Legal Job Resources

If you are reading this, you are likely nearing your law school graduation.  Congratulations.  Perhaps you are still looking for employment or preparing for the bar exam.  This is probably a stressful time for you.  Now that you are nearing the end, you may still feel that there is a lot ahead of you.  There is, but that does not mean that it can not be made manageable.   Law school itself may have seemed overwhelming when you first began.  But, by taking each day at a time, you made it through.  By taking each day at a time and prioritizing, you will find that the bar exam and finding a legal job are both manageable tasks. 

I have compiled some information for a few books that are helpful for finding a legal job or starting your own law practice out of law school.  The legal economy is said to be at its toughest currently, and I recommend searching for a legal job during your last year of law school if you have not received an offer after your second summer.  If you are in your third year of law school, I strongly recommend taking a clinical class during one of your semesters and getting practical work experience during the other.  Legal employers favor those with relevant work experience when it comes to hiring.

The following books can be ordered through Amazon.com and are often available used at a discounted price.  I have linked them from here.  I recommend purchasing or checking out at least one book on the subject and using the strategies within to help you with finding that critical first legal job.

How To Interview Like A Pro: Forty-Three Rules For Getting Your Next Job

Wonderfully written with practical advice in all areas for interviewing! Mary Greenwood,J.D.,LL.M, builds on her years of experience in personnel and as an attorney to create a masterpiece to guide anyone preparing for an interview. I have been an interviewer in several roles--the last two as Superintendent of Schools and as a professor acting as one part of inerview teams.The topics which cover all aspects of preparation are right on target. Questions for the interviewee to ask are very important.Suggested questions are posed for consideration. This is one aspect that is often neglected. The author is correct when she writes that if no questions are asked, or if they are not appropriate, then the job-seeker stands little chance of being hired. Research must be done by the interviewee. Certainly the application is very important, but the interview is the clincher. Reading this book will help anyone prepare for that critical interview.

Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams, 2nd Edition

Whether you're looking for a summer clerkship or your first permanent job after law school, this work is the key to getting the legal job of your dreams. This book leads you step-by-step through everything you need to do to nail down that perfect job. You'll learn hundreds of simple-to-use strategies that will get you exactly where you want to go.


Nail Your Law Job interview: The Essential Guide to Firm, Clerkship, Government, In-House, and Lateral Interviews

Winner, 2009 Career Book of the Year Award in ForeWord magazine (Gold Medal)Finalist, 2009 BOYTA Awards from Foreword Book Reviews
Finalist, 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in career category

Nail Your Law Job Interview provides tips, examples, and substantive advice. This award-winning book is the only comprehensive interview guide for lawyers interviewing for any type of a legal job.

Through real-life examples, interviews, and tips from hundreds of prominent legal professionals, judges, recruiters, and firm partners, this book reveals successful interview strategies, insider perspectives, bold moves, and unique challenges facing candidates in a difficult economy.

Make It Your Own Law Firm: The Ultimate Law Student's Guide to Owning, Managing, and Marketing Your Own Successful Law Firm

Every law student and recent graduate should get this book.  It offers much needed guidance to attorneys just starting out or struggling and in need of a refreshing new direction. His advice is worth following.
--Ken Hardison, Esquire CEO PILMMA

I wish I had had a copy of this book when I first stated practicing law.  It gives a logical step-by-step approach without any candy coating. --Morris Dees-Founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center

I can't tell you what a valuable tool this book will be to recent graduates and experienced attorneys looking to open their own shops, especially in today's legal marketplace. --Marcelyn R. Cox, Assistant Dean University of Miami School of Law

Spencer has such passion for this subject, having taught extensively about it and lectured on it at multiple law schools. --Leonard P. Strickman, Professor and Founding Dean Emeritus Florida International University College of Law

I think this book can bring hope to many a young lawyer and even an old one or two who struggle for their freedom.  Too many of us are slaves to wages, or unhappy partnerships.  To own oneself is the greatest wealth a person can have. --Gerry Spence

Solo by Choice 2011-2012: How to Be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be (Career Resources for a Life in the Law)

This 2nd edition of Solo by Choice is dedicated to every lawyer who ever wanted to run the show but worried that going solo was career suicide ... to every lawyer who wanted to solo but didn't know how to set up the office and make it work ... to every lawyer who never set foot in a courtroom or a boardroom but dreamed of one day practicing law their way ... and to every lawyer captivated by the promise of technology to enable better, cheaper ways of serving clients and expanding access to justice but was stymied by naysayers. In short, this book is dedicated to becoming the lawyer you always wanted to be.

$olo Contendere: How to Go Directly from Law School into the Practice of Law - Without Getting a Job

"Solo Contendre" by Marc Garfunkel is the instruction packet that should come, standard issue, with every J.D. A quick read, Mr. Garfunkel uses simple and plain language to establish a straightforward framework that serves to instruct the reader on how to approach the myriad of challenges that comes with setting up a law office. Issues covered run the gambit from making you think about logistics (acquiring office space, obtaining equipment, etc.) to marketing and expanding one's clientele base. It will not make you less anxious about practicing the law, but this book does help you focus on working through the problems that come with a new practice in such a way that, by the book's end, you should have a functional plan of action. In these rough economic times, going solo is increasingly appealing to law school graduates, and I highly recommend this book for anyone (even if you are just graduating) interested in building their own practice.