Help on Attorney Job Search?
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 at
9:22 pm
jemt113 asked:
I’m a new graduated that recently was admitted to practice law in California. I’m not sure where to turn to for finding a job as an attorney. Most job listings require 3+ years experience. I would like to work in the business/corporate law fields, although not necessarily limited to these areas. Are there any websites/recruiters that prescription medications you would recommend? Has anyone used LawCrossing for a job search? They are a paysite so I’m hesitant to use them, but they sound really good. Any thoughts and advise are greatly appreciated.
I’m a new graduated that recently was admitted to practice law in California. I’m not sure where to turn to for finding a job as an attorney. Most job listings require 3+ years experience. I would like to work in the business/corporate law fields, although not necessarily limited to these areas. Are there any websites/recruiters that prescription medications you would recommend? Has anyone used LawCrossing for a job search? They are a paysite so I’m hesitant to use them, but they sound really good. Any thoughts and advise are greatly appreciated.
Most jobs are over required so just apply to them anyway. They are looking for the ideal candidate but it is hard to find someone who fits the job perfectly.
First congrats on passing the bar. You are lucky in that you have decided what field you want to work in. In your position the first thing you need to do is to decide if you want to work as a corporate employee or as an employee for a law firm that concentrates on doing business law for corporations.
If you are looking for a job in a corporation, the next step is leg work. What type of business do you want to work for? What businesses are located near you? Call to see if they have a legal department. Send a resume. In your cover letter express your enthusiasm in working for this company and that you would be willing to do any task in the legal dept.
If you are interested in working for a law firm that does business/corporate work. First step is to find out what firms do that in your area. Martindale-Hubbel (sp?) may help, they list all law firms. Or CA may have another book that does this type of listing. Call try to get at least an informational interview — one where there is no job opening but the applicant gets his face in the door.
Your law school’s placement office may be able to provide you with some leads. Those job listings that have the high requirements, they may also hire people with no experience at some time. SO, send a resume and a killer cover letter that offers to do anything to get your career started.
I sent out resumes and offered to work for law firms as an independent contractor attorney. The firms did not pay any benefits on me and I had my own malp insurance. I contracted on a per case or per month basis. Got tons of experience and income. As an independent contractor you get 1099s from employers and you pay taxes on that income — actually you are running your own company renting yourself out.
IMHO I have problems paying someone to help me get a job, especially that first job right out of school. Maybe I was just too tight with my money, but I felt that I was just as able to sell myself as some stranger was.
Congrats on passing the BAR – I hear CA is one of the hardest ones to pass!
As for searching for a job, there are a number of avenues you might consider pursuing. One being contacting your school’s career counselors. They have contacts in many of the firms in the area, and can often give you an incredible amount of advice on how and where to proceed.
Another option is emplawyernet.com; lawjobs.com and other legal associations that quite often have job listings online that you can search.
Good luck in your search!
J
I have never used any agencies for job searches. However, I understand that if you do use one (headhunting), that the employer (firm) is the one that pays them, not the employee.
What school did you graduate from? They may have contacts and/or a career center that may be able to assist.
You can go to The Daily Journal to view their classified ads (free online at). They have a list of headhunting agencies – the only one I have heard of was Robert Half Legal (I think that this headhunting agency may have called me when I was at my last firm; I received a few calls from various headhunting agencies).
Did you ever clerk at any law firms during law school? See if they have any openings and if they remember you fondly, they may create one for you. Do you have friends who are currently employed at large law firms (those are the only ones that I can think of that have multiple sections and may have a corporate / business law section). I have noticed that many law firms hire based upon recommendations from attorneys who currently work there (even if those hired end up being crappy).
And, one other suggestion, is to sign up with several legal staffing agencies so you can get experience. Although you will be a contract attorney (usually w/o benefits), you can get the experience you may need to find another job and make contacts with the firms you are sent to work for.
Also, while searching Craigslist.org, I have noticed postings for attorney jobs.
And one more thing, while you are still looking and if you need to earn money, you might consider being a special appearance attorney (making court appearances for attorneys who are out of town and don’t want to drive that far, etc.).
I will edit this later if I can find the names of the other headhunting firms that contacted me when I was at my last firm.
A number of opportunities for freshers exist . please visit and apply for job by browsing the following sites :-
sfbsearch.com – 49k -
ag.ca.gov/careers/index.php – 8k – - 6k – - 77k -