Office Description

The Office of Professional Development blog is your resource for up to the minute news, advice, and information relating to your career and professional development.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Fall 2013 Recruiting Program

ABOUT FALL RECRUITING
The Fall Recruiting Program is a competitive program in which employers preselect and interview students for summer 2014 positions. Summer law clerk positions with participating employers may offer a wide-variety of professional experiences including researching and drafting memoranda of law, attending depositions, meetings, hearings, and trials, participating in social outings and activities, and much more. Such summer positions may lead to long-term, post-graduate employment.

Though the Fall Recruiting Program has existed for many years, it has always been an employer-driven, selective hiring program. (When surveyed after graduation, less than 10 percent reported fall or spring recruiting as the method used to obtain post-graduate employment.) Fall Recruiting continues to evolve as major law firms and government agencies dramatically limit the number schools visited and reduce the number of summer and permanent hires. Despite this reduced status for fall recruiting, many large law firms continue to hire in the fall on an extremely selective basis for summer and post-graduate positions.

Qualified students with an interest in participating employers are strongly encouraged to participate in the Fall Recruiting Program.

RECRUITING SESSIONS
Capital University Law School’s Fall Recruiting Program offers employers three interview sessions:
·         Early Interview Week (August 12 – August 16)
o    Application Deadline: July 19, 2013, by 6:00 PM
o    NOTE: this interview week occurs before the fall semester begins.
·         September Interviews (September 4 – September 30)
o    Application Deadline: August 14, 2013, by 6:00 PM
·         October Interviews (October 1 – October 31)
o    Application Deadline: September 6, 2013, by 6:00 PM

There are no exceptions made to application deadlines.

ELIGIBILITY 
To participate in fall recruiting, you must be a 2D, 3E, 3D, or 4E student (classes of 2014 and 2015). If you started law school as a part-time student (day or evening division) and switched to the full-time program after the first-year, you may participate in fall recruiting. If you do not fall into either category, please see Director Beem.

SYMPLICITY
The Office of Professional Development uses Symplicity to manage the fall recruiting program. Each employer will register and indicate any specific hiring criteria including class year, class rank or Grade Point Average (GPA), and materials to be submitted. All materials requested by participating employers will be submitted online via Symplicity (with the occasional exception for undergraduate transcripts).

Beginning on Monday, June 3, 2013, you may log in to your Symplicity account and click on the “OCI” tab located in the top menu to see the employers participating in our fall recruiting program. Additional employers will be scheduling throughout the months of June and July. You should check Symplicity at least once a week for updates.

Note that when you log in to Symplicity you will only see employers seeking your class year. In addition the default session will be the October Interview Session. Be sure to change the session using the “Session” drop down menu in order to see employers seeking your class year. If you do not see any participating employers in a session, then no participating employer is currently seeking your class year.

Please check Symplicity to make sure your class year is correct. Go to Profile > Academic > Year in School. If it is incorrect, please change and notify Director Beem.


If you are in need of a Symplicity username and password, please contact OPD@law.capital.edu.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Be sure to see Director Beem's email dated Thursday, May 30, 2013, and accompanying PDF.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Post-Graduate Resume Tip

For our recent law school graduates, updating your resume to reflect graduation honors and conferred degree is an important step. Keep the following in mind when making updates:

  1. You earned a Juris Doctor. You do not have a Doctor of Laws or a Juris Doctorate.
  2. If you earned academic honors, these are listed in using lowercase letters with a comma following the degree. 
    • For example, Juris Doctor, magna cum laude
  3. When listing your grade point average (GPA), list only your final cumulative GPA.
  4. Your class rank should be listed as both a number and a percentage.
    • For example, Class Rank: 10/100  Top 10%
  5. Unless otherwise informed, externships should be treated like work experience and listed in your resume's experience section. Give lots of details!
As a graduate, you still have access to the Office of Professional Development. When the bar exam studies are behind you, feel free to make an appointment or to send your resume to our office for review.

Congratulations on your recent graduation!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

MCBA Monroe County Legal Diversity & Inclusion Job Fair


Monroe County Bar Association 2nd Annual Legal Diversity & Inclusion Job Fair will be held in Rochester, New York on August 2 & 3, 2013.

