To Everything there is a Season

Obviously it has been a while since I have posted on this blog. Why is that? I suppose it is because I have accomplished much of what I wanted to with Law Career Blog as a solo blog. I felt I had important things to say on teaching and classroom etiquette; on law career decisions; on law firm practice; on mentoring, and more. And I have said many of them, so there you have it.

I am very pleased, though, that my posts continue to draw strong traffic month after month, year after year. What I have said here remains relevant, I think--but that does not mean I need to always rehash the same ground, all in the name of having new posts just for the sake of it.

So for now, my existing posts stand for what they are, and I am proud of them. Call me the Antiblogger, I suppose: I am blogging by not blogging.

In any event, the following is a list of posts that have generated the most interest from readers, some posts on subjects I think are particularly important, and some that are just fun. Enjoy!

Posts on Law School in General:

In a series of posts, I argued that if we want law schools to truly provide the academic and practical education that students (and employers) expect and demand, we should consider adding a fourth year to the law school curriculum. Not surprisingly, my proposal was universally condemned. Check out the comments.

See Is the Third Year of Law School a Waste of Time and Money? and Is Law School Itself a Waste of Time?

I think that too often, law students don't step back and think about law school and their future careers in a broader perspective. That's understandable given the workload in law school, but it's still unfortunate. My friend and colleague Gene Theroux visited Mississippi College School of Law once to speak to students about his storied career--he opened the first western law firm offices in China and the Soviet Union--and he had wonderful advice for them. Ostensibly the talk was about globalization, but the heart of his message was to follow your heart and practice law the right way and for the right reasons. Sometimes we need to put our cynicism aside and hear things like what he said that day.

See Theroux Part Deux

Posts on LL.M. Degrees:

This trilogy of posts is perhaps the most popular series of posts on this blog--which proves that good things really do come in threes. Lots of discussion in the comments. See The Pros and Cons of LL.M.s, LL.M. Redux and LL.M.s Part 3.

Posts on Law School Exams, Teaching, and Class Strategies

Bainbridge v. Bowman. I wrote a law review article entitled The Comparative and Absolute Advantages of Junior Law Faculty: Implications for Teaching and the Future of American Law Schools--a piece I am quite proud of. In it, I use traditional neoclassical trade theory to analyze the advantages of junior and senior law faculty and make some recommendations regarding law school teaching. Professor Stephen Bainbridge of UCLA saw it, and he absolutely hated it. This posts includes our dialogue.

How to Improve your Law School Exams Grades. This wasn't a terribly controversial post--or so I thought until I received scathing comments two years after I posted it. Some fun back and forth on that one. Maybe I should've retitled the post Bowman v. Someone Very Angry.

Law School Orientation Advice. Pretty self-explanatory. My own favorite piece of advice: Don't spill a plate of food on your law school dean at the welcome reception. I actually did that--but lucky for me, I still graduated.

Computer-Free Week and Computer-Free Week, Part 2. There is a good deal of concern in the legal academy about computer use in the classroom. Is it beneficial? Is it harmful or disruptive? So one time I asked students not to use computers for one week to see what would happen. The results were pretty interesting, and as a teacher I found the feedback via the comments very useful. Perhaps the most interesting result was that student comments revealed just how prevalent the consumer mentality is among students--namely, I paid my tuition, so I can do what I want in class.

The Dilbertic Method. I definitely like this post about parallels between Dilbert's boss and the Socratic method. If you want to see the Dilbert cartoon I am talking about, you have to click the link in the article and then enter in the cartoon's run date on the Dilbert site.

Posts on Law Firms:

Much of the attraction to, and frustration with, big law firms has to do with the money they pay their associates. So I wrote some pieces on that subject--something I have firsthand knowledge about.

See Of Law Firm Culture and Compensation Schemes, The Problem of Law Firm Salary Distributions, and Big Firm Economics 101.

In another post, I wrote about associate pay and stress levels. In light of the recent savage downturn in the employment market, this post is perhaps more relevant than ever. See Why Associates Have More Stress than Partners.

On Interview and Job Strategies and Techniques

Job Interview Do's and Don't's. The name of the post says it all.

What NOT to do as a Summer Associate. You'd be surprised what some people do. Don't be one of them.

Posts on Movies:

Finally, I have had some fun with movies on this blog, and for some reason they were always movies starring George Clooney. First, I blogged about Syriana--see Syriana Misrepresents International Lawyers.

