South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 6, Ed. 1, Summer, 2005 Page: 3 of 8
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Summer 2005
Page 3
What to do if you haven't landed that clerkship at a
major firm, and want to gain experience
Continued from Page 1
activities that will boost
your resume and help you
in that all important job
hunting process.
There is always
summer school. Who
doesn't like the summer
school atmosphere? Lazy
warm days, professors
who show up in shorts and
Birkenstocks, reading for
class out by the pool, and
a much slower pace than
the regular academic year,
yes summer is perhaps the
one time when you can re-
lax and enjoy law school.
But you may gain more
over the summer than you
would at any other time.
Typically summer classes
are much smaller—allow-
ing students more one-on
one-time with the profes-
sor. The smaller classes
facilitate more class dis-
cussion and teachers have
smaller class loads so they
are more available during
office hours. Summer
school isn't always rosy
and fun though. The
shorter time schedule
forces you to be in class
longer and learn more ma-
terial in a shorter time.
You get up and go to
school when your friends
might be heading off to the
beach.
Or you could com-
bine the beach trip with the
academic environment by
choosing to study abroad.
The experience gained
from combining legal edu-
cation with an interna-
tional environment allows
you to become well-
rounded and thoughtful,
and definitely provides a
summer with at least a
little fun in it. Here, as in
summer school, classes
are smaller, professors are
more laid back, and the
seminar style environment
allows you to have more
theory discussions about
the law. Not to mention
most study abroad pro-
grams are in fabulous lo-
cations where you can ex-
plore the culture around
you and see the sights.
Emplpyers love to hire le-
gal graduates who have
had plenty of interesting
experience while achiev-
ing their education—noth-
ing is more interesting
than learning about the law
in a different country with
people from different cul-
tures.
Are taking tests
and listening to lectures
not your idea of a good
time this summer? Boost
your resume by undertak-
ing activities that will dis-
tinguish you from your
peers. Start a new on cam-
pus organization, hone
your trial skills in Dean
Treece's summer advo-
cacy academy, or develop
a research paper that could
be published in your fu-
ture. All tasks that take a
moderate amount of work
but are resume gems to
employers.
"simply being
involved and
attaining a
leadership
position is
looked upon
favorably by
employers"
You don't even
have to start an organiza-
tion to gain bonus resume
points, simply being in-
volved and attaining a
leadership position is
looked upon favorably by
employers. These types of
activities show that you are
committed, driven, and
take initiative in the things
you are doing. If you ex-
tend those activities be-
yond the law school walls
and volunteer within the
community even better.
Being able to take the
skills you've learned in
law school and venture
into the community to use
those skills in a way that
links law with those you
help is priceless to a future
employer. Building com-
munity connections is a
sure sign to a future em-
ployer you have what it
takes to cultivate potential
clients once you become
an attorney.
Participating in a
skills course that develop
your ability to be an advo-
cate is also a gold star on
the resume. Mock trial,
moot court, mediation,
voir dire, and any other
skills practice imaginable
will help you gain valuable
insight into life as attorney
while demonstrating your
commitment to being the
best you can be. Practic-
ing these things during the
summer shows a potential
employer you are willing
to spend the extra time to
improve your abilities—
even if it is on a voluntary
basis. Typically little
glory comes from summer
skills programs, no tourna-
ments to be won, no judges
to impress, and a long
summer of doing a lot of
extra work that may seem
to lead nowhere. But the
long term payoff is you've
shown employers that you
are eager to learn and de-
termined to expand your
skill set. Besides, a little
practice never hurt anyone.
Published work
never goes out of style and
is an advantageous way to
distinguish yourself from
those competing for the
same jobs. Perhaps the
most valuable job skill in
the legal profession is le-
gal writing. While Law
Review always shines,
nothing says you can write
like having your own re-
search and conclusions
published. It may seem
publication is a pipe
dream—left to legal jour-
nal editors, people who are
number one in their class,
or people who are destined
to become professors. But
remember, during the
summer all of those bright
minds likely have a major
clerkship where they are
working 80 hours a week.
Their tight schedule leaves
them no time to do extra
research and you a golden
opportunity to see your
name in black and white.
If the academic
world is not your summer
style perhaps you should
seek less than glamorous
summer employment at a
smaller firm. To have a
productive summer
clerking experience there
is no requirement that you
are paid over $1,500 per
week and work at a firm
with a brand name that is
recognizable to everyone
in the legal community.
Smaller and medium sized
firms can offer the same
experiences, and perhaps
give you more opportuni-
ties to get your hands dirty
in your field of choice.
The larger firms have
structured summer pro-
grams that mostly consist
of a series of "testing" as-
signments to determine if
you would be the right fit
for the firm. Smaller firms
need all the help they can
get and will throw you into
the deep end of research,
drafting, and even trial
work. The advantage is
the hands on experience,
the disadvantage is you
may have to learn to swim
yourself with little guid-
ance—simply because the
attorneys at the firm are
too busy to stop.
Smaller firms
sometimes hire summer
"nothing says
you can write
like having
your own re-
search and
conclusions
published"
clerks for modest salaries
and there are always
plenty of volunteer oppor-
tunities available. If a firm
is not your idea of legal
heaven there are plenty of
judges who could use a
hand from a bright and cre-
ative law student. You
could even volunteer at
non-profit agencies or le-
gal aid organizations.
While you may not be-
come rich off your sum-
mer job, you will most cer-
tainly revel in the experi-
ence and have memories
that will last forever.
When looking at resumes
potential employers aren't
worried about how much
you made but how much
you learned. What valu-
able skills you gained,
what connections you
made, and what experi-
ences you had are all key
aspects of a resume.
Sometimes smaller firms
or even free clinics can
give you more skills train-
ing, more professional
guidance, and more re-
sume fodder than any
brand name firm could. If
you end up working for
free you can still make
ends meet. Don't be above
taking a job at Starbuck's
to pay the bills. Usually if
you are volunteering in a
legal position your em-
ployer will bend over
backwards to give you the
flexible schedule you need
to make it all work.
You don't even
need a job in the legal pro-
fession to impress a future
employer. Often positions
in different fields show an
employer you are well
rounded and interested in
more than just the law.
You can also pick up
unique skills that could be
useful in your legal career.
But whatever you do this
summer try not to sit
around watching mindless
day time TV. You only
have two summers in law
school take advantage of
every minute of them.
If none of this
summer fun has given you
confidence that your job is
indeed out there, don't de-
spair. Long-term job pros-
pects look good for those
who strive for strong aca-
demic performance, take
advantage of opportunities
which add to their creden-
tials, and are diligent in
networking and job
searching. The market is
cyclical and highly re-
sponsive to market condi-
tions—someday it will all
go up. Besides, any good
career counselor will tell
you, there will always be
good jobs for good law-
yers. Of course we're all
good lawyers right?
i &sm.
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Hennessey, Patrick J., III. South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 6, Ed. 1, Summer, 2005, newspaper, 2005; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144572/m1/3/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.