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 all surprising that I would see different types of superheroes everywhere I go. So here’s my take on the lawyers I have met and which superheroes they reflect.

  • Green Lanterns
    The rules are there, they just need to be enforced! Work within the system; deal with the criminals directly. Green Lanterns are, literally, cops. But in the lawyer’s world, they are prosecutors. Green Lanterns are driven by sheer will power to uphold the law. And the law is the law, fair or unfair. “Believe in the system” is the Green Lantern’s mantra.
  • Green Arrow and Black Canary
    Direct action, advocating social change. Social justice isn’t created by following the laws that are on the books but by changing those laws to reflect what is right. Both Green Arrow and Black Canary practice public law. They might be public defenders or they might work in-house for nonprofit organizations like the ACLU, PETA or the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
  • Superman and Supergirl
    Supes is a big deal. Justice is of utmost importance. S/he is a shining example of how a superhero should behave. Meet strength with strength, meet gentle with gentle. The bad guys are born bad guys, and they should be locked away. Forever. But supes does not work with or for the police. Oh no! Supes is a shark who normally works defense but has been known to represent plaintiffs.
  • Batman and Batgirl
    The Bats want you scared straight. Bats work with the police but are not trusted. The Bats are district attorneys who believe that being a criminal, for most, is a choice. Batsie wants to help you make the right choice and will even cut you a break if you seem scared enough. However, there are a few out there who are sick and cannot make the right choice. So they get put into a hospital where doctors work to cure their illness.
  • Wonder Woman and Wonder Man
    The Wonders are that indeed! Physically and mentally powerful individuals who are willing to fight to the death. They are passionate about what they do. But their first line of attack? Alternative dispute resolution: mediation, negotiation and arbitration. They want to come to an agreement and understanding first. Words before weapons. They are expert negotiators and will do what they can to make sure everyone gets what they need before dragging cases through a lengthy courtroom battle, which they are fully capable of.

So what kind of superhero lawyer are you or do you think you would be? Do you have any to add? Leave a comment or email me! I’d sure like to know!

W. Blake Wilson, Instructional & Research Services Librarian

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 days of Lawyering and orientation sessions, they begin their core courses today.

It hardly seems possible that it’s been 15 years since I anxiously began my law school experience in Austin. I remember making small talk with a KU graduate, Blaine Kimrey, as we waited to be welcomed to UT Law by the dean. My head was swirling as I looked around and sized up my classmates. I had graduated from college only a few months before and wasn’t sure that I was ready for the rigors of professional school.

As KU Law welcomes the Class of 2013, it seems like an appropriate time to reflect on five bits of advice I received as a curious prospective law student and a nervous 1L. I’m afraid I was pretty impressionable and absorbed most of these statements as gospel.

Did they prove to be true?

  • You’ll only get a job if you’re in the top 10 percent of the class.

And it’s corollary …

  • Law school is the most intense experience you’ll ever have. You must dedicate every waking minute to reading cases, studying and outlining in order to make good grades.

I’m not very good at math, but even I can figure out that the first statement is baloney. At KU Law, we admit about 160 students per year. After their first year, most students gain practical legal experience in the summer months or subsequent school years through paid or for-credit positions. And while our employment numbers dropped this year due to the recession, it’s typical that two-thirds of each KU Law class is employed at graduation and over 90 percent are employed nine months after graduation.

Of course grades matter. And of course some employers are more selective with respect to grades than others. But to state that only 10 percent (or 15 percent or 20 percent) of law students will be competitive in the job market is flat wrong.

Some of the most successful, grounded and happy law students I’ve known made time as 1Ls for hobbies, exercise and other activities that helped clear their minds and brought them back in touch with family and friends.

Law school is serious business, but if you treat it like a professional job — rather than just like undergrad — you’ll be surprised by how much you can accomplish while still reserving time for some fun. If you work steadily throughout the semester, you won’t feel overwhelmed when finals roll around in December.

While acquiring legal knowledge, don’t lose yourself. Take care of your body by getting plenty of sleep and exercise. Commit to investing time and energy in family and friends. Develop sound strategies for dealing with the stressful times head on. And be nice to one another! Law school is challenging, but it doesn’t have to be cutthroat or ugly.

