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 This year 192 New England Law students completed our 2012 Summer Employment Survey giving us valuable information about where students worked and how they found their jobs. Of the students who completed the survey 52% were from the class of 2014 and 48% were from the class of 2013.
Types of Employment
The majority of students who responded worked in a legal job.
- 84% worked in a summer or permanent legal job
- 12% worked in a non-legal summer or permanent job
- 3% participated in a study abroad program
- 1% did not work
Of those who worked in either a summer or permanent legal position, 42% of the class of 2014 were in paid positions and 55% of the class of 2013 were paid.
How Students Found Employment
It is important to remember to use a variety of methods when searching for employment. While many respondents found their summer employment through a job posting on the CSO's JobNet many others found their job through someone they knew, a networking connection, or by contacting the employer directly.
- 28% found their job through a referral from someone they knew
- 26% found employment by responding to a job posted on the CSO JobNet on Symplicity
- 14% found their job through networking or contacting the employer directly
- 12% found employment through a law school program (such as a clinic or the Honors Judicial Internship Program), an outside organization, or other means not specified
- 11% returned to or continued with a pre-law school employer
- 7 % found their job through an on-campus interview or job fair
- 2% responded to a job posting on a commercial job website
Where Students Worked
- 78% remained in Massachusetts
- 18% worked out of state
- 4% worked internationally or participated in a study abroad program
While the majority of New England Law students worked locally, a number of students gained experience in Florida, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Washington, DC. Students also participated in study abroad programs in Malta, Galway, London, and Prague.
Below are just a few of the law firms and organizations who hired New England Law Students this summer:
Boston Municipal Court Department
Cetrulo & Capone LLP
Committee for Public Counsel Services
Community Legal Services And Counseling Center
Conway, Homer & Chin-Caplan, P.C.
Devine Millimet & Branch
Doherty, Cella, Keane & Associates, LLP
EMC Corporation
Essex County District Attorney's Office
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Legal Division
Greater Boston Legal Services
Harvard Prison Legal Assistance Project
Healing Abuse Working for Change
Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies/International Law Institute
Lubin & Meyer, P.C.
MA Attorney General's Office
MA Department of Transportation
MA Securities Division
MA
Supreme Judicial Court
New Jersey Attorney General's Office
New York State Division of Human Rights
Rosencranz & Associates
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Shapiro & Associate
Suffolk County District Attorney's Office
Rhode Island Department of the Attorney General
U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts
U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Solicitor
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Where did you work last summer? If you have not already completed your 2012 Summer Employment Survey, log on to Symplicity to tell us about your experience!
Looking for a job for next summer? The Career Services Office is here to help you. Call 617-422-7229 to schedule an appointment today.
On July 2nd, the Fall Recruitment Instructional Packet was emailed to all rising 2LD/3LE and 3LD/4LE students. The first Fall Recruitment application deadline is July 11th. Each year our office receives many questions from students about this program. Please find our answers to the most frequently asked questions below.
Q: What
is the Fall Recruitment Program?
A: The Fall Recruitment Program (FRP)
includes a variety of public interest, government, law firm, and judicial
employers seeking 2013 summer and post-graduate associates and clerks. FRP begins
in July and will continue throughout the Fall semester.
Q: How
do I apply for the Fall Recruitment Programs?
A: If you are applying for an on-campus
interview, or resume collection, apply
through the CSO’s
Symplicity site. If you are applying for the National
Recruitment Program, or the Government and Public Interest Interview Program,
apply through the Massachusetts Law School Consortium’s (MLSC) site. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, please refer to the Fall Recruitment Instructional Packet, which was emailed to your New England Law account on July 2nd, and can also be found under the “Job Search Handouts” tab on the CSO’s Symplicity site.
Q: When
I’m in Symplicity, and I click on the “OCI” tab, it says something about a
summer survey and I can’t find the participating employers. Where do I go
from here?
A: Every Fall, all 2LD/3LEs and 3LD/4LEs
are required to complete summer surveys and update their profiles including the
Transcript Waiver and Interview Policy Acknowledgement before they are able to
view the OCI section. When prompted to complete the summer survey, click
“Add New” and fill in the required survey fields. After you submit your
survey, you should automatically be taken to the OCI section.
Q: My
grades aren't great. Should I even bother applying to big firms?
A: You should be realistic when applying
to large firms. They typically are very strict about their grade
requirements and most likely will not interview students who do not meet the
standards which they have set. That said, occasionally there are exceptions to
that general rule when a student exhibits better than average grades with
special skills or highly relevant experience. However, there are plenty of
other legal job opportunities that are not heavily grade driven. Review
the Job Search Timelines section in Part I of the Fall Recruitment Instructional Packet for more
information on law firm, government, public interest and judicial clerkship
employers.
