A sad fact, but oftentimes true.  This is why developing relationships with attorneys, judges, and other persons of influence in your chosen area of law during law school can make the job search after law school much easier.  This is not a guarantee, but it does help on many occasions.  

Solo Practice:  If you’re more interested in going solo, that’s also a very viable option.  Remember that as a solo practitioner you will be responsible for all aspects of your firm, which can be a daunting task.  Tackling a solo practice is all about educating yourself.  Check out these resources for more information: Teach Me to Solo; Start Your Own Law Practice: A Guide to All the Things They Don’t Teach in Law School About Starting Your Own Firm; and How to Start & Build A Law Practice.

Non-Attorney Jobs:  It may surprise you to find that some J.D. graduates don’t ever pursue a career as an attorney, but there is a great abundance of alternative careers where your J.D. will come in handy but you don’t need to be an attorney.  For example, a choice close to my heart, a law librarian.  The J.D. helped prepare me and my fellow law librarians to better assist students, practitioners, faculty, and other patrons with their legal research needs.  Because we went through the J.D. program ourselves, we have a better understanding of what exactly our patrons need.  Above the Law provides an interesting article on this here.  Business Insider talks about additional avenues here.  The Library has additional resources on this area including Life After Law and What Can You Do With A Law Degree?

Resume Building:  The Library has many resources with great tips on creating the perfect resume, including Developing A Professional Vita or Resume.  And remember to take advantage of your Career Services department since they have invaluable information and experience to share with you on your job search.

These are just a few ideas to keep on the back burner as you go through law school and think about your career afterwards.  There are always, of course, the big firm practice area or joining a smaller firm.  In fact, these options are often the most sought-after and thought-of choices.  

Regardless of what avenue you pursue, you have the tools to succeed!

Thursday’s Tome

Amongst the numerous resources we offer here at the library, there is an oft-overlooked section that helps prepare you beyond law school and the Bar Exam.  We spend so much of our time as law students thinking only about surviving all of our classes and making it through the Bar Exam . . . but what happens after that?  Do we start our own firm?  Join the multitude of associate attorneys working for the large, corporate offices?  Throw in all our chips with a few fellow alumni?

At the library we have a plethora of books for career services detailing all aspects of life after law school — how your summer internships can land you a job after graduation; how your relationships are affected by your time in law school; how to start your own law practice.  

Today, I’ll share one such book titled “Start Your Own Law Practice: A guide to all the things they don’t teach in law school about starting your own firm.”  Published in 2005, this title is still relevant almost 10 years later.  Whether you’re a business major from undergrad or completely new to the idea, this book helps outline the steps you need to take with checklists, sample letters and law office forms.  

Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:

“After years of school and maybe even after some years of practice, you are ready to be the boss.
You want to hang out your shingle and open an office of your own.  But running a profitable business takes more than just being a great attorney.  Start Your Own Law Practice provides you with the knowledge to be both a great lawyer and successful business owner.
Whether you are looking to open a sole practitioner’s office or wanting to go into partnership with other colleagues, picking the right location, hiring the right support staff and taking care of all the finances are not easy tasks.  With help from Start Your Own Law Practice, you can be sure you are making the best decisions for success.”

Let us know what your plans are after graduation.