Commentary: Tough Love for New Associates
Jason Braun
Texas Lawyer
August 04, 2009
Downloaded from http://www.law.com/jsp/law/careercenter/CareerCenterArticleFriendly.jsp?id=1202432739826, August 5, 2009
My professors in law school taught me case analysis, courtroom techniques and legal research skills, but they overlooked one important area: the practical realities that exist within a firm.
When I became a lawyer, a partner gave me what I now realize was great advice: "Don't think like an associate," she told me. "Think like a partner." I wisely nodded my head. "Of course," I solemnly replied, hoping she would not notice my confusion.
Truth be told, I really did not understand her advice. But over time, I learned that the basic premise behind the advice is to put the client first and let the partner be your guide.
New associates love being lawyers -- or at least should -- and hopefully their first and foremost goal is to become a great lawyer. Over the past few years, several tenets have helped me on the way to that goal. Some I learned quickly; others I learned through trial and error.
PARTNERS ARE ASSOCIATES' FIRST CLIENTS
New lawyers should act as though they owe a fiduciary duty to their firm and its partners, whether or not the law recognizes one. Those who act on this belief will respond to situations appropriately.
Associates should always strive to provide the partner with perfect work. Here is a little secret: You will fail miserably numerous times. But do not be disheartened if the partner says your perfect brief is complete and utter trash. Keep striving for perfection, and the criticism will lessen. I guarantee you will learn more through criticism than through praise. Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. Do not rely on the partner to catch mistakes and fix them. If a document is not good enough to go to the client, it absolutely is not good enough to go to the partner.
Also, keep an eye out for potential problems that could impact the firm. Remember, think like a fiduciary and look out for the firm's best interests, just as you would a client's. Anything that could hurt the firm or the partners is your problem. That means "it" -- whatever it is -- is never just someone else's problem.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Some associates complain ad nauseam about partners who criticize their appearance or yell at them. They whine about the long hours the partners demand and are indignant that partners refuse to listen to their ideas regarding a case. Don't be one of those associates.
In a profession full of type-A personalities, most associates will work for partners who get visibly angry at something an associate does. They may even work for the dreaded partner who shouts at associates for making mistakes. In my opinion, those are the best partners because when you make a mistake, you will never forget it.
Lawyers are expected to sacrifice leisure time and family time to get projects done for clients. In a client's world, there are no excuses for bad results. In an associate's world, that means "my children are sick," "my dog just died" or "I am going through a messy divorce" are never excuses for bad results. Clients may sympathize, but they will do so while searching for a new firm to represent them.
In addition to a lawyer's work product, clients make judgments based on appearance and attitude. Always assume that the partner knows the client's likes and dislikes. Let the partner be your guide as to how you should conduct yourself at the firm and in front of clients. If the partner tells you to cut your hair or shave the goatee, he or she has a good reason. So start shaving -- with a smile.
The same advice goes for anyone who thinks bringing backpacks to a firm is hip, cool or somehow a symbol of independence. The old adage "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" is true.
MAKE YOUR OWN RAIN
In firms, those who make the rain also make the rules. Associates who want to make their own rules should become rainmakers themselves. The legal industry is a service industry, and lawyers must constantly market and sell their services.
First rule of thumb, always carry business cards. Fumbling for business cards in your wallet and mumbling that you left them back at the office never makes a good impression. When attending an event, keep business cards in an easily accessible place, such as a coat pocket or, even better, a card holder.
Once armed with business cards, use them. The cards are useless if they remain in a pocket. Start by exchanging cards with other attorneys. Meet other lawyers and follow up with lunch. Often other attorneys are the best source of business referrals.
Do not expect immediate results. Associates who keep meeting new people and building contacts will be in a position to obtain their own clients someday. Have patience. The process can take years. Business development is a lifetime commitment.
CHEERLEADERS CAN BE TOUGH
This is the touchy-feely category that many associates do not believe has a place in the stern and serious world of law. A new lawyer can be a hard-as-nails associate, fighting aggressively with opposing counsel, and still be a great morale builder.
Everyone works better when morale and spirits are high. Not surprisingly, partners want morale to be up at the firm. Many associates, however, are entirely self-absorbed and pay constant attention to how they are feeling after having two bad days in a row. Get over it.
The firm is better served when associates focus on building the morale of others. Many associates take a hands-off approach to staff issues, believing those issues are the domain of the human resources department. That is a mistake. While human resources has its place, associates will reap benefits from learning when someone is not doing well or could use some help getting through the day. Do something nice for them as a pick-me-up.
Associates can have a positive impact on a firm's culture, whether they are at the bottom or the mid-level. Every firm suffers low morale from time to time. Do not accept it. Do something about it.
I hope these concepts will be as useful to you as they have been for me over the past several years. While success is never guaranteed, you are now off to a good start. Good luck.
Jason Braun is an associate with Ajamie LLP, a litigation/arbitration boutique in Houston. His principal practice areas include business, fraud and financial litigation; insurance coverage and construction litigation; and commercial and securities arbitration.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Interview Question: Why should I hire you?
Interview Question: Why should I hire you?
July 29, 2009
Downloaded from http://cuberules.com/2009/07/29/interview-question-why-should-i-hire-you/ on July 31, 2009
Open-ended interview questions from hiring managers are great ways to solicit information from job applicants. What’s lousy about the open-ended questions, however, is when they are simply open-ended and not open-ended about the job. As a result, “Why should I hire you?” is a dangerous interview question. You have no context with which to orient your answer to what the hiring manager is looking for in the position. So your answer can be spot-on or wildly off base. Just what you want in an interview…
Start with your value to work; your personal brand. While each of us has done work that qualifies as a “position” — let’s say a nurse — each of us also brings particular skills to the job that differentiate us among nurses.
For example, my tag line is “rubber meets cloud.” I’m good at implementation of projects. I can see the high level of work and gateways and management intentions while being perfectly capable of getting into the weeds of the tasks with anyone to get the work done. That’s one of my special job skills that I bring to project management.
Or, my special skill as a manager is that I figure out how to get the best work out of each individual on my team. I have various ways of doing that, but I have a track record of getting teams working well together to get stuff done. You have that same unique set of skills for the work you do as well. It might be delivery, creativity, focus, problem solving, process fixing or a hundred other things. Use your personal brand to show value to the job description.
When you get asked an open-ended question about you rather than the job, the only criteria about the job you can fall back on is the job description. Consequently, before the job interview, you need to have already decided what value you bring to the major portions of the job description. You start with your personal brand values and then go through the job description and apply the values to the job. If the job description reads that the person needs to work in a fast-paced environment and one of your unique skills is your ability to quickly reorient your focus, you can build part of an answer to a “why should I hire you?” question based on the fact that you quickly change focus as the daily pace changes while still achieving your goals.
Having 2-3 of these “unique performance values” related to the “job description” will give you the cleanest way of beginning to answer the “why should I hire you?” question.
Scot Herrick
July 29, 2009
Downloaded from http://cuberules.com/2009/07/29/interview-question-why-should-i-hire-you/ on July 31, 2009
Open-ended interview questions from hiring managers are great ways to solicit information from job applicants. What’s lousy about the open-ended questions, however, is when they are simply open-ended and not open-ended about the job. As a result, “Why should I hire you?” is a dangerous interview question. You have no context with which to orient your answer to what the hiring manager is looking for in the position. So your answer can be spot-on or wildly off base. Just what you want in an interview…
Start with your value to work; your personal brand. While each of us has done work that qualifies as a “position” — let’s say a nurse — each of us also brings particular skills to the job that differentiate us among nurses.
For example, my tag line is “rubber meets cloud.” I’m good at implementation of projects. I can see the high level of work and gateways and management intentions while being perfectly capable of getting into the weeds of the tasks with anyone to get the work done. That’s one of my special job skills that I bring to project management.
Or, my special skill as a manager is that I figure out how to get the best work out of each individual on my team. I have various ways of doing that, but I have a track record of getting teams working well together to get stuff done. You have that same unique set of skills for the work you do as well. It might be delivery, creativity, focus, problem solving, process fixing or a hundred other things. Use your personal brand to show value to the job description.
When you get asked an open-ended question about you rather than the job, the only criteria about the job you can fall back on is the job description. Consequently, before the job interview, you need to have already decided what value you bring to the major portions of the job description. You start with your personal brand values and then go through the job description and apply the values to the job. If the job description reads that the person needs to work in a fast-paced environment and one of your unique skills is your ability to quickly reorient your focus, you can build part of an answer to a “why should I hire you?” question based on the fact that you quickly change focus as the daily pace changes while still achieving your goals.
Having 2-3 of these “unique performance values” related to the “job description” will give you the cleanest way of beginning to answer the “why should I hire you?” question.
Scot Herrick
Avoid a Common Interview Pitfall
Avoid a Common Interview Pitfall
By Jessica Stillman
July 30th, 2009 @ 11:28 am
downloaded from www.bnet.online.com July 31,2009
Even if you’ve perfected your pitch and learned to summarize your accomplishments in a compelling and concrete way, interviews are not safe ground, especially for those who are relatively new to them. Interviewers have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, not least of which is questions seemingly designed expressly to trip you up. Putting aside the loathed “what are your weakness?” question, blog Cube Rules describes another type of interview question that seems to have no correct answer, calling these “forced choice questions” and giving examples:
· “What is more important to you, the money or the job?” Great, if I say “the money,” the hiring manager doesn’t think I’m motivated to do the work. If I answer with “the job,” the manager doesn’t think I’ll be upset with a smaller salary offer.
