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Counseling
Notes and Resources
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The purpose of this page is to share
some brief thoughts on career counseling, as well as provide some links
to resources I have found helpful in my work.
COUNSELING NOTES
It has been my observation that the
most successful students tend to be the ones who bring energy,
determination, flexibility, and lots of preparation to their job
search. In this context, I define the "successful" student as one
who, through pursuing a well-developed job search strategy, ends up
with multiple opportunities from which to choose. As a result, my
goal is to work with each of my students to develop and execute a
multi-faceted job search strategy that is both thorough and manageable.
Given the challenging, competitive
and stressful nature of legal education, I think student affairs
professionals can play a central role in the success and well-being of
their students. Most law students enter school with real concerns
about debt loads, to which they soon add the stress of adjusting to a
demanding workload, earning excellent first-year grades, learning to
"think like a lawyer," and obtaining post-graduate employment.
With classmates, professors, family and friends offering opinions and
advice about how to "be successful," students often times end up
confused, stressed, and lost. I believe that it is
during these times that career counselors in particular can help
students focus, be productive and feel empowered about their futures
instead of afraid and uncertain.
Career counselors can help students explore what it is that brought
them to law school, what types of practice areas and settings might
best suit them, how to effectively network and interview, and where
they can gain valuable experience that will make them attractive to
prospective employers. In my counseling experience thus far, I
have found that helping students develop an individualized, productive
career plan of action for during and after law school gives them a
sense of purpose and confidence that helps diminish some of the
stresses I've described above.
PUBLIC
INTEREST RESOURCES
Harvard
Law School's Office of Public Interest Advising: Excellent
website offering a wide range of public interest career resources,
including information on career exploration and how to research,
prepare for and land a public interest law job.
Self-Assessment
Questions:
Links to a number of considerations for law students thinking of
pursuing a public interest career, including, areas of interest, type
of practice setting, and lifestyle needs.
PSlawnet: For public
interest law students and lawyers offering a comprehensive job search
database,
funding sources, and information on post-graduate fellowships
Equal
Justice Works: Supports public interest law school programming and
is the
nation's leading provider of postgraduate public service law fellowships
University
of Michigan Office of Public Service: JobNet
search engine and information on public interest employment and
funding; NOTE: Some of the opportunities listed are solely for
University
of Michigan students
Legal
Services Corporation:
Includes links to over 138 legal aid programs nationwide that provide
civil
legal assistance to the poor
National Legal Aid &
Defender Association: Includes national job listings and resource
links
Prosecutor.info:
Links to hundreds of district attorney websites across the country, and
to
other prosecutors' offices as well
Oneworld: Dedicated
to promoting human rights and sustainable development by
harnessing the
democratic potential of the Internet; contains US and
international job
listings
PIRG: Job site for public
interest advocates, attorneys, and policy analysts
Civilrights.org:
Provides updates on civil rights news, information, and employment
opportunities
Idealist: Directory of
nonprofit and volunteering resources on the Web, with information
provided by
20,000 organizations in 150 countries
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