By Hillary Mantis
If you have been searching for a job out of state, chances are you have been offered a phone or Skype interview. But how do you impress the interviewers, when you are not even in the same room? Without eye contact and a firm handshake, how do you establish rapport? Here are some thoughts on how to handle a phone or Skype interview without stressing out.
by Matt Pinsker
By Hillary Mantis
Spring is right around the corner. But you’ve been buried in schoolwork, with no time to look for a summer job. No worries — there are still options. Here are some ideas:
Job Websites:
Don’t fret if you haven’t found anything through your school’s job listing database. Many employers, especially small law firms, post throughout the spring and into the summer. So keep checking, and also look at other websites such as www.psjd.org for ideas.
By Hillary Mantis
I’m getting tired of all the bad news, aren’t you? The economy is starting to slowly pick up, overall. Surely, some areas of law practice are starting to grow, right?
I recently asked an expert on the legal job market this question. Carmen Grossman, Partner and Managing Director of the Law Firm Management Group at Major, Lindsay & Africa, a nationwide legal recruitment firm said she has been seeing hiring recently in the following practice areas:
By Hillary Mantis
A lot of students would like to make better use of LinkedIn, but are not sure how to do so. They sometimes doubt that they can actually get a job from it. Well, the good news is, they might.
By Hillary Mantis
New Year’s Day is long over. Your resolutions have probably been forgotten. You are back to school, back to work, and back to the daily grind. But there’s one resolution you shouldn’t forget. It’s the one about you. Making sure that you are designing your career so that you will be happy, career-wise. I know that is easier said than done in this era of downsizing and competitiveness for jobs. Do you even have the luxury of thinking about what kind of job would make you happy?
By Brian Tamanaha
In Failing Law Schools, I argue that the economics of legal education don't work for the bulk of students because the high cost of a degree exceeds the economic return they obtain. In 2011, only 55% of graduates nationwide landed full-time jobs as lawyers; the average law school debt of private law school graduates was $125,000 (not counting undergraduate debt and interest accrued), and the median salary was $60,000. A law graduate who earns the median salary cannot manage the monthly payments on the average debt.
By Hillary Mantis
Ever think you would like to live the student life forever? The part where you spend your time on a beautiful campus, talking to students — but without the exams?
Maybe you can.
Working in a law school, or college, is one of the more popular alternative legal career choices. If you interact with anyone in the administration of your law school these days, chances are they are a lawyer. If you think you would enjoy working with, and helping students yourself one day, there are several potential career paths.
By Hillary Mantis
The number of recent graduates going into solo practice right after law school is on the rise. In the Class of 2011, approximately 6 percent of all graduates went right into solo practice after graduation, according to the National Association for Law Placement. This is the highest it’s been in recent years, up from 3.5 percent in 2008.
By Hillary Mantis
Have you ever thought you could be the next John Grisham? Ever sit there churning out brief after brief, while you are really yearning to write the next great American novel?
Well, maybe you can.
At least the four lawyers that I recently heard speak at “Writing on the Side: Attorneys as Fiction Writers,” held at the New York City Bar Association, have. All four have written a novel, while maintaining their full-time careers as lawyers.