See more information at the link below:





Telesca Center for Justice
One W. Main Street, 10th Floor
Rochester, New York 14614
585-546-1817
Louise Spinelli
Continuing Legal Education Manager

P:  585-402-7189
C:  585-474-7384
F:  585-546-1807

Latham Diversity Scholars Program

Latham & Watkins is once again pleased to announce the Latham Diversity Scholars Program, which will award a $10,000 non-renewable scholarship to each of six second-year law students. Factors considered in choosing the Latham Diversity Scholars will include a candidate’s:

1.    Ability and commitment to contribute to the diversity objectives of global law firms
2.    Life experiences that have shaped values and that provide a unique perspective, including any obstacles or challenges faced in choosing or pursuing law as a profession
3.    Academic and/or leadership achievements; Desire to practice in a global law firm environment


This scholarship is not contingent upon receiving or accepting an offer of employment at Latham. Rather, it is open to all law students in the hope that greater diversity among the attorneys at large law firms will benefit the entire profession. The Latham Diversity Scholars Program, among other outreach efforts by Latham’s Diversity Hiring Subcommittee, enhances Latham’s efforts to recruit and hire diverse summer clerks and attorneys.


Students will be asked to submit an application form, personal statement, resume and official or unofficial law school transcript by September 27, 2013. Recipients will be announced in early 2014.



Applications can also be found online, http://www.lw.com/diversityScholars.

Friday, May 17, 2013

The Advocates for Life Legal Writing Contest


Advocates for Life Legal Writing Contest

The 2013 Advocates for Life Legal Writing Contest, administered by Americans United for Life. Please read this document carefully before submitting your entry.

Eligibility

·         This contest is open to law students at ABA-accredited law schools who graduate in the spring of 2013 or later.
·         This contest is open to individuals and to pairs. If a pair competes, both members of the pair must be students at ABA-accredited law schools who graduate in the spring of 2013 or later. If a pair wins first, second, or third place, the monetary prize will be split equally between the two co-authors.

Entries

·         Entries must be responsive to the prompt, which can be found on the next page.
·         Entries must be saved as a Microsoft Word document and emailed to advocates@aul.org, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 20, 2013.
·         Entries should use 12-point Times New Roman font, be double spaced, and have one inch margins.
·         Please include a cover page which states your name, school, and month and year of graduation. This information may not appear anywhere else in your entry, so that all entries will be judged blind.
·         The maximum word count, without footnotes, is 10,000 words. Shorter entries are strongly encouraged.
·         Citations must be formatted according to the Bluebook.
·         Any entry that is not the author’s original work and/or contains plagiarism will be excluded from the contest.
·         Any entry that has been previously published will be excluded from the contest.

Prompt

State has the following statute on homicide:
State Criminal Code Chapter 1, §1: Definitions
(1) Homicide is the knowing or intentional killing of one human being by another.
(2) For purposes of this chapter, the term “human being” includes an unborn child at every stage of gestation from conception until live birth.
(3) The term “unborn child” means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.
State Criminal Code Chapter 1, §2: Limitations
(1) This chapter does not apply to acts which cause the death of an unborn child if those acts were committed during an abortion performed by a licensed physician to which the pregnant woman consented.
(2) This chapter does not apply to the consensual good faith performance of medical practice, including diagnostic testing, therapeutic treatment, and the lawful prescription and use of medication, when provided to a pregnant woman by a physician or other licensed health care provider.
(3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow the charging or conviction of a woman with any criminal offense in the death of her own unborn child in utero.

Subsequent sections of State Criminal Code Chapter 1 divide homicide into degrees and prescribe various sentencing possibilities. The maximum penalty for first-degree murder is life imprisonment. All common-law criminal defenses (e.g. duress, self-defense) are available in State.

State legislature then passes a piece of legislation, the Prenatal Right to Life Restoration Act (“the Act”), which strikes Chapter 1, §2(1) from the State Criminal Code and replaces it with the following text:

This chapter applies to abortions performed by licensed physicians. ‘Abortion’ means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child. Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child; remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion; or remove an ectopic pregnancy. The Act also contains the following findings of fact:

(1) The life of each human individual begins at fertilization. This is not an opinion or an unknowable mystery, but a demonstrated scientific fact.
(2) The laws of this State and of many other jurisdictions reflect the widespread medical and societal consensus that human life begins prior to birth. Unborn children receive legal recognition in many areas of law, including but not limited to fetal homicide prosecutions, wrongful death actions, and probate matters. The lack of recognition for unborn children in the law of abortion is an anomaly.
(3) Abortion presents significant short-term and long-term risks to women. The most comprehensive studies now available indicate that abortion is not safer than childbirth, in contrast to the more limited data available in 1973. In addition, studies show that abortion presents a risk of premature birth and low birth weight in subsequent pregnancies. This State has a strong interest in preventing these adverse health outcomes.
(4) This State rejects the notion that abortion is necessary to achieve gender equality. The impressive achievements of women in this State need not come at the expense of unborn children.
(5) For all of the above reasons, the Supreme Court’s abortion decisions are fundamentally flawed.

A group of abortion providers operating in State immediately sues the State Attorney General in federal court. The Act is enjoined during litigation. The abortion providers argue that the Act is unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992). State acknowledges the Act’s incompatibility with these precedents, but seeks to have the precedents revisited by the Supreme Court.