· “Do you prefer to work alone or with others?” Swell, I can like to work by myself and be thought of as a poor team player with no collaborative abilities, or else I work so well with others I can’t get anything done by myself.
Helpfully, Cube Rules also throws the floundering interviewee a life buoy, suggesting ways out of the bind. Perhaps the simplest solution is to says yes to both answers. For example, in response to the second question above, CR suggests a possible reply: “I like working alone when I need focus and productivity to complete my work. But I like working with people to brainstorm ideas, help get better solutions to problems and help others for what they need.” And if saying yes to all options doesn’t work? Then there is an alternative:
A second way to answer the forced choice is to pick a third option that isn’t presented by the interview question. “Do you work better with a manager that gives you free reign to complete your work the way you want or do you like being micromanaged to get your work done?”
For that type of question, you ignore both options presented and offer up a third alternative to answer this question. “I like a manager that provides clear direction, is open to seeing early versions of the work so we can make sure I’m on track, and to help clear obstacles that might prevent me from getting done.”
By Jessica Stillman
July 30th, 2009 @ 11:28 am
downloaded from www.bnet.online.com July 31,2009
Even if you’ve perfected your pitch and learned to summarize your accomplishments in a compelling and concrete way, interviews are not safe ground, especially for those who are relatively new to them. Interviewers have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, not least of which is questions seemingly designed expressly to trip you up. Putting aside the loathed “what are your weakness?” question, blog Cube Rules describes another type of interview question that seems to have no correct answer, calling these “forced choice questions” and giving examples:
· “What is more important to you, the money or the job?” Great, if I say “the money,” the hiring manager doesn’t think I’m motivated to do the work. If I answer with “the job,” the manager doesn’t think I’ll be upset with a smaller salary offer.
· “Do you prefer to work alone or with others?” Swell, I can like to work by myself and be thought of as a poor team player with no collaborative abilities, or else I work so well with others I can’t get anything done by myself.
Helpfully, Cube Rules also throws the floundering interviewee a life buoy, suggesting ways out of the bind. Perhaps the simplest solution is to says yes to both answers. For example, in response to the second question above, CR suggests a possible reply: “I like working alone when I need focus and productivity to complete my work. But I like working with people to brainstorm ideas, help get better solutions to problems and help others for what they need.” And if saying yes to all options doesn’t work? Then there is an alternative:
A second way to answer the forced choice is to pick a third option that isn’t presented by the interview question. “Do you work better with a manager that gives you free reign to complete your work the way you want or do you like being micromanaged to get your work done?”
For that type of question, you ignore both options presented and offer up a third alternative to answer this question. “I like a manager that provides clear direction, is open to seeing early versions of the work so we can make sure I’m on track, and to help clear obstacles that might prevent me from getting done.”
Friday, July 24, 2009
Facebook, Twitter and More: The New Rules of Social Networking
By Elaine Pofeldt
published on BNET.com 7/16/2009
If you aren’t using social-media sites to tap into career and business opportunities in today’s tough economy, you should be. A survey released in January by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that more than one-third of all Americans now have profiles on social-networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, up from just 8 percent in 2005. And it’s not primarily kids, either:
The average LinkedIn user is 40 years old; most Twitter users are now 35 and older; and people
from 35 to 54 now represent the biggest group of users on Facebook. “You get access to people via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter that you can’t get in other ways,” says Sharon Rich, founder of outplacement consulting and coaching firm Leadership Incorporated. “I think it’s mandatory to be on there.”
Social-media sites can become a time suck, so you’ll need to limit the time you invest in them each week. But done right, social networking is a powerful way to build your professional reputation, find out about job opportunities, and keep abreast of the latest news and gossip in your industry.
Things you will need:
• An updated resume. Have this handy so you can transfer relevant information to different social-media sites quickly.
• A digital photo of yourself. Get a good head shot of yourself showing you at your professional best to use in your profiles.
• Your e-mail contact list. Once you join a network, you’ll want to quickly send invitations to connect to your professional contacts. In many cases, this can be done automatically using tools on each site.
Build a Powerhouse Profile on LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s business-only focus makes the site popular with successful professionals (so far,
the site has 43 million members in more than 200 countries), so it’s the best place to start your social-media push. LinkedIn’s large amount of traffic also means that your profile there is likely to be the first thing that potential employers and clients see when they google your name, so it’s important to invest some time in building a strong profile. “Why not tell the story your way?”
says Randy Hain, managing partner of Bell Oaks Executive Search in Atlanta. Hain knows
firsthand the value of a good profile: He recently signed a client (who will do an estimated
$100,000 to $200,000 worth of new business this year) when the client searched for Hain’s LinkedIn profile after reading an article he wrote in a trade publication.
Checklist
How to Shape Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
• Seek out recommendations from past bosses, key clients, colleagues, and direct reports to create a 360-degree picture of your strengths. Tell them that you’ll be happy to do the same for
them.
• Instead of a generic job title at the top of your profile, such as “Owner of John Doe and
associates,” use a short description of valuable credentials that you can quantify, such as “20-year veteran of $100 million in high-tech mergers,” advises Chris Muccio, author of the
book 42 Rules for 24-Hour Success on LinkedIn.
• Fill out the “Interests” section with pursuits, such as charitable projects, that reinforce your
value to potential employers and clients.
• For consistency and branding, use a good head shot of yourself as your photo, and use the same photo on other social networks, advises Megan Hendricks, director, employer relations at the College of Business at the University of South Florida.
• Opt for a free vanity address for your profile that uses your full name, such as
linkedin.com/in/janedoe, so colleagues can find your profile easily.
Use LinkedIn’s Tools to Research Potential Job Opportunities
LinkedIn’s profiles of more than 360,000 businesses and organizations can be used to gather invaluable intelligence on job openings and opportunities. Start by entering your target company’s name in the search bar at the top of the page and specifying “Search Companies” to find its LinkedIn profile. From there, you can see the names of current employees that are in your network, job openings, the names of recent hires, employees who have left the firm, and even the top feeder company and the most popular next employer among those who have left.
You can also choose to “Search Answers” on the name of a particular firm to see questions
its employees have posted for other members to answer, their replies to other questions, and Q&As that mention the company. These pages can provide useful information on the corporate culture or current challenges the company is trying to solve that will help you with your cover letter and interview strategies.
To find out about unadvertised job opportunities, try contacting people you know at the target
company, including those who are second- or third-degree connections (to contact them, you’ll
need to get an introduction from your mutual contact first). If your network is small and you
don’t know anyone at the target company, consider upgrading to a paid business account on
LinkedIn, which starts at $24.95 a month. With one of these accounts, you can contact anyone
on the site directly, although there’s a limit on how many people outside your network you can
contact per month. When contacting strangers, it’s a good idea to browse their profile and see if there’s any common ground in either their work or personal interests you can point to that will make your initial message warmer.
Another way to expand your network is by joining LinkedIn discussion groups pertaining to your industry and becoming active in posing and answering questions. Bill Snyder, 42, recently ended a long job search by answering a question on LinkedIn about which were the best conferences for meeting the heads of nonprofit organizations. The question turned out to have been posted by the founder of a start-up called We-Care.com, who then invited Snyder to a lunch the next time he was in town. One month later, he offered Snyder a job as the company’s general manager.
Tweet Your Way to Greater Career Visibility
Twitter is a fast-growing “microblogging” site that lets you send out frequent 140-character
messages (“tweets”) to a network of people who have opted to follow you, as well as to follow
the updates of anyone in your network. Many professionals use Twitter to send short bits
of useful information, such as business tips or links to interesting articles, to help build their
professional visibility and make new contacts. The trick is to make sure you limit yourself
to messages that are truly useful (or at least entertaining), so that they’re of value to your
followers.
To make sure you build an appropriate audience, go to the “Settings” menu and check the box
that says “Protect My Updates.” This will enable you to approve each new follower request
— a smart move if you want to block spammers on the site. Conversely, choosing to follow
well-connected thought leaders in your field can help keep you abreast of trends in your
industry, as well as the latest gossip. One good way to find people and sites in your industry
is to search by what are called “hash tags” — key words preceded by the “#” sign that people
can include in their tweets to make them searchable. For example, to find people posting about law or lawyers, you’d search under “#lawyer,” take a look at all the relevant tweets, and then choose to follow some of the people or groups with the most interesting posts.
Master the Delicate Art of Using Facebook Effectively
Facebook can be a great way to reconnect with old friends who may now be in a position to
help you with your career goals, as well as to stay in touch with colleagues on the site. But
since there’s always a chance that someone in your network could post an embarrassing photo of you or make comments you don’t want your work contacts to see, make sure you’re familiar with the site’s privacy settings before building out your network of friends. Go to “Settings” at the top of your page, choose “Privacy” from the pull-down menu, and you’ll come to a page that lets you control who can see almost every posted item on your page, who can post messages to your wall, and even whether strangers can search for you and how much of your profile they can see.
Facebook is also rife with professional groups that you can join and subsequently exchange news with others in your industry and make new contacts. Simply type in the name of your profession or industry into the search bar and you’ll see a list of relevant groups, most of which you can join immediately. While these groups on Facebook are sometimes not as active and professionally focused as those on LinkedIn, they still can be a good way to meet new people.