Have more questions about preparing your
application? Read our blog entries on resumes, cover letters, and writing
samples:
What are Memorandums? Frequent Resume Mistakes and Questions
Frequent Resume Mistakes and Questions: Part II
Tips for Writing the Perfect Cover Letter
Frequently Asked Questions About Writing Samples
Is your summer job or internship starting soon? Read our blog post, Tips for a Successful Summer, for advice on how to put your best foot forward. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter this Monday for tweets on summer job tips under the hash tag #summerlawjob. And finally, there are two upcoming free programs for students featuring advice on how to have a rewarding and successful summer job experience.
Summer Success: Getting the Most from Your Summer Public Interest ExperienceMay 23, 2012, 3:00pm
Have an internship with a public interest organization this summer? This free webinar will give students practical tips on how to develop professionally and personally while interning at public interest offices this summer. Deb Ellis and Sherizaan Minwalla from the Tahirih Justice Center will be leading the webinar. Register here. How to Succeed as a Summer AssociateTuesday, June 5, 2012, 5:00pm to 7:00pmBoston Bar Association - 16 Beacon Street, Boston, MA Sponsored by the BBA, this program will feature a panel of speakers from Ropes and Gray, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and Boston University. Panelists will advise law students on how to maximize their summer experience by applying the legal skills they have gained in law school to their summer employment, and how to gain new practical skills on the job. The panel will focus on all types of legal employment, including large firms, small firms, government, non-profit, etc., and focus on the best way to maximize their experience this summer and contribute meaningfully to their employer. Register here.
We hope you have a great experience this summer and return to school feeling accomplished and confident in the skills you acquired during your internship!
NALP and Equal Justice Works have a number of informative webinars scheduled for law students and graduates who are pursuing a career in public interest law. All of the webinars listed below are free. Law Student Series: How to Create a Successful Application for the Equal Justice Works FellowshipsMay 16, 2012, 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm The Equal Justice Works Fellowship program is very competitive, receiving hundreds of applications each year for approximately 50 fellowship slots. To be considered, you must be a qualified and passionate lawyer who has developed a new and innovative legal project that can impact lives and serve communities in desperate need of legal assistance. This webinar will cover how to prepare and complete a successful application. Register here. Drowning in Debt? Learn How Government and Nonprofit Workers Can Earn Public Service Loan ForgivenessMay 17, 2012, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm A must attend for anyone with educational debt planning to work or currently working for the government or a nonprofit, this webinar explains how you can benefit from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the most significant law affecting public service in a generation. Useful for public interest workers, prospective and current undergraduate, graduate and professional students, school advisors and administrators and public interest employers, the webinar will review:
- Understanding your federal loans
- How the Income-Based Repayment plan works
- How to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Register for this free webinar here.
Summer Success: Getting the Most from Your Summer Public Interest Experience
May 23, 2012, 3:00pm Have an internship with a public interest organization this summer? This free webinar will give students practical tips on how to develop professionally and personally while interning at public interest offices this summer. Deb Ellis and Sherizaan Minwalla from the Tahirih Justice Center will be leading the webinar. Register here.
Law Student Series: How to Become a Member of the Public Defender Corps
June 18, 2012 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Public Defender Corps (PDC) is a three-year fellowship program developed by Equal Justice Works and the Southern Public Defender Training Center. The program provides intensive training and mentoring to new attorneys with the goal of supporting the public defender community and raising the standard of representation across the country. The application process is extremely competitive, with hundreds of students applying each year for a few coveted placements. In this webinar you will learn what makes a good PDC application and applicant, as well as what you can expect during the application process. This presentation is intended for law students and recent graduates, especially those with a strong interest in indigent defense. Register here.
If you are in the process of looking for a job this summer, be sure to check the Career Services Office's on-line job postings. April has always been a busy time for summer job postings on the JobNet. Last year, 60 summer job positions were posted between April 1st and May 15th! Currently, there are 40 summer jobs posted on the CSO JobNet. Of those posted, 26 are for first year-day and second year-evening students. Thirteen of the 40 positions are located outside of Massachusetts.
If you want to learn more about how students find summer work, read our blog on the 2011 Summer Employment Survey Results.
Have questions about your job search? Make an appointment with a Career Services Counselor. Please call 617-422-7229 to schedule an appointment.
