July, 2011

#LawJobChat — 3 Comments
30
Jul 11

Tax Law is Sexy (#LawJobChat No. 13)

“Tax law is sexy,” tweeted @kebmurphy while promoting the 13th #LawJobChat which we held on Thursday, July 28, 2011.  I discovered during this chat that there is some truth in @kebmurphy’s statement.  Our guest tax lawyers (@atexastaxlawyer, @taxgirl, and @SoFlaEstatePlan) and one former tax laywer(@kebmurphy) shared three reasons why tax law is so “excitingly appealing” and “glamorous.”

  1. Tax lawyers have control over their practices. If you want to work in BigLaw, the tax group is probably a good choice if you want to maintain some balance and avoid all-nighters and emergencies.  If you decide you don’t like working for someone else, tax law is also an area in which a lawyer can practice in a solo or small firm setting.  Many tax lawyers in a solo or small firm setting continue to work on hot matters such as offshore compliance.
  2. Most tax lawyers are not pure tax geeks. Many tax lawyers keep their practices exciting by touching on a variety of transactional practices, such as real estate, business transactions, cross-border transactions and estate planning, rather than focusing on one specific aspect such as state and local tax.  You tend to see the pure tax geeks who focus on one specialty in the larger firms.
  3. Inexperienced tax lawyers may increase their demand with LLM or CPA. An LLM may help market new tax lawyers who don’t have an accounting or finance background. But, an LLM is not as helpful if you have significant experience.  A CPA may help tax lawyers who handle significant compliance matters.

How can you enter the field of tax law?  Our guests shared the following ideas:

  • If you are still in law school, take every tax course offered in law school.
  • Network with tax lawyers through bar associations and alumni groups.
  • Volunteer with VITA.
  • Show a genuine interest in tax law.  Your interest is more important than your experience.  Don’t ask academic questions, but share details that show your interest in tax law.
  • Read the following blogs:

Finally, click here to read the entire transcript of #LawJobChat No. 13.

#LawJobChat — No Comments
27
Jul 11

Careers in Tax Law (#LawJobChat No. 13)

Several law students have tweeted questions over the last few months about careers in tax law, so our July 2011 #LawJobChat will focus on this career path.  Join #LawJobChat this Thursday, July 28, at 9pm EDT as we explore the various roles of tax lawyers, such as representing clients before state and local taxing authorities, advising corporations or partnerships, representing high net-worth individuals, and more.  In addition to participants’ questions, we’ll explore the following:

  • Do you need an LL.M?  C.P.A?
  • How easy/difficult it is to switch practice areas as a lateral associate and enter the tax field?
  • Where can you work in this field if you don’t want to work in a law firm setting?
  • How easy/difficult is it to work in a corporate legal department?
  • Is prior accounting or business experience helpful?
  • Recommended resources/blogs for students interested in this practice area
  • Recommended courses in law school
  • Recommended summer clerkship/internship
  • Are there certain sub-specialties of tax law that are better for lawyers interested in a flexible schedule?

Our guest co-hosts for this chat have worked in a variety of settings ranging from positions at the IRS to corporate legal departments to solo practice.  Our guests  include:

Click here for details on how to participate in a Twitter Chat.  As always, I’ll post the #LawJobChat transcript following the live chat.

Performance — No Comments
16
Jul 11

Job Change Notifier for LinkedIn Connections

I previously wrote about job search clues available in your LinkedIn network updates, such as the weekly email updates informing you about a connection’s new job.  I noted in that post that job change information notifies you about (1) potential openings at the connection’s old firm/company, (2) your possible elimination as a candidate for the same position,  and (3) potential opening resulting from your connection’s new role. 

A new (free) service, Job Change Notifier, launched earlier this month and sends an email when someone in your LinkedIn network changes jobs or titles.  How is the Job Change Notifier service different from the weekly email you receive from LinkedIn notifying you of your connections’ job changes?  From what I can tell, the email you receive from LinkedIn only lists up to five connections’ job changes.  If you have a larger network (and job seekers should), you are likely to have more than five connections changing jobs/titles in a given week. 

The second difference between the LinkedIn email updates and Job Change Notifier is that Job Change Notifier sends email alerts immediately upon a contact changing his or her profile to reflect his or her new job/title.  For example, I received four email updates from Job Change Notifier on Thursday (July 14).  I received my LinkedIn email update on Tuesday (July 12).  The job changes I received from Job Change Notifier on Thursday were not listed in my July 12 LinkedIn email.  I would have to wait until the following Tuesday (July 19) to receive those updates (assuming they were the top five job changes LinkedIn chose to share with me).

It’s easy to set up the Job Change Notifier service if you are interested:

  1. Go to the Job Change Notifier website:  http://www.jobchangenotifier.com/
  2. Click the link to log on with your LinkedIn account.
  3. Enter the email address to receive job change updates.
  4. Select which LinkedIn contacts you wish to track (I selected all).  Click “Save & Finish.” 
Uncategorized — 1 Comment
4
Jul 11

Google+ for Lawyers/Law Students

I’ve been playing with Google+, Google’s new social networking platform, for the past few days.  At first glimpse, I thought it was just like Facebook minus all of my Facebook connections.  The more I play with the site, however, the more I like it.  I’ve outlined three features important for lawyers and law students, how I plan to use Google+, and resources that may help you get started with Google+.

