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June 2005
By William Seaton Among the frustrations of job seeking, this is high on the list. You've gone to law school, you worked hard and you received good grades. You finished in the top 20% or maybe even the top 10% of your class. You wrote for your school's law review and worked during the summers as an intern or a clerk. You think your resume is pretty good, good enough to get into "big law." Then someone tells you, "Think again." Everything above should get you into big law, that mythological collection of large law firms in New York or Los Angeles or Chicago. Everything would, but for one missing piece of information: just what law school is it you attended? If you said Harvard or Stanford or NYU, here's a key to the door. But if it's from another mythological collection, the "second tier" of law schools, here's a combination lock. Good luck figuring out how to get in. Over the years, the National Association for Law Placement ("NALP") has declined to endorse any law school rankings such as those in the US News and World Report. I think that's the correct position, but NALP's law firm members, comprised mostly of large law firms, certainly do abide by rankings in making hiring decisions. Those rankings may vary slightly from firm to firm (apart from the usual top-ten suspects, each firm may have a favorite regional school), but for the most part, large law firms hire from a short list of law schools. Of course, these firms say, it's only logical: these are the best schools and they produce the best lawyers; we hire the best so we hire from those schools. And there is some truth in that. But there is also truth in what I call "Martindale-Hubbellizing," the blind devotion to academic pedigree to preserve the appearance in the professional directory. Even if either candidate could do the job, Columbia usually trumps Rutgers, just as Boalt usually trumps Pepperdine. In fact, I have had more than one recruiting administrator tell me off the record that school is everything and smarts is optional. Since they figure to burn out an associate in two years anyway, while they are there they better fly the right colors. The truly smart guy from tier two just doesn't have the "directory" appeal of anyone from top-ten. Of course there are exceptions. Every firm has them, jumping out at you from their Martindale listing. But these exceptions prove the rule and except in idiosyncratic instances - for patent lawyers, a technical undergraduate degree may carry more weight than their law school - large law firms are made up of the graduates of a relatively small number of schools. It's just a fact. So what does this say to students at "second" and "third" tier schools? Is the game over when you get those initial law school acceptances? Hardly. The legal profession is made up of a whole patchwork of career paths and lawyers in the very largest law firms make up but a tiny fraction of all practicing lawyers. Large law firm bias exists. You'll know it when you send a resume and get no reply, or try in vain to reach a headhunter, most of which work for big law. But don't let the myopia discourage you or, even worse, reflect your worth. Most successful lawyers in this country never worked in big law, whether they had the choice to or not.
Part-Time Work Schedules Widely Available, Rarely Used
Women Attorneys Outpace Men in Leaving Private Practice for Other Opportunities
Law Firms Shorten and Simplify Their Names
Q: Dear Career Counselor:
I recently received a job offer from a law firm, but am concerned that the offer will be withdrawn if the firm I interviewed with will talk with my current supervisor. To put it mildly, we don't get along. I would prefer not to list him as a reference, but am concerned that it will seem odd if I list someone other than him. What do you suggest?
A: Dear Yvette, I don't have enough information to give you a specific response, but let's review your situation from two perspectives—your potential future employer's and your current employer's. When considering this situation from the point of you of the firm that is seeking the reference, the first question to ask is what information are they primarily interested with respect to this particular reference? Employers are often interested in three kinds of information when they speak to a person providing the reference: (1) what kind of work did you? (2) what kind of colleague were you? and (3) is there any other information that reflects positively or negatively on your future performance? In some situations, an employer is obtaining a reference for a more limited purpose—for example, to verify your dates of employment. Here, I am assuming that the reference from your current employer is particularly important to the firm that gave you the offer. That leads us to the next question, which is how important is it that you get the reference from a particular person. Ideally, the company seeking the reference would like to speak to someone who has recent, repeated, and first-hand information about the three questions we outlined above. In some cases, your nominal supervisor may not be in the best position to provide this information. For example, senior associates at large firms might be in a better position than partners to review your performance and your ability to work with others. In addition, a former colleague might be in a particularly good position to provide your prospective future employer with the information they seek. There are also obvious advantages in getting a reference from your current supervisor. This is especially true if the perspective employer knows or respects the supervisor. Thus, it might be preferable to get the reference from the supervisor even if the supervisor is slightly less familiar with your work. The key word in the prior sentence is slightly. Relying on a well known person such a politician can backfire if the reference reveals a cursory knowledge of the applicant. Yvette, your question doesn't indicate how prominent your current supervisor is; I will therefore assume that the reference needs to come from him. So let's take a look at his situation from the point of view of the person who needs to give the reference. The first question to ask is: Can your supervisor provide a reference? Many employers have enacted policies that they will only verify employment. If your employer follows such a policy, you may be able provide the firm with the name of someone who will only verify your employment. Often times, this person works in the Human Resources Department. The downside to this approach is that the potential employer is left without a meaningful reference. Regardless of whether your current employer provides references or simply verifies employer, there are few factors to consider when evaluating whether and what to say to your current supervisor. First, recognize that your current supervisor may have a strong incentive to provide you a good or at least acceptable reference even if the two of you "don't get along." Why? Because providing