Facebook can be particularly useful for getting the word out and building a community around
a new business venture, but experts advise setting up a separate “fan page” of your venture
to avoid making your personal page too promotional. John Mooney, principal of marketing
firm JRM Communications LLC, recently advised a Manhattan client who sells waffles from
a mobile truck to create a Facebook group. The client sends out news of the truck’s future
whereabouts to people in his network that he’s invited to become fans, which has helped increase sales significantly. “They’re all in New York, and they’re all really into food,” says
Mooney of the group’s members.
But of course. Social networking is all about quickly finding people in every possible niche.
Especially the one that matters most to your career: that marvelous niche of folks who might
just help you succeed.
Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
published on BNET.com 7/16/2009
If you aren’t using social-media sites to tap into career and business opportunities in today’s tough economy, you should be. A survey released in January by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that more than one-third of all Americans now have profiles on social-networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, up from just 8 percent in 2005. And it’s not primarily kids, either:
The average LinkedIn user is 40 years old; most Twitter users are now 35 and older; and people
from 35 to 54 now represent the biggest group of users on Facebook. “You get access to people via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter that you can’t get in other ways,” says Sharon Rich, founder of outplacement consulting and coaching firm Leadership Incorporated. “I think it’s mandatory to be on there.”
Social-media sites can become a time suck, so you’ll need to limit the time you invest in them each week. But done right, social networking is a powerful way to build your professional reputation, find out about job opportunities, and keep abreast of the latest news and gossip in your industry.
Things you will need:
• An updated resume. Have this handy so you can transfer relevant information to different social-media sites quickly.
• A digital photo of yourself. Get a good head shot of yourself showing you at your professional best to use in your profiles.
• Your e-mail contact list. Once you join a network, you’ll want to quickly send invitations to connect to your professional contacts. In many cases, this can be done automatically using tools on each site.
Build a Powerhouse Profile on LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s business-only focus makes the site popular with successful professionals (so far,
the site has 43 million members in more than 200 countries), so it’s the best place to start your social-media push. LinkedIn’s large amount of traffic also means that your profile there is likely to be the first thing that potential employers and clients see when they google your name, so it’s important to invest some time in building a strong profile. “Why not tell the story your way?”
says Randy Hain, managing partner of Bell Oaks Executive Search in Atlanta. Hain knows
firsthand the value of a good profile: He recently signed a client (who will do an estimated
$100,000 to $200,000 worth of new business this year) when the client searched for Hain’s LinkedIn profile after reading an article he wrote in a trade publication.
Checklist
How to Shape Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn
• Seek out recommendations from past bosses, key clients, colleagues, and direct reports to create a 360-degree picture of your strengths. Tell them that you’ll be happy to do the same for
them.
• Instead of a generic job title at the top of your profile, such as “Owner of John Doe and
associates,” use a short description of valuable credentials that you can quantify, such as “20-year veteran of $100 million in high-tech mergers,” advises Chris Muccio, author of the
book 42 Rules for 24-Hour Success on LinkedIn.
• Fill out the “Interests” section with pursuits, such as charitable projects, that reinforce your
value to potential employers and clients.
• For consistency and branding, use a good head shot of yourself as your photo, and use the same photo on other social networks, advises Megan Hendricks, director, employer relations at the College of Business at the University of South Florida.
• Opt for a free vanity address for your profile that uses your full name, such as
linkedin.com/in/janedoe, so colleagues can find your profile easily.
Use LinkedIn’s Tools to Research Potential Job Opportunities
LinkedIn’s profiles of more than 360,000 businesses and organizations can be used to gather invaluable intelligence on job openings and opportunities. Start by entering your target company’s name in the search bar at the top of the page and specifying “Search Companies” to find its LinkedIn profile. From there, you can see the names of current employees that are in your network, job openings, the names of recent hires, employees who have left the firm, and even the top feeder company and the most popular next employer among those who have left.
You can also choose to “Search Answers” on the name of a particular firm to see questions
its employees have posted for other members to answer, their replies to other questions, and Q&As that mention the company. These pages can provide useful information on the corporate culture or current challenges the company is trying to solve that will help you with your cover letter and interview strategies.
To find out about unadvertised job opportunities, try contacting people you know at the target
company, including those who are second- or third-degree connections (to contact them, you’ll
need to get an introduction from your mutual contact first). If your network is small and you
don’t know anyone at the target company, consider upgrading to a paid business account on
LinkedIn, which starts at $24.95 a month. With one of these accounts, you can contact anyone
on the site directly, although there’s a limit on how many people outside your network you can
contact per month. When contacting strangers, it’s a good idea to browse their profile and see if there’s any common ground in either their work or personal interests you can point to that will make your initial message warmer.
Another way to expand your network is by joining LinkedIn discussion groups pertaining to your industry and becoming active in posing and answering questions. Bill Snyder, 42, recently ended a long job search by answering a question on LinkedIn about which were the best conferences for meeting the heads of nonprofit organizations. The question turned out to have been posted by the founder of a start-up called We-Care.com, who then invited Snyder to a lunch the next time he was in town. One month later, he offered Snyder a job as the company’s general manager.
Tweet Your Way to Greater Career Visibility
Twitter is a fast-growing “microblogging” site that lets you send out frequent 140-character
messages (“tweets”) to a network of people who have opted to follow you, as well as to follow
the updates of anyone in your network. Many professionals use Twitter to send short bits
of useful information, such as business tips or links to interesting articles, to help build their
professional visibility and make new contacts. The trick is to make sure you limit yourself
to messages that are truly useful (or at least entertaining), so that they’re of value to your
followers.
To make sure you build an appropriate audience, go to the “Settings” menu and check the box
that says “Protect My Updates.” This will enable you to approve each new follower request
— a smart move if you want to block spammers on the site. Conversely, choosing to follow
well-connected thought leaders in your field can help keep you abreast of trends in your
industry, as well as the latest gossip. One good way to find people and sites in your industry
is to search by what are called “hash tags” — key words preceded by the “#” sign that people
can include in their tweets to make them searchable. For example, to find people posting about law or lawyers, you’d search under “#lawyer,” take a look at all the relevant tweets, and then choose to follow some of the people or groups with the most interesting posts.
Master the Delicate Art of Using Facebook Effectively
Facebook can be a great way to reconnect with old friends who may now be in a position to
help you with your career goals, as well as to stay in touch with colleagues on the site. But
since there’s always a chance that someone in your network could post an embarrassing photo of you or make comments you don’t want your work contacts to see, make sure you’re familiar with the site’s privacy settings before building out your network of friends. Go to “Settings” at the top of your page, choose “Privacy” from the pull-down menu, and you’ll come to a page that lets you control who can see almost every posted item on your page, who can post messages to your wall, and even whether strangers can search for you and how much of your profile they can see.
Facebook is also rife with professional groups that you can join and subsequently exchange news with others in your industry and make new contacts. Simply type in the name of your profession or industry into the search bar and you’ll see a list of relevant groups, most of which you can join immediately. While these groups on Facebook are sometimes not as active and professionally focused as those on LinkedIn, they still can be a good way to meet new people.
Facebook can be particularly useful for getting the word out and building a community around
a new business venture, but experts advise setting up a separate “fan page” of your venture
to avoid making your personal page too promotional. John Mooney, principal of marketing
firm JRM Communications LLC, recently advised a Manhattan client who sells waffles from
a mobile truck to create a Facebook group. The client sends out news of the truck’s future
whereabouts to people in his network that he’s invited to become fans, which has helped increase sales significantly. “They’re all in New York, and they’re all really into food,” says
Mooney of the group’s members.
But of course. Social networking is all about quickly finding people in every possible niche.
Especially the one that matters most to your career: that marvelous niche of folks who might
just help you succeed.
Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
TIPS FOR WRITING PROJECT-BASED FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS
PROJECT-BASED FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS:
TAKE CUES FROM THOSE WHO KNOW
What Works:
• The Sooner the Better: The best time to start thinking about and researching fellowships is during your first summer or the beginning of your second year.
• Your Fellowship Network: Identify people who can help you with the application process, including career services/public interest advisors and faculty or alumni who received fellowships and/or served on fellowship selection committees. Create your own team.
• Get to Know the Application: Read application instructions in detail, and provide exactly what is asked for. Fellowship proposals are as much science as they are art.
• Don’t be a stranger: If you have pre-application questions for the funder, ask them. Your thoughtful questions and concerns can make an impression on the funder.
• Build Host Relationship: A relationship with your would-be host is a vital part of the successful fellowship application (and the successful fellowship). It’s best to apply with an organization that you have previously worked for. But if that is not possible, it is wise to still propose a project that relates to work you have done, so that you can demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and passion to do the job.
o A legal services director who has successfully hosted several fellows says, “[I]n all but one instance, our applicants have had experience with us as a summer and/or semester intern…. [W]e can write a more persuasive letter from the host perspective if we know the work of the student … Having worked with the student as an intern also helps us to more effectively assess how well the student will fit into the organization on a permanent basis.”
• Host is Key, but You’re the Principal: The fellow should drive the application process. Reviewers can immediately tell when the host is fishing for funding.
• The Silver Bullet: Your proposal should identify the problem you will address and make clear why your project is the solution to that problem.
• Demonstrate Your Passion: It is not enough to declare that you are passionate. Demonstrate how your passion has manifested itself in your work/school experiences!