Then I wrote a whole slew of posts on Michael Clayton--a movie that had a lot to say about what it is (and is not) like to be a lawyer. I was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune about the Michael Clayton series of posts. See the following (not too originally entitled) posts:

Clooney v. Clayton, which is my review of the movie

Clooney v. Clayton, Part 2, about hyperbole in legal dramas

Clooney v. Clayton, Part 3, on whether there is such a thing as a law firm "fixer"

Clooney v. Clayton, Part 4, on the perverse incentive/reward structure of law practice

Clooney v. Clayton, Part 5, on how law practice affects your family life

Clooney v. Clayton, Part 6, regarding legal ethics

Clooney v. Clayton--Again, regarding my Chicago Tribune Interview

* * * *

So for now, that is where things stand. I hope you enjoy reading these posts as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Greg

New NALP Interview Guidelines

The New York Lawyer has a report about revisions NALP has made to its "Principles and Standards for Law Placement and Recruitment Activities." The guidelines, while not binding, are followed by most firms. One big change is that instead of listing a deadline by which students must accept or decline summer offers (formerly October 15), the revised guidelines now give students 45 days to accept or decline an offer. Driving the change was the fact that many firms (and schools) were starting their interview processes earlier--with the result that offers were being held open up to four months. That's a long time. The article can be accessed here (you may need to register with the New York Lawyer to read the article, but registration is free). NALP's revised guidelines are posted online here. Both are worth reading.

The New York Lawyer article is (as usual) a piece of very good reporting. But I do take issue with the first sentence: "Starting next fall, law students will need to think fast when choosing which offer to accept for a summer associate job, due to a change in timing guidelines." 45 days? Think fast? Hmmm. Hardly my definition of an "exploding offer." I' ve received exploding offers before, and they were nothing like 45 days in length. That's 6 1/2 weeks! Good sensationalism, though. Draws you in and makes you read. Worked on me.

And it is an interesting--and needed--change to hiring practices. This will make it easier for firms to know how many slots they have left for summer hiring, since they won't need to hold slots open for a bunch of "maybe" candidates who are sitting on offers for a long time. That actually should help other students, since firms will know, on a rolling basis, who is accepting and who is declining, and spots will open up more quickly. So it seems like a good balance between giving students sufficient time to make up their minds--more than sufficient, really--and allowing firms to have some sense of definiteness regarding the size of their summer classes.

What NOT to do as a Summer Associate

There's loads of advice on the web about how not to act stupid as a summer associate. Much of it is funny, in the "Wow, I'd never do that!" kind of way. But there are more subtle, less egregiously dumb ways to put your career in peril.

Take a look, for example, at a recent post on Lack of Scienter, which advises that generally "you're not supposed to bring your friends to Summer Associate events," and suggests that doing so may demonstrate a decided lack of judgment. Something, by the way, that I totally agree with. (Look at the post soon; the blogger deletes old posts.)

That's true for a couple of reasons. First, your friends weren't invited, were they? You will be called upon to exercise judgment and discretion as a lawyer, and encouraging people to crash a function with you doesn't demonstrate either attribute.

Second, and just as important, you will be attending the function with a bunch of overworked, overstressed lawyers who are prone to grumpiness. I've been there. In the face of too many deadlines and too much stress, goodwill and compassion sometimes fly out the window--and the summer associate who fails to exercise good judgment can be caught in the crossfire.

So your goal as a summer associate is to not do things the firm's jerks or good-people-gone-bad will think are stupid. Your primary goal is to get an offer for full-time employment. And if that's not you're goal, then I might question your judgment. Unless you are perhaps royalty and are just spending the summer slumming with the commoners. No joke--I've seen members of royal families working as summer associates at big US law firms. With secret service details and all. They were obviously not there for the paycheck. Yet even if you are in the line of royal succession, you'll still be thought of most highly if you eschew special treatment and play by the same rules as everyone else. Even if you do keep your security detail. (Which, come to think of it, you probably could bring to events uninvited.)

More Good Discussion of Life as a Summer Associate . . .

. . . and this time it's not from me. It's on Inside Opinions' Legal Blog Watch. How do I know it's good? Because it cites to this blog! In all seriousness, it's a good post, and worth checking out.

Do's and Don't's for Summer Associates

Across the nation, many 1L and 2L students have just started or are ready to start summer clerking jobs with private firms or government entities. For many, this is the first opportunity to see the practice of law up close and personal. No more teachers, no more books--just loads of real world, worker bee experience! And for those at big private firms, there is also the lure of huge paychecks.

For those summer associates or clerks who have come back to school after being out in the work force, the shift from school mode to work mode may not be that difficult. But for many students, especially those with little or no work experience, the shift can be a tough one. And given that you are vying for a permanent offer, the stakes are high. You want to put your best foot forward, not put your foot in your mouth.