  • Don’t bother with Career Services; they only care about the top 10 percent of the class.
    Our marching orders are to care about the employment prospects and well being of the top 100 percent of the class. That may be hokey, but it’s true. Our doors are open to everyone, and typically students with lower grades seek our assistance more regularly.
  • Don’t bother looking for a job in a state other than where you go to law school.About one-fourth of each KU Law class secures permanent employment outside of Kansas and western Missouri. If you want to wind up in Chicago or Denver or Houston, you should start your search early and consult with our office often. KU Law alums are spread across the country, and many will be amenable to assisting law students in establishing a foothold in a particular city or state.If you wait until you’re a 3L to decide that you want to move to another state, especially a state with which you have no previous connection, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.
  • You’ve got to figure out what area of law you want to practice as soon as possible.
    During your first year, you’re learning how to read cases, spot issues, and analyze and apply statutes. In the process, you’ll gain some inkling of what you want to practice, but don’t buy into the hype that you must plot out your career path in its entirety by the end of your first year.Want some help with making sense of your options? Read “The Official Guide to Legal Specialties: An Insiders’s Guide to Every Major Practice Area,” by Lisa Abrams. Also, make an appointment with our office to discuss your options.

    Potential employers expect that 2Ls will be able to articulate an interest in an area or two. It won’t help your cause to say you’re interested in “all areas” or that you “just want a job.” You will need to answer practice area-related questions more thoughtfully by that point.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

Google and Westlaw had a baby and WestSearch is its name, O!

Beginning this fall, KU Law faculty, staff and students will have access to Westlaw’s newest product: WestlawNext.

I am going to try my best to not get into the super-geeky details here. Also, I’m going to avoid quoting West on this product. Instead, I am going to share with you my experience.

Many students who are starting to learn the online legal research process may find it difficult to switch over to using Westlaw. They are used to using search engines such as Google and Bing where they can just type in their question and go. Legal research just does not work that way. For example, to use Westlaw most efficiently, you have to understand three things: Boolean language connectors, West’s KeyNumber system and legal analysis. This makes online legal research particularly difficult for first-year students who have little if any exposure to these concepts.

Well, the magical minds at West have solved your problem. They have created a product that allows the user to use Westlaw the way that they use search engines: Just type in your question. You don’t have to pick a database or use exact search terms.

This doesn’t take away your need for legal analysis at all. But it does take away your need to understand Boolean logic and West’s KeyNumber system (well, not completely).

So here’s how it works.

  1. Pick a jurisdiction. No database choice is required.
  2. Type in your query however you are used to doing it: Boolean, natural language, citation or parties.

WestSearch uses the editorial additions already in place to rank the results and divide them up by type: case law, statutes, secondary sources, etc. You can then narrow your results using a checklist on the left side. Or find related materials on the right which WestSearch has flagged as AWESOME! Also, once you have looked at a document, West puts a neat little pair of glasses next to it so that you don’t go repeating yourself.

So who has access to WestlawNext? Currently, only faculty and staff. In a few weeks, all students will have access with the exception of 1Ls. Sorry guys! You still need to learn how to use Westlaw! But full access will be granted to you, too, come spring (maybe earlier if we so decide).

How do you get to WestlawNext? Simple. Sign in to Westlaw as you normally would. Once you do, you will see WestlawNext as an option at the top of the screen. Try it out. Play around. We will offer training as the semester rolls on. Otherwise, feel free to sign up for one of the webinars listed below. These are for FACULTY AND LIBRARIANS ONLY! Sorry students!

If you can’t make it, don’t worry! Westlaw will put these up on its TWEN page!

W. Blake Wilson, Instructional & Research Services Librarian

Twenty-eight days later

Today the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) released “28 Tips for 28 Days,” an informational handout with tips for law schools and employers regarding its new timing guidelines.

The NALP Board of Directors unanimously approved two changes for the 2010 recruiting cycle:

    1. The adoption of a 28-day rolling response deadline for candidates not previously employed by the employer; and
    2. A Nov. 1 response deadline for candidates who have been previously employed by the employer.