• Client Focus: It’s about the clients, not about you and your career goals. Make sure to emphasize how your project makes an impact and who the beneficiaries of your project are. Can you get client input for the proposal?
• Catchy Title Won’t Hurt – Your application is competing for attention with many others. Can you craft a lead-in sentence that captures the essence of your project?
What to Avoid:
Do NOT sell yourself short. Yes, it’s true that fellowships are sought-after and competition is fierce. But you must throw your hat in the ring. Fellowships are individualized experiences for committed individuals who catch the reviewers’ eyes. Your application can do this.
Do NOT be sloppy in your application, and do not veer too far off the course they set for you.
Do NOT take yourself out of the proposal driver’s seat. A senior program manager at a funding organization notes, “Sometimes when I read an application…it reads like the host organization supervisor thought up a project and then found a fellow to fit the bill rather than a personal passion coming through in the project description.” Funders wish to support a specific project driven by a fellow, not a new staff attorney position for the host organization.
Do NOT give up. Do not be discouraged if you apply for, but don’t receive one of the “bigger” fellowships like Skadden or Equal Justice Works. Every year highly qualified candidates with fabulous projects are not successful simply because there is limited funding. Do not take it as a judgment of your qualifications. Get back into PSLawNet and look for the many remaining fellowships with later deadlines, find the ones that are a good fit for you, and start applying!
Do NOT be too vague and/or unrealistic. Avoid making the project proposal excessively grand, including too many ideas (i.e. the kitchen sink). While the goal is typically for the project to sustain itself after the fellowship term ends, the fellow should still specifically map out realistic objectives to be achieved during their term. (Note: The opposite can happen too when the application is too narrow and not capable of sustaining itself so that the reader cannot see it lasting two years and beyond).
Do NOT underestimate the importance of a project timeline. Reviewers look not just at what you want to do, but how you plan to do it. The best project idea goes nowhere if there is not well-conceived plan for implementation.
These fellowship tips were offered by several individuals who play key roles in the fellowship application process, including former fellows, senior staff at fellowship funding organizations, senior staff at fellow host organizations, and law school public interest career counselors who have successfully advised past fellowship applicants.
Visit PSLawNet for more information on postgraduate fellowships: http://www.pslawnet.org/postgraduatefellowships
TAKE CUES FROM THOSE WHO KNOW
What Works:
• The Sooner the Better: The best time to start thinking about and researching fellowships is during your first summer or the beginning of your second year.
• Your Fellowship Network: Identify people who can help you with the application process, including career services/public interest advisors and faculty or alumni who received fellowships and/or served on fellowship selection committees. Create your own team.
• Get to Know the Application: Read application instructions in detail, and provide exactly what is asked for. Fellowship proposals are as much science as they are art.
• Don’t be a stranger: If you have pre-application questions for the funder, ask them. Your thoughtful questions and concerns can make an impression on the funder.
• Build Host Relationship: A relationship with your would-be host is a vital part of the successful fellowship application (and the successful fellowship). It’s best to apply with an organization that you have previously worked for. But if that is not possible, it is wise to still propose a project that relates to work you have done, so that you can demonstrate that you have the knowledge, skills, and passion to do the job.
o A legal services director who has successfully hosted several fellows says, “[I]n all but one instance, our applicants have had experience with us as a summer and/or semester intern…. [W]e can write a more persuasive letter from the host perspective if we know the work of the student … Having worked with the student as an intern also helps us to more effectively assess how well the student will fit into the organization on a permanent basis.”
• Host is Key, but You’re the Principal: The fellow should drive the application process. Reviewers can immediately tell when the host is fishing for funding.
• The Silver Bullet: Your proposal should identify the problem you will address and make clear why your project is the solution to that problem.
• Demonstrate Your Passion: It is not enough to declare that you are passionate. Demonstrate how your passion has manifested itself in your work/school experiences!
• Client Focus: It’s about the clients, not about you and your career goals. Make sure to emphasize how your project makes an impact and who the beneficiaries of your project are. Can you get client input for the proposal?
• Catchy Title Won’t Hurt – Your application is competing for attention with many others. Can you craft a lead-in sentence that captures the essence of your project?
What to Avoid:
Do NOT sell yourself short. Yes, it’s true that fellowships are sought-after and competition is fierce. But you must throw your hat in the ring. Fellowships are individualized experiences for committed individuals who catch the reviewers’ eyes. Your application can do this.
Do NOT be sloppy in your application, and do not veer too far off the course they set for you.
Do NOT take yourself out of the proposal driver’s seat. A senior program manager at a funding organization notes, “Sometimes when I read an application…it reads like the host organization supervisor thought up a project and then found a fellow to fit the bill rather than a personal passion coming through in the project description.” Funders wish to support a specific project driven by a fellow, not a new staff attorney position for the host organization.
Do NOT give up. Do not be discouraged if you apply for, but don’t receive one of the “bigger” fellowships like Skadden or Equal Justice Works. Every year highly qualified candidates with fabulous projects are not successful simply because there is limited funding. Do not take it as a judgment of your qualifications. Get back into PSLawNet and look for the many remaining fellowships with later deadlines, find the ones that are a good fit for you, and start applying!
Do NOT be too vague and/or unrealistic. Avoid making the project proposal excessively grand, including too many ideas (i.e. the kitchen sink). While the goal is typically for the project to sustain itself after the fellowship term ends, the fellow should still specifically map out realistic objectives to be achieved during their term. (Note: The opposite can happen too when the application is too narrow and not capable of sustaining itself so that the reader cannot see it lasting two years and beyond).
Do NOT underestimate the importance of a project timeline. Reviewers look not just at what you want to do, but how you plan to do it. The best project idea goes nowhere if there is not well-conceived plan for implementation.
These fellowship tips were offered by several individuals who play key roles in the fellowship application process, including former fellows, senior staff at fellowship funding organizations, senior staff at fellow host organizations, and law school public interest career counselors who have successfully advised past fellowship applicants.
Visit PSLawNet for more information on postgraduate fellowships: http://www.pslawnet.org/postgraduatefellowships
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Five Ways to Find Opportunity in a Faltering Economy
Five Ways to Find Opportunity in a Faltering Economy
1133 Broadway, Suite 706, New York, NY 10010 • Tel: 646.641.0600 • Fax: 800.895.9559 • ari@arikaplanadvisors.com
Copyright © 2009 Ari Kaplan Advisors LLC
Executive Summary
I taught English in various summer camps, as a college student. Fast-forward 17 years and to my surprise, one of the campers saw my profile on the social networking website Facebook (after no contact for almost two decades) and sent me a note. Welcome to the era of opportunity, circa. 2009. My former student’s effort highlights that making contact with others is no longer the problem. If you want to reach hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of people in a short amount of time in 2009, you can do so. Comment on a popular blog post, upload a catchy YouTube video or create a group, perhaps one for long lost English teachers, on the professional online network LinkedIn. Turning your initial contacts into long-term relationships is a worthy goal. And those that stand out by helping others build relationships benefit by earning a powerful form of acknowledgment, reflecting more on their character than their ambition. Here are five ways to find success.
1. Profile Your Peers and Clients
Find individuals at your office or in your community who are doing something noteworthy, even if it is something small. You can write an article or record the conversation as a podcast (with permission, of course) recognizing his or her achievements. It demonstrates your interest (and technological aptitude in the case of the podcast), yet also allows you the chance to get to know individuals on a more personal level. Show your social media know-how by posting the profiles on the social messaging website Twitter (feel free to visit me at Twitter.com/arikaplan).
2. Use ‘Google Alerts’ For Others
Add those people you just met at a meeting or industry event to a Google alert (Google.com/ alerts), which will advise you each time a person on your list is mentioned online. This may provide you with thoughtful opportunities to connect in a meaningful fashion. Consider adding terms that have absolutely no value for you, but could give you the chance to help others, which would be particularly welcome in today’s softening market.
3. Share Press Leads
With the immense popularity of the US-based online source provider HelpAReporter.com (HARO) and the allowance for sharing (though not posting) press leads, look for ways that your colleagues and other contacts can earn well-deserved press in print or other forms of broadcast media. The 70,000-plus subscribers to the free HARO service receive three e-mails per day with a variety of queries from reporters looking for experts to comment on stories they are preparing, ranging from the shopping habits of European tourists to the proposed economic policies of the new US administration. While you may not be the right expert for some (or any) of these requests, consider sharing them with those individuals who could provide the insight for which the journalist is searching.
4. Guest Blog
I do not have a blog, but I do participate in the digital conversation as a regular guest on Law.com’s Legal Technology blog (legaltechnology.typepad.com). Those interested in getting started, but not ready to make a permanent commitment, may want to consider contributing to other popular blogs or collaborating with colleagues. Doing so will build a level of comfort with the medium and help the writer find his or her voice. While blogging can be used to demonstrate one’s interest in a specific area, it can also be used to highlight the writer’s familiarity with the key thought leaders in the industry. In that way, it is a powerful networking tool and those who provide thoughtful, well researched content can quickly establish themselves as trusted authorities offering valuable information.
