June, 2010

#LawJobChat / Performance — No Comments
21
Jun 10

6 Lessons for Lawyers Looking to Leave BigLaw (#LawJobChat No. 1 – 6/24/10)

On Thursday, June 24, Melissa Sachs and I moderated the inaugural #LawJobChat.  The topic was leaving BigLaw, and we had four fabulous guest co-hosts tweet about their experiences and answer questions.  The guest co-hosts included:

  1. Don Cruse (@doncruse) - Texas appellate lawyer, publisher of @scotxblog, and creator of @docketdb.  Don worked as a litigator at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz before returning to Texas to eventually open his own firm.
  2. Todd Smith (@dtoddsmith) – Texas appellate lawyer and publisher of the Texas Appellate Law Blog.  Todd started his own practice in 2006 after spending nearly a decade with Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., where he was a member of the appellate and litigation groups
  3. Kianga Ellis (@KiangaEllis) – Art Enthusiast and founder of Avail Art, L.L.C., an incubator for innovative projects that connect people to the arts through social media and new technologies.  She previously practiced at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and in-house  at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.
  4. Renee Fishman (@reneefishman) – NYC Real Estate Broker, Vice President – Halstead Property, LLC.  Renee practiced law at Weil, Gotshal & Manges as well as in-house before entering the real estate field.

Melissa and I asked the guests the following questions:

  1. Q1:  At what point in your career did you realize you wanted to leave BigLaw to do something else?  What factors motivated you?
  2. Q2: Did you know what you wanted to do when you left BigLaw?
  3. Q3: Any advice for BigLaw attorneys who want to leave but aren’t sure what they want to do next?
  4. Q4: Did you begin saving money before leaving BigLaw?  How far in advance?
  5. Q5: What BigLaw opportunities should current BigLaw associates take advantage of while in BigLaw?  Anything you took for granted while there?
  6. Q6: Share a networking tip, resource, or organization that has helped you in your entrepreneurial endeavor.
  7. Final Q: Would you ever return to BigLaw? Any other advice you haven’t shared but wanted to share?

You can read the transcript of the chat here (it contains most of the conversation though we noticed that some tweets tagged with #lawjobchat are missing from the transcript).  Some key points include:

  1. Save. If you are practicing in BigLaw, start saving money now–even if you aren’t currently planning to leave.
  2. Wait. Do not leave BigLaw until you know where you want to go.  Don’t leave just for the sake of leaving.
  3. Plan. If you want to leave BigLaw, you need a plan.  Talk to people who are doing what you want to do.  Establish a time-line.
  4. Volunteer. If you want to leave the practice of law completely, you need some non-legal experience on your resume.   Volunteer work is one of the best ways to get non-legal experience.  Serve on committees, plan events.
  5. Learn. Learn how to read a financial statement before you leave BigLaw.
  6. Understand. Life after BigLaw is not easier.  You will likely work harder and longer hours–the difference is that you are doing something you love and control.

Please join us for our next chat on Thursday, July 29 at 9pm EDT/8pm CDT.  Follow @LawJobChat for more details.

#LawJobChat / Performance — 2 Comments
14
Jun 10

#LawJobChat

Imagine being able to ask questions about your legal job search or career and receiving feedback from practicing attorneys, law firm recruiters, law school career counselors, and career experts across the country?

You can!  Beginning Thursday, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Melissa Sachs and I will host #LawJobChat on Twitter.  We invite you to participate and wanted to share some details, such as why we decided to organize #LawJobChat, who can participate, what topics will be discussed, when and where #LawJobChat occurs, and how you can participate.

Why: I often see law students and attorneys asking job search questions on Twitter, such as when is it appropriate to follow up after a resume submission or interview.  #LawJobChat will provide forum where job seekers, practicing attorneys, law firm recruiters, and career experts can discuss such job search questions.

Moreover, #LawJobChat affords attorney job-seekers the opportunity to expand their professional networks by meeting and interacting with others in the legal profession.

Who: All legal professionals are invited to participate though most discussions, as for now, will focus on the job search and career paths of attorneys.  Please follow the #LawJobChat Twitter page, @LawJobChat for updates.  #LawJobChat is moderated by @aellislegal and @mjsq

What: #LawJobChat is a Twitter Chat, an organized group discussion on Twitter at a specific time and about specific topic.  #LawJobChat will focus on job searches and career paths of attorneys.

  • Topics & Guest Co-hosts: Melissa and I will select the topics and guest co-hosts on the Monday prior to the Thursday chat.  Follow @LawJobChat for updates.   Guest co-hosts will consist of practicing attorneys, law firm recruiters, law school career counselors, and career experts.
  • Q&A format: We will tweet a question to start the chat but encourage participants to raise their own questions on the selected topic as well.  The guest co-hosts as well as any participant may respond to questions.

When: #LawJobChat occurs on the last Thursday of each month, beginning June 24, 9:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Where: I prefer using a third-party Twitter application designed for chats like TweetChat.  You can use any Twitter application that allows you to search hashtags or even the Twitter website.

How: Six easy steps to get started on TweetChat!