Students looking for funding for their unpaid summer internship have a number of options. Equal Justice Works (EJW) has extended their deadline for their Summer Corps program to noon on Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Summer Corps is an AmeriCorps-funded program that provides students with a $1,175 education award voucher for working in a public interest position that provides direct legal services to low income clients. More information on how to apply is available on EJW's website.
The Public Interest Law Association (PILA) is also accepting applications for their PILA Grant which provides funding for students working in public interest law over the summer. The grant application and information packet has been posted on PILA's TWEN site and is due at 5:00pm on Friday, April 13, 2012. They will also host an information session on Monday, April 9, 2012 at 5:00pm in Room 304. This session will have a representative from the Office of Financial Aid to explain the details of the grant.
Qualifying students may also consider applying for Federal Work Study. FWS allows students to work in law-related positions at a low cost to their employers. During the summer nonprofit employers are required to contribute only 33% of the student's gross earnings while for-profit employers contribute 58%. The remainder of the student's earnings are funded by the federal government. More information is available on the Financial Aid Office's website.
Additional summer funding resources may be found in the " Summer Funding Resources" section of PsLawNet. This section includes funding available in specific geographic regions as well as summer aid that may be applied in a variety of geographic locations. Because many deadlines fall in March and April, students who have not already begun to search for outside funding for their summer public interest internship are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
 For Boston.com's Innovation Economy blog, Boston Globe Columnist Scott Kirsner recently asked area recruiters, CEOs, and human resources professionals what job seekers should do on social media to improve their chances of getting a job. A running theme in each of the responses was that all candidates should have an updated and complete LinkedIn profile. If you signed up for a LinkedIn account but got no further than filling out your name and where you went to school, you can follow these simple steps to complete your profile.
Step 1: Upload a Profile Picture
Use a recent picture of yourself from the shoulders up that clearly shows your face. This picture will most likely be different than the one you use for Facebook and should convey a professional image. If you do not have a picture that fits that criteria, put on a suit and ask a friend to take a head shot of you standing in front of a blank wall.
Step 2: Create a Headline
Your headline will be the first thing LinkedIn users will read about you, so use this space to differentiate yourself from the crowd. If you are a current student you may want it to include your year in law school and a leadership or internship position you currently hold, for example: "Judicial Intern at MA Superior Court, Second-Year Law Student at New England Law | Boston". Practicing attorneys may want to include their areas of specialization followed by where they work or where they are seeking work. Also remember to update your headline as your experience changes. There are many recent law graduates on LinkedIn who still describe themselves as current law students.
Step 3: Write a Summary
Use this section to describe your experience and goals as well as anything that may not appear on your resume. Remember to also list your skills in the "Specialties" sub-section. You may be tempted to skip this section but completing it increases your chances of appearing in key word search results!
Step 4: Update your Education and Experience Sections
Since LinkedIn will suggest connections based on where you went to school and where you worked, the more information you provide in this section, the more opportunity you will have for building your network. The experience section does not need to be as detailed as your resume but it should include the same basic information. If you choose to include everything on your resume, LinkedIn also has the option to import your complete resume onto your profile. As with everything else listed in your profile, remember to update this section as your job and education changes.
Step 5: Connect with People
Begin by connecting with your friends, family members, former and current classmates, professors, and co-workers. You can connect LinkedIn to your email contacts to make it easier to find people you know. LinkedIn will also suggest people you may know based on mutual connections. There is also more opportunity to extend your network by joining "Groups" such as those created by your undergraduate or law school. Note: Be sure to personalize the generic LinkedIn invitation to connect by saying hello to an old friend or reminding a business contact how you met. This is a piece of advice that is frequently given but rarely used! By taking the time to send a personal note, you are distinguishing yourself even more from the crowd.
Once your profile is complete you will be ready to actively use LinkedIn to network, promote your professional experience, and search for jobs.
Want to learn more? Attend our upcoming CSO workshop:
LinkedIn 101 Wednesday, February 15th, 4:30pm - 5:30pm Room 301
Open to all current NEL|B students.
For further reading:
Social Media Advice for Job Seekers from
CEOs, HR Execs, & Recruiters (Innovation Economy Blog)
LinkedIn: Facebook for Lawyers (NALP e-Guide)
10 Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job (Applicant.com)
Ellis, Amanda The 6Ps of the Big 3 for Job Seeking JDs: 60+ Ways to Get Hired Using Social Networking. Something Different Publishing, Inc. 2010 (Available in the CSO.)
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This year 192 New England Law students completed our 2012 Summer Employment Survey giving us valuable information about where students worked and how they found their jobs. Of the students who completed the survey 52% were from the class of 2014 and 48% were from the class of 2013.
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