5. Jump on the Social Networking Train
Facebook is no longer for a younger generation trying to find their summer camp English teachers. A growing cross-section of the legal community is also using the platform to enhance the depth and consistency of their connections. It offers opportunities to reach out to clients and prospects on a more personal and multi-dimensional level, which helps to build friendships rather than simply contacts. There is even an increasingly popular invitation-only service targeted specifically to this group called Legal OnRamp. Twitter is also becoming a great supplement, and even alternative, to blogging because it allows for the same type of commentary and a similar audience. For many, it is more approachable because of the 140-character limitation. There seems to be less pressure to contribute as frequently as a blog, but more incentive to produce thoughtful content since there are identifiable followers.
Conclusion
Marketing means different things to different people. For those that use their toolkit to demonstrate their character as well as their value, 2009 will be another successful year.
1133 Broadway, Suite 706, New York, NY 10010 • Tel: 646.641.0600 • Fax: 800.895.9559 • ari@arikaplanadvisors.com
Copyright © 2009 Ari Kaplan Advisors LLC
Executive Summary
I taught English in various summer camps, as a college student. Fast-forward 17 years and to my surprise, one of the campers saw my profile on the social networking website Facebook (after no contact for almost two decades) and sent me a note. Welcome to the era of opportunity, circa. 2009. My former student’s effort highlights that making contact with others is no longer the problem. If you want to reach hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of people in a short amount of time in 2009, you can do so. Comment on a popular blog post, upload a catchy YouTube video or create a group, perhaps one for long lost English teachers, on the professional online network LinkedIn. Turning your initial contacts into long-term relationships is a worthy goal. And those that stand out by helping others build relationships benefit by earning a powerful form of acknowledgment, reflecting more on their character than their ambition. Here are five ways to find success.
1. Profile Your Peers and Clients
Find individuals at your office or in your community who are doing something noteworthy, even if it is something small. You can write an article or record the conversation as a podcast (with permission, of course) recognizing his or her achievements. It demonstrates your interest (and technological aptitude in the case of the podcast), yet also allows you the chance to get to know individuals on a more personal level. Show your social media know-how by posting the profiles on the social messaging website Twitter (feel free to visit me at Twitter.com/arikaplan).
2. Use ‘Google Alerts’ For Others
Add those people you just met at a meeting or industry event to a Google alert (Google.com/ alerts), which will advise you each time a person on your list is mentioned online. This may provide you with thoughtful opportunities to connect in a meaningful fashion. Consider adding terms that have absolutely no value for you, but could give you the chance to help others, which would be particularly welcome in today’s softening market.
3. Share Press Leads
With the immense popularity of the US-based online source provider HelpAReporter.com (HARO) and the allowance for sharing (though not posting) press leads, look for ways that your colleagues and other contacts can earn well-deserved press in print or other forms of broadcast media. The 70,000-plus subscribers to the free HARO service receive three e-mails per day with a variety of queries from reporters looking for experts to comment on stories they are preparing, ranging from the shopping habits of European tourists to the proposed economic policies of the new US administration. While you may not be the right expert for some (or any) of these requests, consider sharing them with those individuals who could provide the insight for which the journalist is searching.
4. Guest Blog
I do not have a blog, but I do participate in the digital conversation as a regular guest on Law.com’s Legal Technology blog (legaltechnology.typepad.com). Those interested in getting started, but not ready to make a permanent commitment, may want to consider contributing to other popular blogs or collaborating with colleagues. Doing so will build a level of comfort with the medium and help the writer find his or her voice. While blogging can be used to demonstrate one’s interest in a specific area, it can also be used to highlight the writer’s familiarity with the key thought leaders in the industry. In that way, it is a powerful networking tool and those who provide thoughtful, well researched content can quickly establish themselves as trusted authorities offering valuable information.
5. Jump on the Social Networking Train
Facebook is no longer for a younger generation trying to find their summer camp English teachers. A growing cross-section of the legal community is also using the platform to enhance the depth and consistency of their connections. It offers opportunities to reach out to clients and prospects on a more personal and multi-dimensional level, which helps to build friendships rather than simply contacts. There is even an increasingly popular invitation-only service targeted specifically to this group called Legal OnRamp. Twitter is also becoming a great supplement, and even alternative, to blogging because it allows for the same type of commentary and a similar audience. For many, it is more approachable because of the 140-character limitation. There seems to be less pressure to contribute as frequently as a blog, but more incentive to produce thoughtful content since there are identifiable followers.
Conclusion
Marketing means different things to different people. For those that use their toolkit to demonstrate their character as well as their value, 2009 will be another successful year.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Veering Off Law Firm Career Path May Be the Way to Go for Some
Gina Passarella
The Legal Intelligencer
June 24, 2009
When Raymond Bayley, CEO of legal services firm Novus Law, was describing the state of the legal profession to a group of Georgetown University law students recently, he spoke of non-lawyer ownership of law firms coming to Britain, an opinion by the American Bar Association allowing non-lawyers to handle certain legal work, changes to compensation models, the ACC Value Challenge, a dissatisfied client base and a disaggregation of legal services. Put more succinctly, the industry is changing. And that means lawyers' views of their career paths need to change as well.
"The industry and the profession has an obligation to help those in the profession, but this is a situation where we are in an environment that is so radically different than the past, lawyers have to take ground-level responsibility for where they are going," Bayley said in an interview with The Legal Intelligencer . "The whole industry is in turmoil, so each lawyer, before they look to the profession, has to look inside and say: 'Who am I and what do I want to do when I grow up?'" And that might mean a career alternative or a career transition, David E. Behrend of Career Planning Services for Lawyers said. He is helping lawyers find alternative uses for their law degrees and transitioning them into new industries.
"The skill setting knowledge that lawyers get in law school is very valuable in other industries," Behrend said. The best manager in Major League Baseball, he argued, is law grad Tony La Russa. Lawyers have opened business franchises, led nonprofits and joined the Peace Corps, he said.
The toughest obstacle is shedding the tunnel vision that often plagues lawyers, he said, particularly when they are specialists and view their skill sets as limited to one area. There are job openings out there, but with several applicants vying for each spot. Behrend said it's the job opportunity lawyers need to look for -- or create for themselves. That might mean, especially for freshly minted lawyers, taking advantage of their bachelor's degrees. It could also be a willingness to take on two part-time jobs or a position with an emerging company that might bring with it more risk. These decisions often depend on the age of the lawyer and family circumstances, but there are opportunities for all experience levels, he said. "I firmly believe that almost all lawyers with their education have employment security, but not necessarily job security," he said, "meaning that they should be able with some assistance to find capable work of a professional nature."
But Behrend is blunt with the attorneys he counsels about the realities they will face in the market. "The public does not feel sorry for the lawyer one bit," he tells them. "No one is going to feel sorry for you."
While they might not be taking pity on lawyers, there are organizations out there that are interested in bringing lawyers on board in varying capacities. And it's both unemployed and employed attorneys looking at these alternatives.
Glenn Manko, director of executive search at The Dubin Group, handles searches for attorneys and non-attorneys alike. He said companies are now seeing opportunities to bring in lawyers in a number of different positions who, a few years ago, wouldn't have considered leaving the partner track. Some enter as a head of business affairs or corporate development and others are just looking to serve as more of a consultant on the business end, Manko said. Corporate America is starting to come back in terms of hiring and attorneys are looking to create more functional resumes that speak to their specific skill sets, he said. Manko spends a lot of time working with clients on breaking down their experience and identifying how certain skills could apply on the business side.
Art Bousel's company, Lawyer 2 Lawyer Coaching, began 10 years ago after he received a number of inquiries asking how he had transitioned out of the law firm world and into another business. Right now he is seeing a lot of attorneys looking to small businesses by taking experience from a prior career or their legal specialty and trying to market themselves to businesses in those fields. Often those relationships start on a part-time basis, he said, because there isn't a need for a full-time commitment. But that can often grow into something more substantial. Finding a job is definitely possible in this market, Bousel said, but it takes ingenuity, determination and the guts to work the streets and know what's out there. That, and the four Ps. The "determinative" factor in finding an alternative career, he said, is personality. The other "Ps" are patience, pride and proof.
Job seekers have to have patience, let go of pride that might be stopping them from taking a step back and looking at other options, and have the ability to prove to their target employer they can handle the job. That might mean working on a volunteer basis or for a nominal fee to start, Bousel said. Finding a job in this market also means sending your resumes to places you normally wouldn't, Bayley, an adviser to Georgetown's Corporate Counsel Institute, said.
Maybe a recent law school graduate could find a job at a law firm, but it would be in China, Singapore or the United Arab Emirates, he said. They might look to consulting firms like Navigant Consulting or Huron Consulting Group, content creators like Thompson or Lexis Nexis, or technology companies involved in e-discovery matters, Bayley said. The federal government is also "hiring lawyers like it's going out of style" and nonprofits are a possibility, he said.
Bayley said his company views the legal world as being separated into legal work and lawyer work, with about 70 percent involving legal work that can be done outside of a typical law firm model or by a non-lawyer.
When asked whether lawyers looking to make these transitions would be facing pay cuts, Bayley said: "There's going to be a rationalization of the pay structure and I think that, in time, law firms might find themselves competing in more of a free market, free economy labor market."
Turning a legal background into a multi-pronged role at an emerging company, for example, could end up far more economically beneficial because of stock options and other incentives, Bousel said.
Regardless of the specifics, some industry consultants are optimistic about the options available to lawyers looking to break free of the traditional career path. The advice they dispense is straightforward. What will carry attorneys through these transitions is largely an entrepreneurial spirit. That might mean volunteering, working more than one job, creating a new business or creating a position for yourself by proving your value to a company. In any case, it means thinking outside the law firm box.
