Preparing for a Legal CareerEileen Doyle Crane, J.D.University Prelaw AdvisorUtah Valley University

Stages of Career Progression Prelaw Law Students Law School Alumni Law Practice Legal Work Outside of Law Licensure Officer of the Court Community Leader

Prelaw Issues Quality of education Building skills

Reading Writing Logic Major Oral Professional behavior

Prelaw Issues Curriculum

20-page paper per semester Reading outside of textbooks

Faculty Mentor Advising

Prelaw advisor 100 x JD: Connected Lawyers are Happy Lawyers Law School Preparation

Test prep Application procedures

Applications Personal Statement Resume Addendum Letters of Recommendation Financial Aid Application

Law School Coursework Study requirements Law Review Moot Court Competition Student Bar Association Career Services Alumni Association

Law Students 1L curriculum set by school/ABA

Constitutional, torts, criminal, property, contracts, and civil procedure

Legal writing and advocacy course 2L & 3L curriculum

21-25 topics on state bars Specialties in law Clinical and theoretical courses Choices informed by goals, summer work, job

prospects

Law Students Faculty mentor 100 x JD outreach Student Bar Association

School-based National organization

Career Services Office Mock interview and resume service Courses OCI: On-Campus Interviews Job prospects built on the back of alumni Alumni Association

Law School Alumni Donate time and money to school Create connections for current law students

with future potential employers Serve on Alumni Association board Serve as Board of Visitor’s members Create initiatives for law school Advise current administration of law school Become practicing attorneys, business and

political leaders, and law faculty Teach as adjunct faculty

Law Practice State bar license Placement data:

http://www.nalp.org/uploads/NationalSummaryChartforSchools2010.pdf

Data on Class of 2010 Reported 34,092/44,258 77% Private/Public Sector 66%/32.5% Academic 3.7% Business 15.0% Judicial Clerkships 9.3% Unknown 1.5% Private Practice 50.9% Government 12.8% Public Interest 6.7%

Law Practice Size of Firm Reports Reported 18,329

2-10 39.1% 11-25 8.9% 26-50 5.3% 51-100 4.2% 101-250 5.6% 251-500 6.0% 501+ 20.5% Unknown 4.9% Solo 5.7%

Law Practice Salaries, 2010 Bi-Modal Curve:

http://www.nalp.org/salarycurve_classof2010 Catalyst –Organization that studies women in the professions, leadership,

mentoring, and salaries and satisfaction Sponsorship is Important for Women

Beyond that, sponsorship is particularly important for women. As Catalyst research on women and men in the pipeline has shown, women start out behind and often remain behind men, even with mentoring.7 However, when women’s mentors are highly placed, women are just as likely as men to get promoted.8 That’s where power and sponsorship come into play. A highly placed, influential mentor, more precisely called a sponsor, goes far beyond giving general career feedback and advice; a sponsor can propel a protégé to the top of a list or pile of candidates or even eliminate the list itself. As one high performer we interviewed put it: If [you’re with] the right people, they can give you that different look. They will

listen to you more. It’s... like the sun goes up a few wattage points. —Woman Protégée

Legal Work Outside of Law Community Service Politics Writing Building a resume when not involved in

paid settings

Licensure State-based Reciprocity Utah Bar: www.utahbar.org MPRE—test of ethics understanding for lawyers

State determines passing score Offered three times per year

March August November

Bar exam offered twice per year February July

Officer of the Court Duty to uphold the system Representative at ALL times

Never not an attorney Requires honesty and law-abiding behavior Grievance Committee

Not answering phone calls in a timely manner Dealing with client funds

Community Leader Opportunities to serve in many capacities Ability to listen, organize action and non-action items, ability to theorize

as well as generate practicable solutions to difficult and detailed problems Opportunity to network and build practice Ethical issues abound and must be taken seriously J. Reuben Clark Law Society

www.jrcls.org We affirm the strength brought to the law by a lawyer's personal religious

conviction. We strive through public service and professional excellence to promote fairness and virtue founded upon the rule of the law.

Student Chapters at over 100 law schools in US and abroad Duty to pro bono work

Most states require/recommend 50 hours per year Pro bono work NOT the work you expected to get paid for that you charge off Work for those for whom the system can not/will not serve UNLESS YOU do the

work!