So here are a few pointers for making your mark.

1. Always be on time this summer. For everything. Everyone else can be late to functions or late in turning in assignments or completing their billing sheets, but not you. You are Ms. or Mr. Reliable. At a big firm, you are going to be a Billing Unit, making the firm money. So show some efficiency and dependability, people. Being on time may not always help, but it certainly will never hurt.

2. Make sure you understand each assignment. There is skads of advice on the internet about how you are supposed to talk with the assigning attorney--you receive instructions, and then relay them back to make sure you understood them. Follow that advice.

2a. And once you have the assignment, try to find out what the assigning partner or associate is like. Do they generally say what they mean and mean what they say? Or (more likely), do they have unspoken rules or expectations? Succeeding in practice is learning to adapt to the expectations and work styles of others, so start doing it now.

2b. If the assigning attorney is not clear in his or her instructions, use the extrapolation method to figure out what is expected of you. "Whatever you think you need to do" is not proper instruction for a summer clerk (or junior associate, for that matter). But it is common. I heard it regularly in practice. Try positing certain approaches for the lawyer and see how she reacts, and narrow things down from there to get to an approach that you understand and that satisfies the lawyer.

2c. Your evaluations will be based largely on how closely your work product matches what the lawyer was expecting from you. I guarantee that regardless of the quality of your work product, your work will be given higher marks if you come back with something the lawyer was expecting. THIS IS TRUE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE LAWYER PROPERLY CONVEYED THESE EXPECTATIONS TO YOU! The summer associate who turns in brilliant work that was a reasonable interpretation of what the attorney said--but was not what the attorney wanted--will most likely get lower marks than the summer associate who turns in a more average performance but put the work in the expected format or form. And this is why point 2b above is so important.

3. Find a mentor. It might be the person formally assigned to you as a mentor, or it might not. But find someone you can ask sensitive questions. Be careful here--better safe than sorry. You might even decide there is no one you feel comfortable turning to at the firm. (That should tell you a lot about whether you want to work there, shouldn't it?) If that's the case, call one of your friends or professors.

4. Treat every draft you turn in as a final work product. This point is absolutely critical. First impressions are enormously important, and you are wanting to show your prospective employers that you are very, very good. (And that you can spell.) So if someone tells you "just give me what you've got--don't worry about what shape it's in," DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM! Smile, nod, and turn in as perfect a product as possible.

5. Realize that being a summer associate is "law practice lite." Most summer associates today know this, and few if any firms anymore try to pretend that new associates get weekly boat cruises and museum tours. Instead, firms like to talk about giving their summer clerks a "real feel" for the practice of law. But having said that, they will still give you more interesting work than the full time associates, let you sit in on conference calls you cannot bill (THAT almost never happens in practice), and take the time to explain what's going on in a project or deal (so that you think the firm is a really nifty place to work). Remember that this does not happen once you are full time. Just something to keep in mind.

6. Really, really pay attention to your gut feelings about the firm. If it feels like a good place to work, it probably is. If it feels like a nasty, joyless place, it almost certainly is. People can hide anger or misery, but they can't easily fake joy. So if a place feels dreadful, don't go there full time--or if you have to, just go in with your eyes open.

So good luck this summer. I had a blast as a summer associate and did get a feel for law practice--with late nights, unreasonable deadlines, and everything. (And a few baseball games thrown in for good measure.) If you have any questions or comments about your summer experiences, I'd like to hear about them, either as a comment posted to this site or by e-mail at bowman@mc.edu.

Job Interview Do's and Don't's

Today's legal job market is tough, and there is a lot of competition out there. Each year thousands of students graduate from law school and go on the job market, and also each year associates at firms nationwide decide to make lateral moves. And while the number of applicants seems to be growing, the number of new jobs is staying fairly static at best--and in some parts of the country the number of available jobs is shrinking.

So that means that if you are on the market, you have to interview exceedingly well to give yourself even a decent shot at employment. And that is where this post comes in. Over the years I have interviewed extensively--for college scholarships, for judicial clerkships, for law firm jobs, and most recently for tenure-track law professor positions. Those are all different processes, to be sure, but they share important commonalities.

In other words, I have found there are core interviewing strategies that apply no matter what type of interview it is. I'm not talking about mundane aspects like "dress professionally" or "smile and look the interviewer in the eye." Those tips have their place, but they don't give you the bigger picture.

What will get you far? Here are the essential eight fundamentals that I have always followed. They invariably have been successful.

Step 1. Have a perfect resume. You've heard this before, but its importance cannot be overstated. The internet contains loads of advice on what equals a good resume, but I can tell you that in law, what equals a bad resume is one with a typo. I went into an interview one time with a resume containing a typo, and guess what? The interviewer saw it. And I did not get a callback.