the reference may the supervisor's best chance to get rid of you. This is especially true if the position you are seeking is sufficiently different from the one you currently have. For example, it is not hard to imagine that a supervisor who feels that a subordinate is a sub par litigator might feel perfectly comfortable recommending the subordinate for a position that is less adversarial, such as a mediator. Moreover, supervisors (and employers generally) are concerned that they might be sued for interfering with an existing business relationship if they provide a reference that causes the offer to be withdrawn. To be sure, in some jurisdictions employers face liability if thy tortuously provide a good reference knowing that it is untrue. I don't know the law in Maryland, but my personal experience is that more employers are concerned about providing a bad reference than a good one. And that is why I have seen several situations in which the employer holds their nose and gives a decent reference. If you are going to speak to you supervisor, please let him know that your offer is contingent on it (assuming that is true). Please provide the supervisor (or anyone else who provides the reference) with information about the employer and the nature of the position you have been offered. For example, it can be useful to provide a copy of the job opening to which you responded. If nothing else, this response demonstrates that it can be tricky to navigate the reference maze. That is why it is often a good idea to identify references early in the job search process. Yvette, I hope this proves helpful to you. Good luck. Career Counselor's Corner questions are answered by Gideon Grunfeld, President of Successful Career Strategies, Inc. (www.scslawcareers.com), which specializes in helping lawyers take control of their careers in and outside the practice of law. You can submit questions to Mr. Grunfeld at gideon@scslawcareers.com
After living on almost no money for three years of law school, some new lawyers are quick to start spending all of their healthy law school salaries (or even more). Sometimes the salary seems so big after years of tuition-induced poverty that law firm associates can't resist the temptation to spend a bunch of their cash, whether already earned or anticipated, on something expensive or nonessential. Often times, this expensive and nonessential purchase is an expensive car. The problem is that others at the firm, including partners who pay your salary, will see what you drive. Rather than being impressed, the more likely reaction by partners is that they will feel like they are paying you too much money. Petty jealousies and resentment can sometimes get the best of us. While we are not saying you cannot enjoy your money and do what you want with it, you should keep this in mind and try not to go overboard - at least when you are fresh out of law school. Spend a bit of time practicing to show you are worth what you are being paid.
Legal Secretaries: Key to Your Success Most lawyers don't spend a lot of time thinking about their secretaries - but they should. Having a good secretary can be key to your practice and make a huge difference in how effective and efficient you are. Even with the advancement of technology that makes us a bit less reliant on legal secretaries than we used to be, they are still a critical part of your practice. A skilled secretary can do much of your work for you, save your behind when it needs saving and be a valuable partner in your practice. A less skilled secretary might leave you without all of those things. Veteran lawyers will tell you a few things about legal secretaries that might not be obvious to the recent law school graduate. While a very high percentage of legal secretaries are dedicated to their work, one important thing to remember is that most (but definitely not all) legal secretaries won't be as attached to their job as you are. It is not uncommon to find yourself working with a secretary who is simultaneously pursuing another career, going to school at night or focused on raising a family. This is important to remember when you are trying to figure out why your secretary is not as willing as you are to pull all-nighters at the firm or come into the office every weekend. Also important to know is that there is a very wide of capabilities among legal secretaries. You might have started your career with someone who is not terribly good and think that is the standard. You might not realize there are people out there who can do more for you. Alternatively, you might have been lucky enough to start out with a top-drawer secretary and have trouble adjusting when it comes time to work with someone new. When you join a law firm, a secretary is typically assigned to you. You are generally not in position to pick and choose. As you get more senior, switch firms or start your own firm, however, you will have more input into the selection process. It is a process you should take seriously. Making a bit more effort can make all the difference. It is always good to talk to other lawyers, especially those who have similar practices, to learn what they have their secretaries do and to get a sense of how much he or she can do for you. Based on this and your own experience, you can determine everything you want and expect out of a secretary. You may even want to make a list that you can use during the interview process and training period to make sure you get the most of your legal secretary. Also useful is keeping your secretary informed as much as possible on as many matters as possible. This will help the two of you to work together and enable you to delegate more to your secretary. It will also help your secretary to learn the profession and your practice. Another good thing to do for both you and your secretary is to periodically evaluate what is being done and what is being left undone. That will enable you to see how you can better utilize your secretary and get feedback on how the two of you are working together, what more he or she can and wants to do for you and, hopefully, lead to a good, long-term working relationship.
Lawyers compete both on and off the court thanks to the Lawyer Leagues. Watch the highlights in this month's Run With The Rodent column.
Which of the following pizza chains was founded by an attorney?
(a) Shakey's (answer at end of newsletter)
In the 1640s, Virginian, then a colony, established a fee schedule for attorneys. The rate was low in comparison those set for other professions and was payable in tobacco.
National Jurist If you're attempting to thrive, or merely survive, as a law student or lawyer, this site is worth checking out on a regular basis. The National Jurist is an excellent publications addressing important issues of interest to young lawyers and law students. Trivia answer: -- (a) and (d). Both Shakey's and California Pizza kitchen were started by lawyers. Incidentally, the founder of Domino's Pizza also founded Ave Maria Law School in Michigan.
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