The abortion providers prevail in the District and Circuit Courts. The Supreme Court of the United States grants State’s petition for writ of certiorari. Before the Supreme Court, the federal government joins State in asking for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, thereby allowing each state to legislate the legal status of abortion. 

You are the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Write the majority opinion in favor of State.

Judging

Entries will be judged on two dimensions:
1.    Scholarly excellence: Entries should apply appropriate constitutional principles and legal precedents, and analyze relevant historical and sociological information. Clearly articulated arguments, correct grammar, and thorough citations are essential.
2.    Inspirational tone: Authors should strive to achieve an appropriate tone for the momentous occasion of overturning Roe v. Wade.

Judges will be selected from the legal academy and the pro-life bar.

Prizes
·         The first-place author will be awarded $1000, and the winning entry will be published in Human Life Review.
·         The second-place author will be awarded $750.
·         The third-place author will be awarded $500.
·         In addition, the first-, second-, and third-place authors will all be recognized at the
·         Advocates for Life reception in January 2014.

Rights

By submitting your entry to this contest, you grant Americans United for Life a non-exclusive right to distribute your entry and excerpts of your entry.

U.S. EPA Region 9 2013 Honors Attorney Fellowship

The EPA Region 9 Honors Attorney Fellowship is a two-year term appointment, designed for a recent law school graduate with excellent academic credentials and a strong interest in an environmental law career and the public sector. It provides an opportunity for entry-level attorneys to practice law in a leading governmental environmental organization, and to receive extensive training in and exposure to environmental law and policy work in the public sector.

Eligibility
Recent law school graduates, as well as recent graduates who are completing judicial clerkships or another fellowship, are eligible. Fellows must be bar members, or have membership pending or awaiting bar exam results.

Salary
The salary will be set when a vacancy announcement is issued. Full benefits are provided, but relocation expenses are not authorized.

Applications
The following documents are required with an application:
1.    Cover letter explaining the applicant's interest in the Fellowship.
2.    Resume, including significant accomplishments, work experience, class rank, contact telephone numbers, and e-mail address.
3.    Official transcript of law school grades.
4.    Name, address and telephone numbers of 3 references, including a current or former employer and a law school professor or advisor.
5.    Veterans should include appropriate documentation, such as DD214 (copy 4), your VA letter, or Standard Form-15 (disabled veteran).

Selected applicants will be invited for telephonic interviews.  A writing sample will be required of each selected candidate prior to the interview.
Questions

Questions about the 2013 Honors Attorney Fellowship and applications should be directed to: R9ORCHonors@epa.gov or online, http://www.epa.gov/region9/orc/positions.html#students


John J. Lyons
Acting Deputy Regional Counsel

St. Louis Diversity Job Fair


St. Louis Diversity Job Fair Fact Sheet

The St. Louis Diversity Job Fair will be held on August 2-3, 2013.  Law students who are registered for the Job Fair will receive email announcements with all Job Fair specifics or may find information posted on the Job Fair web site: www.stldiversityjobfair.com.

Once a student registers for the Job Fair, they will be given information regarding participating employers’ hiring criteria, offices/cities for which each employer is interviewing, and J.D. year(s) required by the employer. 

Each employer schedule allows for 16 interviews, and each interview is 20 minutes in length.  Interviews begin at 8:00 a.m. with one 10 minute break in the morning, a Job Fair luncheon for students and employers (attendance is free for students) and then one more mid-afternoon break before the last set of interviews for the day.  Interviews will conclude 4:30 p.m. 


REGISTRATION


Registration and bidding can be completed at https://law-sldjf-csm.symplicity.com/

THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MAY 31, 2013. ALL DOCUMENTATION MUST BE SUBMITTED BY THE DEADLINE OR IT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

NETWORKING EVENT

On Friday, August 2, there will be law student/attorney networking dinners for all law students who are interested in attending who are registered for the Job Fair.  The networking dinners will give lawyers and students an opportunity to do some informal networking.  

STIPEND

The St. Louis Diversity Job Fair offers full or partial stipends to students who are unable to attend the Job Fair without financial assistance.  Students who need financial assistance to contact Danielle Carr at jdc@greensfelder.com. Application must be completed in order to be considered for a stipend and must be submitted by Monday, July 1, 2013 at midnight (CST).