At the end of the day, all a resume does is show that you pass the employer's minimum requirements on paper and are worth a closer look. Then it's on to steps 2 through 8.

Step 2. You are not competing; you are self-maximizing. There is an important distinction between the two. On the one hand, if there is 1 job and 3 applications, you are by definition competing for the spot. But do not focus on the other people. Your job is to show the employer why you deserve the job--not why the other 2 candidates don't.

Think about it this way: there is always going to be someone with better grades than you, who speaks more languages than you, who is dressed better than you. Always. Don't worry about them. Worry about yourself. You bring something to the table that the other candidates don't. Which leads me to--

Step 3. When you interview you are telling the story of you. Your story is unique. There is something in your background that makes for a compelling story. What is it? The answer lies in surprising and often ordinary parts of your past. I grew up in West Virginia, and when I interviewed with big firms in Chicago I often brought that up--why I was living in the midwest, why I wanted to make my mark in a big city. I also talked sometimes about how I worked in fast food as a college freshman, how I hated it, and how it gave me additional drive to succeed in life.

The point is that the facts of your background may not be absolutely unique, but the meaning you attach to them and the lessons you learn from them are. And using them in an interview helps you tell a story, stand out from the crowd, and portray something important about yourself and your character.

Step 4. Practice, practice, practice. This one is huge. Remember how in college you thought you had your term paper all figured out, and then when you tried to write it the words just wouldn't flow? Don't let the same thing happen in a job interview. Practice your answers. Think of what questions the employer might ask, and answer them. Out loud. Do it in your car. Do it in the shower. Do it late at night when everyone else is asleep. (Do not do it while shaving. I learned that the hard way.)

I'm completely serious about this. You will catch yourself saying some really dumb things. But better to say them in front of a mirror instead of in front of the person interviewing you.

And here's a trick: if you are embarrassed about being seen talking to yourself in your car, just stick your cell phone ear bud in your ear and chatter away. No one will know the difference.

Step 5. Research, research, research. All firms are not equal, and the same goes for interviews. What does the firm do? What are its specialties? What does it not do? These are important things to know. This really should be obvious advice, but when I sat on the interviewer's side of the desk I saw this rule violated over and over again.

If you do your research, you will avoid major gaffes and will be able to ask intelligent questions. Questions show the employer you have done your homework and are taking the interview seriously. You don't have to sound like an expert--you just have to sound eager and on the ball. Something along the lines of, "I see your lawyer Jane Schmoe closed the Acme deal last week. That looks like it was an interesting project," is a good way to display that you are determined. And in this age of the internet, a little research is easy to do. That wasn't the case 10 years ago.

There's another advantage to doing your homework in advance: you may decide you would never want to work for that employer. If you figure that out in advance, that's good--you save everyone some time.

Step 6. Treat Each Interview as Special and Unique. Each interview is with people who may be your colleagues for years on end, so treat it that way. And all law firms (and companies) are not equal. Some do corporate law, some do litigation. Some are big, some are small. Not to mention how their cultures vary. So try to find out what you can about the firm, and tailor your interview to that. Don't interview at a corporate law firm for a litigation position. Again, this should be obvious, but I have seen the rule violated as often as I have seen it followed.

But this does not mean you engage in merciless spin about yourself. Rather--

Step 7. Always tell the truth. Tailoring your message means presenting yourself in a favorable light, not changing yourself or lying about yourself. It's like a date: you want to look good and come across well, and there's nothing wrong with that. But don't be dishonest. For one thing, you are a lawyer. You have been given a monopoly by your state government to practice law. With that right comes responsibilities, one of which is to hold yourself to a higher standard of ethical behavior. So do it.

Think of it this way: interviewing is like writing a legal brief. You recite the facts and make the arguments in a manner that is most favorable to your client (in this case, you). But you do not lie.

Step 8. Relax before the interview. This is a key step. Arrive at the interview a few minutes early, and sit still and breath deeply. By that time you have done all you can do (although perhaps not as much as you like); now what you need to do is be poised. Clear your mind and smile.

I have done it both ways: take a few moments to relax, or rush into an interview at the last minute. From experience I can tell you the former works far better.

These steps should serve you well. And in fact, I have found that steps 2 and 3 (not competing; telling my own story) are a wonderful way to live my life in general. To focus on improving myself instead of competing with others is healthy, I think. And to think about my own personal story has allowed me to chart my life's journey--to look at who I am today and decide where I want life to take me. That's far better than backing through life and succeeding by accident.