Two years ago, NALP replaced the former Dec. 1 response date with a 45-day rolling response deadline. Students who had not previously worked for an employer had 45 days to respond to an offer from that employer for summer or permanent employment.

Feedback from law schools and legal employers has indicated that a shorter period will still allow students sufficient time to choose among competing offers.

Therefore, beginning this month students will have 28 days to respond to an offer from an employer for which the student has not worked. For offers to candidates who have been previously employed, the response deadline will be Nov. 1.

Based on a quick read of NALP’s new tips, and my experience with the fall on-campus interview process, here are the most salient points for law students:

      • Read “Student Professionalism During the Interview Season: A Quick Guide to Your Ethical Responsibilities in the Offer and Decision-Making Process,” available at www.nalp.org/studentprofessionalism.
      • Learn as much as you can about organizations with which you interview. This may include asking the Office of Career Services to put you in touch with students and alums who have worked for those organizations in the past.
      • Upon receiving an offer, set reminders on an online calendar of upcoming response deadlines.
      • Don’t be afraid to stay in communication with employers between the time you receive an offer and when your respond.
      • Don’t let an offer deadline pass without sharing your decision. Declining an offer may be hard, but it’s an important part of the process.
      • Students who are actively pursuing positions with public interest or government organizations may request that a private employer extend the deadline to accept the employer’s offer until as late as April 1.
      • Understand that employers having a total of 40 attorneys or fewer in all offices are exempted by NALP from these timing guidelines. Those making offers for full-time employment on or before Dec. 15 are encouraged to let them remain open for at least three weeks or until Dec. 30, whichever comes first. Offers made after Dec. 15 should remain open for at least two weeks.
      • Similarly, employers offering candidates positions for the following summer and having a total of 40 attorneys or fewer in all offices are encouraged to let offers made on or before Dec. 15 remain open for at least three weeks following the date of the offer letter or until Dec. 30, whichever comes first. Offers made after Dec. 15 should remain open for at least two weeks.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

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 resume, law students often lament that they can’t network with attorneys because they don’t know any.

One of the best strategies for meeting attorneys is to go where attorneys go. And where are all attorneys required by law to go? Continuing Legal Education seminars, known as CLEs. For example, Kansas attorneys must complete at least 12 hours of CLE credit per year, and Missouri attorneys must complete at least 15 hours. CLE courses are sponsored by various groups, including the Kansas Bar Association, Topeka Bar Association, Johnson County Bar Association, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and KU Continuing Education. Most of these organizations will allow law student members to attend programs for free or at a greatly reduced cost.

Attending CLEs as a way to meet practitioners is a recognized method of networking. The following excerpts from two of the most popular reference books about legal job-hunting describe the benefits of attending CLEs:

Excerpt from “The Legal Career Guide: From Law Student to Lawyer,” by Gary A. Munneke

(pp. 168-69) Many students who enter law school do not personally know any lawyers. If you are in this situation, you will want to develop a network of professional mentors. Your objective is not to develop specific job opportunities, though that frequently occurs, but to develop a better understanding and knowledge of what it actually means to practice law.

***

Take advantage of CLE programs that allow you to mingle informally with attendees. Your law school provides many such opportunities, such as lectures, competitions, receptions and career services panels. Local bar associations also offer CLE programs that are open to law students.

***

(pp. 228-29) If you are interested in a particular area of practice, go where the lawyers are. Many CLE conferences are offered free or at reduced rates for law students. This approach may require you to be assertive in meeting people and arranging interviews and can offer informal opportunities to talk during breaks or discussion groups.

Excerpt from “Guerrilla Tactics For Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams,” by Kimm Alayne Walton

(pp. 134-35) I’ve mentioned CLE classes before; they’re “continuing legal education” classes, and lawyers have to take them periodically to maintain their licenses to practice law. Something most students don’t know is that law students can also take CLE classes.

***

There are several excellent benefits to taking CLE classes, including:

  • You meet practitioners in an area you’re interested in.
  • You learn what’s going on in the practice area, and that kind of education is valuable in and of itself. It may generate article ideas for you (if you’re interested in writing), and it’ll key you in on what’s on the minds of practitioners.
  • You get a great resume item.