Three Google+ Features for Lawyers/Law Students to Note

1.  Search Results. Prior to having a Google+ profile, my business website was the first result that appeared in a search for my name (Amanda Ellis or “Amanda Ellis”).  My LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles followed.  Now that  I have a Google+ profile, my Google+ profile appears first and my business website is second, followed by my LinkedIn profile.

Significance: Once I saw where my Google+ profile ranked, I was intrigued by the social networking platform but not sold.  The profile rank is significant enough that every lawyer/law student should maintain a professional profile on Google+ so they can be found in search results. Watch the video in the resources section below to see how you can create a profile.  And, read about the sparks feature to see how you can bolster your profile.

2. Sparks. Discovering the sparks feature on Google+ is what made me see the potential.  The sparks feature is like a built-in RSS.  You can select topics of interest to you, click on the topic and Google+ displays recent articles about the topic.  Then, you can share the link to the article to your Google+ connections (your circles).  For example, I selected “legal jobs” as one of my sparks, topics of interest.  The first article displayed is from yesterday about the decline in law school enrollment in Missouri because of fewer legal jobs in that market.

Lawyers can set up sparks for certain practice areas or industries.  For example, I created a spark for “Chapter 11 bankruptcy” and learned of the recent bankruptcy filings of Lambuth University and a former UGA football coach.

Significance: The sparks feature makes it easy to find information to share – information you would normally share with your professional networks via email, Twitter or LinkedIn.   Moreover, the sparks feature makes it easy to maintain a professional profile on Google+ (see #1 above for the significance of maintaining a professional profile on Google+).

3.  Circles. You group your Google+ connections by circles (watch the video in the resources section for more information about circles).  Anyone can add you to a circle and they don’t need your permission.  At first, I was alarmed when someone named “Shabooty” added me to a circle (I didn’t know the person and the person did not have a picture of himself/herself so I assumed spam).  But, I saw the potential when a lawyer from Google added me to a circle. Think about the professional connections you can make on Google+ … while the interface of the platform resembles Facebook, Google+ resembles Twitter when you consider your ability to connect with anyone. I don’t know how the Google lawyer classified me; I suspect he placed me in a “professional acquaintances” circle rather than a “friends” circle since we’ve never met.  But, that’s okay – we can still interact on a professional level like we would on Twitter or LinkedIn.  He can share personal information with his “friends” circle that I won’t see.

Significance: The circles concept is huge because it allows Google+ to take advantage of the benefits of Facebook (sharing with friends), Twitter (sharing with people you don’t know but want to get to know) and LinkedIn (sharing with professional contacts).

How I Plan to Use Google+

For now, Google+ is another professional platform for me.  Most of my high school and college friends are on Facebook, and I can’t imagine many of them migrating to Google+ anytime soon unless it’s for professional purposes (FYI most of my Google+ connections so far are professional contacts from Twitter).  So, I can’t imagine sharing old pictures, reminiscing about dance recitals, or planning a girls weekend with close friends on Google+.  But, I can imagine using Google+ to expand my professional network by interacting and sharing articles and information with professional contacts.  I don’t see Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter disappearing anytime soon, but I do see potential in Google+.

Resources for Getting Started with Google+

Watch the video in this post to set up and navigate your Google+ profile.

If you are curious about the potential of Google+, read Chris Brogan’s list of 50 things to think about with regards to Google+.

#LawJobChat / Performance — 1 Comment
1
Jul 11

Raising Your Profile to Get Hired (#LawJobChat No. 12)

It’s no secret that raising your profile through speaking, writing, blogging and other activities leads to new career opportunities.  Jack Whittington, a May 2011 graduate of The University of Tulsa College of Law, explains in this post how an employer already knew about him before he interviewed because the employer had read his blogs.

During our June 2011 #LawJobChat, @arikaplan @adriandayton and @cordellparvin shared their thoughts on how law students and associates can raise their profiles.  You can read the entire transcript of #LawJobChat No. 12, and I’ve also summarized some highlights below.

Writing

  • Select topic that addresses a timely client problem, opportunity or change
  • Submit articles to industry association publications
  • Submit articles to law school alumni magazine
  • Attend events that reporters and editors are attending – for example, @adriandayton met an editor for the National Law Journal at an ALM business development event
  • Review editorial calendars which tell you what editors are looking for and when (BONUS: @arikaplan will send #lawjobchat participants copies of his 2011 editorial calendars – tweet to him if you are interested)

Blogging

  • Must be consistent – post at least once a week (more if you have something to say that clients care about)
  • Short (250-500 words), short paragraphs, bullet points or lists
  • Follow @copyblogger or @problogger for additional ideas on blogging
  • Collaborate – guest blog or offer clients opportunity to post on your blog
  • Interview industry leaders to use as content for article or blog post  – @arikaplan interviewed the CEO of @thebighandtweet for @lawdotcom guest blog post and @thebighandtweet ended up sponsoring @arikaplan’s 12-city book tour

Speaking

  • Contact local bar association – have speaking topic/idea in mind and explain who you are, why you’re qualified, and the relevance of the topic/idea
  • If your practice is industry focused, get to know the executives of the industry association so they can recommend you for speaking opportunities
  • Speaking to other lawyers (bar association events) may be a waste of time; may want to focus on speaking to your clients (for example, contractors if you are a construction lawyer) — exception:  your practice generates significant business from referrals by other attorneys
  • Hold something back and let participants know you’ll send it to them after the event