The Legal Intelligencer
June 24, 2009
When Raymond Bayley, CEO of legal services firm Novus Law, was describing the state of the legal profession to a group of Georgetown University law students recently, he spoke of non-lawyer ownership of law firms coming to Britain, an opinion by the American Bar Association allowing non-lawyers to handle certain legal work, changes to compensation models, the ACC Value Challenge, a dissatisfied client base and a disaggregation of legal services. Put more succinctly, the industry is changing. And that means lawyers' views of their career paths need to change as well.
"The industry and the profession has an obligation to help those in the profession, but this is a situation where we are in an environment that is so radically different than the past, lawyers have to take ground-level responsibility for where they are going," Bayley said in an interview with The Legal Intelligencer . "The whole industry is in turmoil, so each lawyer, before they look to the profession, has to look inside and say: 'Who am I and what do I want to do when I grow up?'" And that might mean a career alternative or a career transition, David E. Behrend of Career Planning Services for Lawyers said. He is helping lawyers find alternative uses for their law degrees and transitioning them into new industries.
"The skill setting knowledge that lawyers get in law school is very valuable in other industries," Behrend said. The best manager in Major League Baseball, he argued, is law grad Tony La Russa. Lawyers have opened business franchises, led nonprofits and joined the Peace Corps, he said.
The toughest obstacle is shedding the tunnel vision that often plagues lawyers, he said, particularly when they are specialists and view their skill sets as limited to one area. There are job openings out there, but with several applicants vying for each spot. Behrend said it's the job opportunity lawyers need to look for -- or create for themselves. That might mean, especially for freshly minted lawyers, taking advantage of their bachelor's degrees. It could also be a willingness to take on two part-time jobs or a position with an emerging company that might bring with it more risk. These decisions often depend on the age of the lawyer and family circumstances, but there are opportunities for all experience levels, he said. "I firmly believe that almost all lawyers with their education have employment security, but not necessarily job security," he said, "meaning that they should be able with some assistance to find capable work of a professional nature."
But Behrend is blunt with the attorneys he counsels about the realities they will face in the market. "The public does not feel sorry for the lawyer one bit," he tells them. "No one is going to feel sorry for you."
While they might not be taking pity on lawyers, there are organizations out there that are interested in bringing lawyers on board in varying capacities. And it's both unemployed and employed attorneys looking at these alternatives.
Glenn Manko, director of executive search at The Dubin Group, handles searches for attorneys and non-attorneys alike. He said companies are now seeing opportunities to bring in lawyers in a number of different positions who, a few years ago, wouldn't have considered leaving the partner track. Some enter as a head of business affairs or corporate development and others are just looking to serve as more of a consultant on the business end, Manko said. Corporate America is starting to come back in terms of hiring and attorneys are looking to create more functional resumes that speak to their specific skill sets, he said. Manko spends a lot of time working with clients on breaking down their experience and identifying how certain skills could apply on the business side.
Art Bousel's company, Lawyer 2 Lawyer Coaching, began 10 years ago after he received a number of inquiries asking how he had transitioned out of the law firm world and into another business. Right now he is seeing a lot of attorneys looking to small businesses by taking experience from a prior career or their legal specialty and trying to market themselves to businesses in those fields. Often those relationships start on a part-time basis, he said, because there isn't a need for a full-time commitment. But that can often grow into something more substantial. Finding a job is definitely possible in this market, Bousel said, but it takes ingenuity, determination and the guts to work the streets and know what's out there. That, and the four Ps. The "determinative" factor in finding an alternative career, he said, is personality. The other "Ps" are patience, pride and proof.
Job seekers have to have patience, let go of pride that might be stopping them from taking a step back and looking at other options, and have the ability to prove to their target employer they can handle the job. That might mean working on a volunteer basis or for a nominal fee to start, Bousel said. Finding a job in this market also means sending your resumes to places you normally wouldn't, Bayley, an adviser to Georgetown's Corporate Counsel Institute, said.
Maybe a recent law school graduate could find a job at a law firm, but it would be in China, Singapore or the United Arab Emirates, he said. They might look to consulting firms like Navigant Consulting or Huron Consulting Group, content creators like Thompson or Lexis Nexis, or technology companies involved in e-discovery matters, Bayley said. The federal government is also "hiring lawyers like it's going out of style" and nonprofits are a possibility, he said.
Bayley said his company views the legal world as being separated into legal work and lawyer work, with about 70 percent involving legal work that can be done outside of a typical law firm model or by a non-lawyer.
When asked whether lawyers looking to make these transitions would be facing pay cuts, Bayley said: "There's going to be a rationalization of the pay structure and I think that, in time, law firms might find themselves competing in more of a free market, free economy labor market."
Turning a legal background into a multi-pronged role at an emerging company, for example, could end up far more economically beneficial because of stock options and other incentives, Bousel said.
Regardless of the specifics, some industry consultants are optimistic about the options available to lawyers looking to break free of the traditional career path. The advice they dispense is straightforward. What will carry attorneys through these transitions is largely an entrepreneurial spirit. That might mean volunteering, working more than one job, creating a new business or creating a position for yourself by proving your value to a company. In any case, it means thinking outside the law firm box.
Friday, June 19, 2009
New Job Search Features on Martindale.com
Martindale.com has just instituted two major enhancements:
1. A job board, which is free for job seekers. You can access it at www.careers.martindale.com .
2. A new social networking site for attorneys, called Martindale-Hubbell Connected. The site has just been rolled it out to attorneys this summer; further roll outs to faculty and to law students will take place over the next few months. This is a great way for attorneys to connect with each other and could become a valuable networking tool for students in the coming year. You can check it out at www.martindale.com. Look for the link to "join connected,", and be sure to watch the short video when you get to the site
Monday, June 8, 2009
Land Your Dream Job on Twitter
Whether you are already a Twitter guru, or are just beginning to curiously test its waters, here are the best resources for finding your legal dream job on Twitter, with a bit of general Twitter advice as well.
General Twitter Advice
If you’re not yet on Twitter, here are my short and sweet tips:
Sign up at Twitter.com; fill out the 140-character bio, use your real name as your username; include a good photo; design a free and easy professional background design at Twitbacks.com; use bit.ly to shorten links for your tweets; download Seesmic Desktop to manage your Twitter feeds and posts from your desktop; and add yourself to Twellow.com and to JD Scoop’s list of lawyers and legal professionals.
Then add value (news posts, advice, resources, etc) to your followers, and remember that all your tweets are searchable on Google. Learn about the many ways that lawyers and legal professionals can use Twitter in Robert Ambrogi’s post “Tweet 16: 16 Ways Lawyers Can Use Twitter.” For further basic Twitter guidance, read Shane Richmond’s one-page step-by-step guide to getting started on Twitter.
Legal Job Searching on Twitter
- Search for “legal,” “law,” “attorney” or “paralegal” on TwitterJobSearch.com and see recent (down to the second) posted legal jobs.
- Find legal jobs by following the Twitter feeds. Please note that all of the Twitter feeds posted are for FREE job and career boards. However, you may need to sign up for free accounts on Monster.com, LawJobs.com, or Careerbuilder.com in order to access some of the posted jobs. In addition to “following” these feeds on Twitter, you can also subscribe to their RSS feeds, and have the feeds sent to your Google Reader account (set one up to follow news, blogs, and other RSS feeds), so that you will never miss a tweeted job posting.
- by Leora Maccabee on June 4, 2009
Downloaded 6/8/2009 from http://lawyerist.com/2009/06/04/land-your-dream-job-on-twitter/#more-2449
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Equal Justice Works Announces 2009 Ole Miss Summer Corps Members
Equal Justice Works is excited to announce our 2009 Summer Corps members. With a record of 1,184 applications this year, the selection process was extremely competitive.
We would like to extend our congratulations to University of Mississippi School of Law for its student participation in Summer Corps this year!
This year's 420 Summer Corps members represent 147 Equal Justice Works law schools. These first- and second-year law students will each receive a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award voucher upon completion of a minimum of 300 hours of summer service at a nonprofit public interest organization. Summer Corps members will provide critically needed legal assistance to low-income and underserved communities in 44 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, Summer Corps members gain first-hand experience and legal skills in areas such as client intake, individual representation, research and writing.
Summer Corps members are engaged with a broad range of issues, including civil rights, community economic development, death penalty, disability rights, housing, domestic violence, education, public benefits and workers' rights.
University of Mississippi School of Law
- Marisa Christensen, Mississippi Taxpayer Assistance Project (part of North Mississippi Rural Legal Services)
Oxford, MS- Kourtney Ikard, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Oxford, MS- Laura Nichols, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Oxford, MS- Joseph Tucker, North Mississippi Rural Legal Services
Oxford, MS
From: http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/programs/summercorps/lawschools
Friday, May 8, 2009
CREATING AN ONLINE PERSONA
CREATING AN ONLINE PERSONA
By Chandlee Bryan
You know the drill: a strong resume and a targeted cover letter are essential starters for any internship or full‐time job search.
Today, your “second life”—the one you live online—is an equally important part of the overall process. As early as 2006, a survey conducted by ExecuNet revealed that 77% of recruiters conducted internet searches on candidates. For many candidates, the search was a “game changer”: 35% of recruiters reported rescinding offers based on what they found online. Expect to be “Googled,” and if you have a distinct name—expect to be found.