While neither Munneke nor Walton come right out and say it, the most intimidating aspect of attending a CLE is also the best reason for going: You’ll likely be the only law student in a room full of practicing attorneys. Think about it this way: Would you rather be the only job-seeker in a room of 40 potential employers or one of 40 resumes in a stack on a potential employer’s desk?

So take advantage of these CLE discounts and attend a program or two each semester. When you do, be prepared to talk to attorneys. Here are a few suggestions on questions to ask during breaks in the presentation:

  • What publications should I read to keep current in this field?
  • Are there professional organizations that I can join now?
  • How did you prepare yourself for this kind of work?
  • What skills and abilities have you found most important in your work?
  • Could you suggest a couple of colleagues or acquaintances who you feel would be good sources of information about the field?
  • Could I use your name when I contact them?

The one question you should NOT ask is “Can I have a job?” This approach will likely be a conversation killer. Remember, your reasons for attending a CLE are to meet attorneys and to demonstrate an interest in a field of law.

By engaging the attorneys present at the CLE in conversation, you’re hoping that you can learn more about what they do and — best case scenario — add them and some of their colleagues to your network of contacts. Networking is, on the surface, a slower process than mass-mailing cover letters and resumes, but it almost always is more effective.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

Top 8 misconceptions about legal research

I am in charge of the legal research instruction as part of the Lawyering Skills course. Over the past three years, I have heard (and read) several things students have said about legal research. Before we have a new batch of students start up this fall, I would like to go ahead and address these issues.

  • Everything is available online.Surprisingly, this is not the case. While it’s true that the feds are quick to post things online, you can not say the same with regards to state materials. Of course you do have proprietary databases, but even those aren’t as comprehensive as people would like to think they are. Not to metion that, honestly, some things just aren’t easily accessible online. There’s also the issue of the cost of using these databases.
  • My firm will have unlimited access to legal databases.
    If you end up at a big firm, this just may be the case. Sort of. Keep in mind that at the end of each year, your law firm will have to renegotiate its contract with its provider of choice. And if you think that these providers aren’t keep track of usage, you are dead wrong. And if you think you won’t get canned because you caused overhead to jump thousands of dollars, you obviously haven’t worked in a law firm.
  • Clients won’t pay for research.
    It is true that some clients will look at a bill and refuse to pay for anything labeled “research.” It’s also true that many law firms won’t charge clients for “research.” So how does research get paid? By increasing the hourly rate on everything else and calling research “overhead.” Believe me, in the end, clients pay for research, being that it’s likely to be 50 percent of your job.
  • I won’t need to do research.
    This is simply not true. Think about it. A client comes to you with a problem and is seeking a legal solution. Even if you think you know the answer to his or her problem, laws change. You can be found guilty of malpractice for citing bad law. Even if you are relying on a form, you better make sure that the form you are using still conforms to the standards spelled out in the statutes or regulations.
  • My paralegal/legal secretary will do all of my research.
    True. The moment you become partner in a law firm, you can pass your research on to your secretary, paralegal or a lower associate. But if you are a first-year associate at any firm, you don’t get to pass things on. Sorry, but that paralegal is higher up on the food chain, my friend.
  • Employers don’t care about my research skills.
    The No. 1 complaint we get from law firms is that summer associates can’t do research. That they have to be gingerly walked through the entire process. If this is you and you are up against a summer associate who walked in with mad research skills, guess who’s getting asked back? You, because you play a great game of softball? Think again.
  • The research assignments are just busy work!
    Actually, the research assignments are created to actually get your face into the books and do some practical work. You can’t learn how to do research by reading a book. It’s like flying a plane. Would you trust a pilot who’d only just read “Flying for Dummies”? Or a surgeon who had never cut into a cadaver?
  • I already know how to research.
    Legal research is unlike any other type of research. Granted, there are some parallels in that you have key words and indexes and tables of context. But with legal research, there is a required level of analysis that is pervasive. Sure it might be hard to see your first year. But that’s because, at this point, the only legal analysis you can do is what you’ve brought with you. And unless you already have a degree based in law, that ain’t much.

W. Blake Wilson, Instructional & Research Services Librarian