  1. Go to www.tweetchat.com.Twitter chat tweetchat screen
  2. Enter the name of our chat – lawjobchat – in the box at the top of the screen and click Go.  **NOTE: I used #blogchat, a Sunday evening Twitter chat for bloggers, to illustrate how a chat works.
    Twitter chat tweetchat screen 2
  3. The tweets from the chat will appear on your screen.  Click Sign In so you can participate through your Twitter account.
    twitter chat type in blogchat
  4. Click Allow to grant TweetChat permission to access your Twitter account.Twitter chat tweetchat access
  5. You can read tweets from the chat in real time without having to refresh your browser.  You don’t have to add the hashtag because TweetChat will add it for you.Twitter chat test post
  6. My test tweet appears as the fourth tweet in the stream.Twitter chat successful tweet

Finally, a transcript of each chat will be posted on @LawJobChat.  We hope you follow us at @LawJobChat and participate on Thursday, June 24 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Performance — No Comments
13
Jun 10

Law School Career Offices on Facebook & Twitter

The Appendix to my book for job-seeking lawyers and law students contains a chart of law school career offices on Facebook and Twitter.  I’m sharing the draft chart and welcome input from schools if I’ve omitted any.  I am happy to add schools to the chart before the book is printed.  Please contact me by June 21 to be included.

Additionally, please note the following caveats about the chart:

  • This chart outlines accounts affiliated with career offices or accounts of personnel from the career offices who share career-related information.  Many law schools have their own accounts.  To find your law school on Facebook, enter your school name in the search bar.  To find your law school (or others affiliated with your law school, such as administrators or other departments) on Twitter, you may want to review How Law Schools are Using Twitter.
  • There are additional personnel from career offices with Twitter accounts.  This chart only includes accounts that have tweeted in the past 30 days.
  • Most career offices with a presence on Facebook have a Page, a public profile which users can “like” and then receive updates through their news feed.  A few career offices on the chart have an open Group (denoted by *); the content is open but doesn’t appear in your news feed.

School

Facebook

Twitter
Boston University @BULawCDO
Case Western Reserve University Case Western School of Law Career Services Office
Chapman University @ChapmanCSO
Columbia University Columbia Law School Office of Career Services @CLSCareers
DePaul University DePaul University Law Career Services Office @DePaulLawCareer
Duke University @DukeLawCareer
Florida International University FIU Law Career Development
Franklin Pierce Law Center Franklin Pierce Law Center Career Services Office
Georgetown University @KristenHulse (Kristen Hulse, LL.M. Advisor)
Georgia State University @GSULawCSO
Golden Gate University @GGULCS
John Marshall Law School The John Marshall Law School Career Services Office
La Verne Law School La Verne Law Career Services
Loyola Marymount University Loyola Law School Office of Career Services*
Loyola University Chicago Loyola Law CSO (Chicago)
Loyola University New Orleans @nolachickadee (Amy Schwarzenbach, Career Counselor & Recruiting Coordinator)
Mercer University Mercer Law School Career Services
Michigan State University MSU College of Law Career Services
New England School of Law @NELBostonCSO
North Carolina Central University @pag2010 (Philip Guzman, Director of Public Service Programs)

@spag1999 (Linda Spagnola, Assistant Dean for Career Services)
Northeastern University Northeastern School of Law Career Services
Northwestern University @nlawcareer
Nova Southeastern University (Broad) NSU Law Career Development
Oklahoma City University OCU Law Professional & Career Development Center
Pace University @PaceLawCCD
Pennsylvania State University (Dickinson) Penn State Law Career Services
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey – Camden @RUCamLawCPO
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey – Newark @RUNewarkLawCSO
South Texas College of Law South Texas College of Law – Career Resources Center
St. Mary’s University St. Mary’s University School of Law Office of Career Services
Stanford University @SLSCareer
Suffolk University Suffolk University Law School Career Development Office @SuffolkCDO
Texas Tech University @TechLawCSC
Touro College (Fuchsberg) @TouroLawCSO
Tulane University Tulane Law Career Development Office @TulaneLawCDO

@KatieWOLeary (Katie O’Leary, Assistant Director CDO)
University of Alabama @TomKsobiech (Tom Ksobiech, Assistant Dean for Career Services)
University of California Hastings College of the Law @hastingscareers
University of Chicago @UChicagoLawOCS
University of Detroit Mercy University of Detroit Mercy School of Law – Career Services Office*
University of Florida (Levin) University of Florida College of Law – Center for Career Development
University of Houston @UHLCCareerDean
University of Iowa Career Services at the UI College of Law
University of Louisville Brandeis University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law Career & Public Services
University of Minnesota @Cygnus360 (Victor Massaglia, Career Counselor)

@staceytidball (Stacey Tidball, Associate Director Career & Professional Development)
University of Nebraska @unllawcareer
University of Richmond @URLawCSO
University of San Diego Career Services University of San Diego School of Law
University of San Francisco Office of Career Planning, University of San Francisco School of Law @usflawocp

@marinafeehan (Marina Feehan, Assistant Director for Employer Relations)
University of Southern California USC Law School Career Services
University of Texas @UTLawCSO

@drewcarls (Drew Carls, On-Campus Interview Coordinator)
University of Tulsa College of Law @tulawpdo
University of Virginia Career Services at the University of Virginia School of Law @UVALawCareer
University of Washington UW Law Career Planning Office*
Villanova University @DeanPetrossian (Elaine Petrossian, Assistant Dean Career Strategy Office)
Wake Forest University Wake Forest University School of Law Career Services @wakelawcareers
Washburn University @WashburnLawPDO
Washington and Lee University Washington & Lee School of Law, Office of Career Planning
Western New England College Western New England College School of Law — Career Services
Key:

*Facebook Group – Open