Careers
Tapping into Social Networks
Amanda Ellis, a legal recruiter based in Dallas, recently wrote an article for the Texas Bar Journal entitled The Big Three: Using Social Networking Sites to Connect with Employers and Clients. I’d like to focus on two techniques Ms. Ellis suggests to identify potentially helpful job hunting…
A 'Best Value' in a Tough Market
Recently KU Law was honored as a top 20 "Best Value" in legal education by preLaw magazine. Law schools are honored if they meet four criteria:Tuition less than $35,000 a year for in-state residents;Average indebtedness of less than $100,000;Bar passage rate higher than the state average;…
Law Librarian, Comic Book Fan Sees Superhero Personalities in Lawyers
For those who don't know, I have been a fan of comic books pretty much my entire life. And much like anybody who is a fan of any type of fiction, be it Harry Potter, Twilight or D.C.'s line of comics, you begin to pick up on the character archetypes and see them appear in your world. So it's not at…
First-day Jitters and First-year Myths
Green Hall was abuzz last Thursday morning with the excited chatter of first-year law students. KU Law faculty and staff welcomed another class of bright and motivated students with continental breakfast, several orientation programs and the first of many Lawyering class sessions. After a few more…
A Response to ‘Is Law School a Losing Game?’
On Jan. 8 the New York Times published a much-discussed article called “Is Law School a Losing Game?” The article’s author, David Segal, is critical of a law school system that he alleges overstates employment prospects to prospective students, all in the name of packing classrooms with students…
Back to the grind: A 3L’s Perspective on the Beginning of a New School Year
Once again, it’s the beginning of another school year and I’m sitting around wondering where my summer went. I spent a good portion of my summer studying for the MPRE and working in the Rockhurst University Athletics Department doing some compliance work. I did manage to sneak off to San Diego for…
Kudos! Students Secure Summer Employment in Tough Market
Back in the Stone Age, when the Office of Career Services produced a monthly newsletter in paper form (the horror!), we ran a “Career Services Kudos” section in the March and April editions to applaud job-hunting successes. We spend so much time preaching about how to conduct a job search that it…
Trends in Law Firm Profitability Suggest Smartest Route for Future Law Students
At the National Association for Law Placement’s annual conference in late April, Dan DiPietro of Citibank spoke to a packed house of more than 800 conference goers. DiPietro is the managing director of the Law Firm Group at Citibank and visiting professor at Harvard Law School. Citibank’s Law Firm…
How to Find Your Dream Job When You Have a Law Degree but Don't Want to Practice Law
So you have attained (or are working toward attaining) your Juris Doctor but have decided not to practice law. If you already have your dream job, then you are set. But not knowing what your dream job is does not have to be a nightmare. You just need to take a step back and do some groundwork.…
Help! I Don't Know Any Lawyers!
More members of the KU Law Class of 2010 reported finding jobs through referrals and self-initiated contact (32 percent) than through on-campus interviews (25 percent). While most job-seekers intuitively understand that meeting a potential employer in person is preferable to contact by mass-mailed…