The purpose of this article is two‐fold:
1. To provide strategies for basic online reputation management, and
2. To share tips and tricks for creating an online presence that can enhance your job search.
Online reputation management is a “must‐do;” cultivating an online presence is optional. You need to know how you’ll be found online, and to monitor your own “digital dirt.” The question of “to be or not to be” public with your career interests is a trickier issue—and is, in many ways, dependent on your career goals and aspirations. A strong online presence that showcases your command of social media may strengthen your candidacy for positions in media, communications, or marketing; if you seek to work for a public figure, law firm, or government office (such as the CIA or the NSA)—your online presence could potentially hinder your job search. Career services staff, alumni, and working professionals in your area of interest can help you determine whether an online persona can complement—or hinder—your job search strategies. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice on how should you present yourself; a great way to start is to surf and observe—watch how others do it and borrow strategies from the sites you admire most.
ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Even when you’re among friends on Facebook with privacy settings locked, the information you post and share online has all the confidentiality of a postcard. Assume anything you post or—are tagged by—is visible to the world‐at‐large, and may be viewed in the job search process.
Don’t assume you are safe. Here are five strategies you can use to manage your online reputation:
1. Know what’s out there. Establish a baseline knowledge of what information is available about you online—as well as others who share your name. A great way to get started is to use the Reach Branding Online ID Calculator: http://www.onlineidcalculator.com/
2. Monitor Your Digital Dirt
By Chandlee Bryan
You know the drill: a strong resume and a targeted cover letter are essential starters for any internship or full‐time job search.
Today, your “second life”—the one you live online—is an equally important part of the overall process. As early as 2006, a survey conducted by ExecuNet revealed that 77% of recruiters conducted internet searches on candidates. For many candidates, the search was a “game changer”: 35% of recruiters reported rescinding offers based on what they found online. Expect to be “Googled,” and if you have a distinct name—expect to be found.
The purpose of this article is two‐fold:
1. To provide strategies for basic online reputation management, and
2. To share tips and tricks for creating an online presence that can enhance your job search.
Online reputation management is a “must‐do;” cultivating an online presence is optional. You need to know how you’ll be found online, and to monitor your own “digital dirt.” The question of “to be or not to be” public with your career interests is a trickier issue—and is, in many ways, dependent on your career goals and aspirations. A strong online presence that showcases your command of social media may strengthen your candidacy for positions in media, communications, or marketing; if you seek to work for a public figure, law firm, or government office (such as the CIA or the NSA)—your online presence could potentially hinder your job search. Career services staff, alumni, and working professionals in your area of interest can help you determine whether an online persona can complement—or hinder—your job search strategies. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice on how should you present yourself; a great way to start is to surf and observe—watch how others do it and borrow strategies from the sites you admire most.
ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Even when you’re among friends on Facebook with privacy settings locked, the information you post and share online has all the confidentiality of a postcard. Assume anything you post or—are tagged by—is visible to the world‐at‐large, and may be viewed in the job search process.
Don’t assume you are safe. Here are five strategies you can use to manage your online reputation:
1. Know what’s out there. Establish a baseline knowledge of what information is available about you online—as well as others who share your name. A great way to get started is to use the Reach Branding Online ID Calculator: http://www.onlineidcalculator.com/
2. Monitor Your Digital Dirt
- Set up an “Ego Search”: Establish a Google News Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) on your name so that you receive results of any mention of you (or those who share your name) that hits the Internet.
- Untag yourself in non‐flattering Facebook photos or status updates that would make your mother blush.
3. Research how other people you know with similar interests present themselves online. Finding others with similar interests, conducting informational interviews with alumni in PACNET, and asking questions of current employees in your intended field can help you answer the question: What should my online presence goal be?
- Aim to have content on the web be “professional” not “confessional”
4. Have a conversation with your employer about their comfort level with your online presence, find out company policies about using social media, and be conscientious: Don’t share information that reflects poorly on you or your employer. Maintain privacy and don’t go on the record with information they would not want shared.
5. Be aware that personal information can “float.” Try to keep any mention of your professional interests relatively consistent… It’s okay to go on the record saying, “I’m exploring possibilities in which I could combine my knowledge in and . It’s less okay to say “I’ll do anything as long as I can live in San Francisco.”
DEVELOPING AN ONLINE PRESENCE
You can influence your own online presence in a myriad of ways and on a wide array of platforms.
- Social networking sites: e.g. Facebook, Linkedin, Plaxo, Twitter
- Social Bookmarking: Share insights, initiate and participate in discussions, and “DIGG” important topics. Sites for social bookmarking include Delicious, DIGG, ShareThis, and StumbleUpon
- Blogs: You can comment on other people’s postings, write your own as a “guest” or host your own through sites including Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress. Twitter is a popular micro‐blogging site.
- Electronic Portfolio/Personal Website: While there’s no guarantee employers will look at your personal website or portfolio, you can create a site to showcase your skills and provide samples of your work.
Developing an online presence is a process—not a transaction. As such, you may find it’s easiest to start with tools that are easy to use and highly visible. One such tool is LinkedIn, which has been called the “Facebook” of the business world. LinkedIn features include tools to network and grow relationships “within three degrees” of connection to you, a question and answer forum, and a people search function that you can use to see how others present themselves—and find new potential contacts for informational interviews. As LinkedIn is widely used, we’ve developed a special list of tips for getting started on the site.
GENERAL NETIQUETTE TIPS
1. Don’t Flame Out. If you disagree with someone, always do so respectfully—especially if you are commenting in an online forum and use your own name. “Flames” and profanity can help you strike out in the job search.
2. A customized approach always trumps an “automated” one. Personalizing invitations and sending messages tailored to meet the needs and interests of your audience will result in a higher return. This is true on applications from LinkedIn to Twitter—especially with regard to invitations.
3. “Do as the Romans do.” If you are trying your hand at a new technology application or platform, watch how seasoned users of the technology before actively using it yourself.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there are unspoken conventions for many social media applications. For example, the micro‐blog Twitter is commonly used by job seekers and business owners who wish to develop and strengthen their online reputation. On Twitter, users post “tweets” (messages of 140 characters or less) and can follow streams of other users and “be followed.” Twitter Netiquette guidelines: You’re more interesting to the community if some of your messages are “on brand” (i.e. commenting on areas you wish to be known for) and other messages share personal interests and preferences. If your material is consistently “all about you,” your followers may become “qwitters” (Twitter term for individuals who stop following you).
You can find how‐to guides for getting started with many social media applications. Read up on the technology before you start, and you’ll be ahead of the game when you develop your online profile.
4. Consider everything you write as a mini‐writing sample. As you never know what employers are going to find, you want to present yourself well. Good spelling and grammar can provide the tipping point in a hiring decision. Show you have what it takes.
5. Sound bites are in; strive to be brief, concise, and specific. Conventional wisdom maintains that employers spend 30 seconds or less on a resume. With social media, expect a quicker pass. Develop your materials so that they can be reviewed in an “eyeball”: Is your message easy to digest? Can I tell what you are looking for or talking about within the first ten seconds?
BUILDING ONLINE PRESENCE
There are several ways to develop and increase your online presence. Here, we spotlight blogs, LinkedIn, and Twitter. With all of these forms of communication, the best way to start is to watch how other people do it, and ask questions.
GETTING STARTED WITH BLOGGING
- BLOGGING: Before you start your own blog, consider making insightful comments on other people’s blogs. Some bloggers will say you need to write everyday; if your goal is not to be a professional blogger, I would aim to go weekly or biweekly instead.
Chris Brogan is a well known social media strategist who has e‐books on online presence and the web 2.0 job search available on his site. Here he provides 10 Blogging Tips and additional advice If You Intend to Blog Seriously (Chris Brogan)
Penelope Trunk is the “Brazen Careerist” and writes about the intersection between work and life. She has a team of millennial bloggers who blog with her. Here are her Easiest Instructions for How to Start a Blog (Penelope Trunk) - GETTING STARTED WITH LINKEDIN
LINKED IN: One of the most important things to do in LinkedIn is to fill out your profile accurately and completely. As the cost to search LinkedIn for potential talent is free for unpaid subscribers (and minimal for users), employers routinely use LinkedIn as a place to identify potential hires. Therefore, it’s important to have a great profile. Not sure what to say? Start with an advance people search. See how other people present their skills, interest and experience and write your own using best practices from others. (Note: Employers search Linkedin profiles on key words in title and summary, so fill out these sections in full with relevant information.) Once you have a strong profile, expand your connections, join groups, and browse questions and answers…you can even explore job listings. - Getting the Most out of LinkedIn A Career Services guide to using LinkedIn, written by Chandlee Bryan, author of this document.
- Leveraging 2.0 Job Search Skills Good introduction to LinkedIn. Covers how to get started and why it is a good tool for your job search:
I’m On Linked In, Now What? Blog maintained by Jason Alba, author of “I’m on LinkedIn, Now What?” Great tips for how to use, maintain, and thrive with your LinkedIn accounts.
