KU Law Blog

I remember when I was a prospective law student visiting various law schools, a major concern of mine was whether law students had time to do anything fun. I had heard the one-liners from all of my friends and family sarcastically telling me, “Have fun at the library … we’ll see you in three years!” Then there were all the law school prep books that I had consulted. They meticulously structured the ideal daily schedule for a first-year law student, which, of course, involved countless hours at the library in order to review prior class discussions and prepare for future ones. Finally, the dozens of Hollywood portrayals of life as a law student that I saw did little to calm my nerves. I’m thinking specifically about “The Paper Chase.”

So as I entered law school, I pretty much had resigned myself to the fact that my life would be spent in a sea of books for the next three years.

While spending quality time in the library is part of the deal when someone decides to go to law school, it’s not the end of the world that I had envisioned when I signed up for a legal education. In fact, finding fun-filled outlets was a necessity for me in order to escape from the daily grind of reading appellate cases, writing memos and worrying about falling victim to the Socratic method. Some people work out at the rec center, others spend time with family, but for me, the key to success in law school was college football.

I made a goal to see a KU game played in every stadium of the Big 12 Conference, and after three years I made it to all but one: Baylor in Waco, Texas. I would find law school friends to join in on my adventures, and often times I would travel with people who had graduated from the school KU was playing that week. My trips to Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State were like this. For my friends, it was an opportunity to see their old friends and experience the nostalgia of their undergraduate life. For me, it was more of an opportunity to experience a new college town and try out the local flavor. For instance, no trip to Ames, Iowa is complete without a stop at Hickory Park BBQ for ribs and an ice cream sundae. And when cruising through Stillwater, Okla., a detour ought to be made at Eskimo Joes for some cheese fries.

Other times, a group of students just wanted a getaway, like when four guys piled into a two-door sedan for the eight-hour trek to Boulder, Colo. We toured the Coors Brewery, checked out Pearl Street Mall and enjoyed the nightlife in downtown Denver. In November this past year, a group of 14 law students rented a condo along Sixth Street in Austin, Texas for an extended weekend to watch the Jayhawks and the No. 2 ranked Longhorns. It was there that I learned that a hotdog topped with pulled pork is the next big thing.

It pains me a bit to know that I will graduate this May just one Big 12 school short of the mark I set out to reach. But I place most of the blame on Big 12 scheduling more than anything. At any rate, it will provide a great excuse for all of my friends to take time off of work next fall for an extended weekend in Waco to remember all the good times we had back in law school.

Rock chalk, Jayhawk!

Chris Kaufman, 3L

On this gloomy winter Friday in Lawrence, let’s brighten things up by highlighting the job hunting successes of three current students and one very determined recent grad.

Often a law student will tell us that he or she landed a job by being “at the right place at the right time.” Statements like this suggest that serendipity is to thank, when in fact the vast majority of successful job hunters make their own luck.

What appears on the surface to be a fortunate and unconnected series of events leading to a job is almost always a planned and cultivated strategy. While organized job seekers may not always be able to predict the end result of their searches with perfect clarity, through diligence and determination they increase their odds of ultimately being hired.

For example, I recently spoke to a 1L who landed a position with a highly respected mid-sized litigation firm in Topeka. The firm didn’t interview on campus, so how did he do it?

He met two attorneys from the firm at Legal Career Options Day in November. Neither attorney indicated that the firm had a summer law clerk position available, but the attorneys and student had a pleasant conversation. The student followed up with a thank-you note a few days later.

After the New Year, he sent one of the attorneys a cover letter and resume to inquire about summer opportunities. He was the first 1L to approach the firm after it had made the decision to hire a summer clerk. A couple of weeks later, the attorney contacted the student to set up an interview, which resulted in a job offer on the spot.

Or consider the case of a 2L who, after being rejected last spring for a number of paid positions for which she was well-qualified, finally took an unpaid summer position with a federal district court.

She parlayed this experience, and the recommendations she garnered from it, into a part-time, paid summer position with a small law firm, which undoubtedly helped her secure on-campus interview invitations. She prepared for these interviews carefully and eventually accepted an offer for paid summer employment with a large law firm in Kansas City.

Then there’s the 3L who knew that he eventually wanted to work out of state, but for a variety of reasons choose to work during his first two summers in Kansas. He spent his 1L summer as a volunteer clerk with a state court judge. During his second summer, he worked for a small law firm as a paid law clerk. He met several times with our office beginning in the fall of his 2L year to discuss how to best narrow down his geographic targets for full-time employment.

Armed with comprehensive lists of KU Law alumni, he made specific inquires about the job markets in a number of cities. Eventually, he narrowed his choices down to one city each in the two states with which he had the deepest connections.

A number of applications resulted in one job offer in each state, and he will proudly walk across the stage in May as an employed grad, without ever accepting a position from an on-campus interview.

Our final story of grit and determination comes from a recent grad who did well in law school but couldn’t quite decide where he wanted to practice. On-campus interviews didn’t pan out for him in either the spring of his first year or the fall of his second.

As a 1L he enrolled in the Judicial Clerkship Clinic. He secured a summer job offer as a 2L through a position advertised on Symplicity.

He initially hoped to land a post-grad federal clerkship, and got close on several occasions. When clerkship season ended he decided to take the Missouri bar, but not before submitting applications to firms in a number of other states. He soon received invitations to interview from firms that shared one thing in common — they weren’t in Missouri.

The interviews didn’t pan out, and no firms in Missouri were biting. By the time he graduated in May 2009, he was back to square one, questioning his Missouri bar plans and wondering how to restart his job search.

He took and passed the bar exam and eventually began working part-time reviewing legal documents in order to pay the bills. One of his co-workers, a recent grad from another law school, told him about an interview she had lined up with a local law firm with offices at a well-known Johnson County intersection. When he inquired about the firm’s name, she begged off.

Undeterred, our student drove to the intersection, wrote down the names of all the firms with offices there, and contacted each one by letter and resume. He secured an interview with the one firm that was hiring, impressed the partners with his attitude and preparation, and landed the job. He’ll sit for the Kansas bar next week and soon will be an employed member of the bar in Missouri and Kansas.

Right place, right time? Sure. Serendipity? No way. The moment these grads stumbled on something fortunate was the culmination of months, and sometimes years, of carefully crafted effort.

Todd Rogers, assistant dean for career services