Write Your LinkedIn Profile for your Future Chris Brogan, social media marketing expert, shares strategy on how to develop your LinkedIn profile so that your past experience is presented in context with future career goals. - GETTING STARTED WITH TWITTER
Twitter is a searchable public forum; don’t share any information you wouldn’t want your friends or perspective employers to see. As with Facebook, employers actively monitor “how they’re talked about” and how current and potential employees represent themselves online. You can create a pseudonym but most people use their own names and include a short bio. Posting on Twitter is a “dance” between the personal and the professional: users frequently pick a topic to talk about (i.e. job search, Philly gelato venues, observations from 39th and Spruce). Using this framework, a majority of messages will be written about “on message” with other personal observations thrown in. If you choose to write almost exclusively about your topic, make sure every fourth or fifth observation provides a personal glimpse of you. (Of if you choose to go personal, make sure you post on professional message every four messages.) The trick on Twitter is to offer a unique perspective but not to bore your followers with incessant “tweets” (posts) about the same exact topic all the time. The best way to get started on Twitter is to create an account, add your bio and start posting short messages of your own. Search Twitter’s search engine by key words to identify users of potential interest and to observe how they tweet. Once you have at least five messages, you can “find” and “follow” others…Most users are alerted when they have new followers, and will then evaluate your content to decide if they should be “following you” back. How to Twitter The Social Rules and Tips for Gaining “Followers,” Why Opinionated People Win A new user shares her experience using Twitter, including writing suggestions for content Newbie’s Guide for Twitter Social media expert Chris Brogan’s straight talk on how to get started.
Round‐Up of Users Guides and Tutorials for Twitter From Pistachio Consulting, a firm specializing in the business use of Twitter and other “microsharing” applications
E. Chandlee Bryan, M.Ed. is a career coach and resume writer at Best Fit Forward (www.bestfitforward.com). A former member of the Penn Career Services staff, Chandlee specializes in helping job seekers position themselves for new opportunities. She also speaks and writes on best practices for integrating social media in your job search.
Expanded Federal Employment Resource Center on PSLawNet
With interest in federal legal careers building rapidly among law students and attorneys, NALP's PSLawNet site features a newly enhanced federal government careers page. This thorough resource, available at at http://nalp.cmail4.com/t/y/l/hilhdd/dilughyi/a, emphasizes simple explanations about federal hiring processes and points of entry to federal jobs, downloadable resources, and answers to FAQs.
Free Video/Podcast on Managing a Legal Career Transition in Tough Times
As a public service, NALP and ALI-ABA are pleased to offer Managing a Legal Career Transition in Tough Times — a 75-minute presentation by Marcia Pennington Shannon and Susan G. Manch of Shannon & Manch LLP, who generously donated their time and talent to this special project to assist lawyers and 3Ls who are currently seeking employment.
The presentation addresses the current state of the legal employment market, the five basic steps for an effective job search, and such additional considerations as financial assessments, emotional ups and downs, gaining experience while waiting for the next job, and negotiating in a down market. To view or download, go to www.nalp.org/legalcareertransitionvideo.
You are encouraged to share this link with law students and lawyers who are currently seeking a job.
The presentation addresses the current state of the legal employment market, the five basic steps for an effective job search, and such additional considerations as financial assessments, emotional ups and downs, gaining experience while waiting for the next job, and negotiating in a down market. To view or download, go to www.nalp.org/legalcareertransitionvideo.
You are encouraged to share this link with law students and lawyers who are currently seeking a job.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
PSLawNet Public Interest Career Resources
Public Service Career Library
Welcome to PSLawNet's central outlet for public interest career resources. These resources are organized in five subsections:
- General Public Interest Resources (which include materials on a wide array of public interest career opportunities).
- Government Service Resources
- International Public Interest Resources
- Postgraduate Fellowship Resources
- Canadian Resources (for Canadian PSLawNet users and those interested in public service opportunities in Canada).
General Public Interest Resources
- NALP Law School Guide to Public Interest Careers - The essential "bible", written by and for law school public interest career counselors.
- PSLawNet's Public Interest Job Search Fundamentals
- Yale Law School Public Service Careers Guide (published and updated annually by the Yale Law School Career Development 0ffice) - this guide offers a terrific overview of how to launch a public interest career.
- University of Virginia Public Service Job Search Resource Guide - this guide provides information about how to find a public interest law job, including where to find the employers, resume and interview tips, how to finance a public interest job, how to apply to public interest employers, and lists sample application materials.
- Harvard Law School Public Interest Specialty Guides - HLS publishes several guidebooks focusing on specific public interest practice areas and settings, including:
Conservative Public Interest Law
GLBT Rights
Immigration and Refugee Advocacy
Civil Legal Services
Public Defender Careers
More practice area-specific guides are freely available in PDF form at the Harvard Office of Public Interest Advising site. You may also find background information on the types of work attorneys are likely to encounter in a number of public interest practice settings, including work with charitable foundations, on political campaigns, and many other settings. - Yale Law School Environmental Law Practice Guide
- Public Interest and Plaintiff's Law Firm Guide - produced by Columbia Law School and Harvard Law School, this guide provides an overview of public interest career opportunities in for-profit law firms, including advice on how to land jobs.
- Internship Opportunities in Capital Defense Offices - This webpage is maintained by the Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law and includes current internship opportunities with public defender and capital defense (death penalty defense) programs.
- How to Make the Most of Your Summer Job - a Harvard Law School publication that is quite useful to law students beginning internships and summer public interest work experiences.
- Yale Guide to Firm-Sponsored Split Public Interest Summers - Several law firms have instituted programs that enable law students to work part of the summer with the firm, and part of the summer with a public interest organization, with the firm paying the students' salaries for the entire summer. These generous plans allow law students to explore two types of legal practice and demonstrate the firms' strong commitment to pro bono work.
Government Service - PSLawNet's Resources for Government Careers
- NALP's Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide - this annually-updated publication, produced by NALP, the Partnership for Public Service, and the ABA, offers tips for seeking federal attorney positions, definitions of terms used in the employment application process, descriptions of dozens of federal offices that employ attorneys, and much more.
- 2008-09 Guide to Public Sector Legal Job Applications - this Georgetown University Law Center publication includes tips for constructing resumes and other application materials. Working on Capitol Hill - Yale Law School=s guidebook breaks down the types of employment opportunities available on The Hill and includes personal narratives from Hill employees.
- May 2008 Report on Federal Student Loan Repayment Programs - this report by the 0ffice of Personnel Management outlines executive branch agency use of loan repayment programs in recruitment and retention efforts.
- Guide to Criminal Prosecution Careers - a Yale Law School Publication providing information on both summer and permanent hiring processes in U.S. Attorney=s and local prosecutors= offices. (For more information on careers in criminal justice, see our Prosecution/Public Defense Career Resource Page.)
International Public Interest Law - PSLawNet's International Resources
- Finding and Funding International Public Interest Opportunities - This online guide provides useful background info and recommendations for students/attorneys embarking on international public interest careers. It is annually updated by NALP members at the Universities of Arizona and Georgia, and at the William & Mary School of Law.
- Intergovernmental Organizations - Harvard Law School provides helpful background information about Intergovernmental 0rganizations (IG0s), explaining types of IG0s, types of legal issues, and more.
- Finding Employment Opportunities with International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) and Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) - Pick up tips on how to pursue a broad array of legal careers on the international stage. Created for NALP by the New York University=s Public Interest Law Center.
- Tips for Students Seeking International Internships - A concise, valuable tip sheet drafted by an international human rights attorney at New York University=s Public Interest Law Center.
- Postgraduate International Fellowships Guide - A listing of international fellowship opportunities around the globe, produced by Columbia Law School=s Center for Public Interest Law.
- Yale Law School Guide to International Public Interest Careers - Provides background-level and detailed information for those pursuing public interest careers.
Postqraduate Fellowship Resources
PSLawNet's Postgraduate Fellowships - Information & Resources - Guide to Postgraduate Public Interest Fellowships - Produced annually by Yale Law School, this guide is ideal for law students who are beginning to explore postgraduate fellowships as a career option.
- The PSLawNet 0pportunities Database contains between 200-300 fellowship listings, updated annually to provide current application deadlines and job descriptions. If you are a registered PSLawNet user, log in on the homepage; or, register here. PSLawNet's Fellowship Application Deadline Calendar organizes fellowships by application deadline.
- The NALP/PSLawNet Comprehensive Fellowships Guide is an annually-produced print compendium of fellowship listings in the PSLawNet database. It is purchased by law school career services and public interest advising offices. Check with your school to see if they have it.
- Postgraduate International Fellowships Guide - A listing of international fellowship opportunities around the globe, produced by Columbia Law School=s Center for Public Interest Law.
Useful web sites/electronic newsletters-stay up-to-date on important issues!
http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/ - E-Clips - News about Equal Justice Works, public interest law, legal education, and other items of interest
http://www.brennancenter.org/ - The Brennan Center issues two regular "E-Lerts." The Fair Courts E-Lert alerts you to important developments concerning judges and the judiciary. The Legal Services E-Lert summarizes news and opinion pieces about free and low-cost civil legal aid.
http://www.nlada.org/ - The National Legal Aid and Defender Association's Equal Justice News contains the latest news items affecting the public defense and civil legal aid communities.
www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is the national source of information, resources and assistance to support, facilitate, and expand the delivery of pro bono legal assistance. The Standing Committee and its project, the Center for Pro Bono, encourage lawyers to do pro bono work and help them connect with opportunities that meet their needs. Programs, projects and services help pro bono programs, advocates and policymakers address the legal needs of the poor.
http://www.lsc.gov/ - publishes LSC update, an E-newsletter for the legal services community.
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