CONTACT

Danielle Carr
Director of Professional Development & Inclusion
Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.
10 S. Broadway, Suite 2000
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 335-6833 (direct dial)
(314) 780-8364 (cell)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

ABA Law Student Division 2013-2014 National Leadership Opportunities


ABA Law Student Division
2013-2014 National Leadership Opportunities

Submit Your Nomination for
Division Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates or Vice Chair-SBA
Deadline for Receipt: 11:59pm on June 1, 2013

Delegates to the ABA House of Delegates
The Law Student Division elects three Delegates to the ABA House of Delegates (the ABA's governing body) to serve a one-year term. In short, these delegates are responsible for:

  • Representing the Division in the ABA House of Delegates and advocating Division positions to other ABA entities;
  • Advocating ABA House of Delegates adoption of Division resolutions, co-sponsored resolutions, and resolutions directly affecting law students and legal education;
  • Serving as the primary contact and coordinators to the 65+ Law Student Division liaisons to other ABA entities; and
  • Working with Division and other ABA leaders to promote, advocate and lobby for law student and legal education legislation.
For more information, a position overview and a Nomination Form for the Division Delegate position, visit ambar.org/lsdleadership.

Vice Chair-Student Bar Associations
Student Bar Associations serve as an essential link between the Division and law students around the country. SBA Presidents bring the concerns and issues of their students from a regional level to the ABA national level. The Vice Chair-SBA serves as the voice and representative of SBAs on a national level. Serving a one-year term, the Vice Chair-SBA is responsible for:

  • Strengthening relationships between Student Bar Associations and the ABA;
  • Facilitating discussions on legal education, law school, and law student issues among SBA Presidents;
  • Representing the interests of student bar associations and assisting these organization leaders in drafting/filing policy recommendations; and
  • Maintaining and developing resources and materials for the Division's SBA webpage, handbook, conferences and law school chapters.
For more information, a position overview and a Nomination Form for the Vice Chair-SBA position, visit ambar.org/lsdleadership.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Fifth Annual Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium

Sponsored by OSU Extension Agricultural Resource Law Program & the 
Ohio State Bar Association:

June 23 & 24, 2013
Cherry Valley Lodge
2299 Cherry Valley Road
Newark, OH

Featuring

·         Crop Insurance Disputes
·         Trucking and Labor Compliance for Farms
·         ODA Update
·         Protecting the Agri-business
·         Produce and Food Business Regulations
·         Estate and Business Planning
·         Sunday Bonus CLE on Ethics, Professionalism & Substance Abuse

The Fifth Annual Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium is a partnership between Ohio State University Extension Agricultural and Resource Law Program, the Ohio State Bar Association and the OSBA Agricultural Law Committee. Join us for a day of education and discussion about current legal issues for Ohio farmers and agri-businesses.

Registration & Fees

Registration Register online with Ohio State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education at www.ohiobar.org or by phone at 1-800-232-7124.

Ø  5.5 CLE Credits
Plus
Ø  2.5 Bonus CLE Credits

·         Fees for pre-registered OSBA members are $270
·         Non-member pre-registered rate is $335
·         Call for non-CLE rates

Location

Cherry Valley Lodge, 2299 Cherry Valley Road, Newark, Ohio

Student Scholarships

The Paul L. Wright Chair Fund in Agricultural Law at The Ohio State University will provide scholarships for law students. To apply, contact Peggy Hall at OSU; 614-247-7898 or aglaw@osu.edu.

Planning Committee
Peggy Hall, Chair and Caty Daniels; OSU Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program, Columbus
Marie Adams; Wright Law Co. LPA, Dublin
Leah Curtis; Ohio Farm Bureau, Columbus
Amanda Stacy; Barrett, Easterday, Cunningham & Eselgroth LLP; Dublin

Questions 

For registration questions contact OSBA CLE at 1- 800-232-2174. For other questions or student scholarships, contact Peggy Hall at OSU, aglaw@osu.edu, 614-247-7898.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Baker Donelson Diversity Scholarship

Deadline

Application deadline is June 21, 2013

About

Baker Donelson is committed to fostering an inclusive environment where the individual differences among us are understood, respected, appreciated, and recognized as sources of strength of the Firm. These qualities enrich the environment in which we work. With this in mind, Baker Donelson will again award three scholarships to diverse law students who will complete their first year of law school by June 2013. Recipients will be awarded a six-week, salaried 2L Summer Associate position for the summer of 2014 in one of our following offices: Birmingham, AL; Orlando, FL; Atlanta, GA; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, LA; Jackson, MS; Chattanooga, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville, TN; or Houston, TX. 


Award

Each recipient will be awarded $10,000 which will be paid prior to the student's third year of law school to help defray the cost of law school tuition and related expenses.

Instructions

For complete eligibility criteria, instructions, and to apply for the Scholarship Program please visit:



Questions/Contact

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Helen Beasley at hbeasley@bakerdonelson.com or 205-328-0480. 

2013 New York State Bar Association, Committee on Animals and the Law, Student Writing Competition


The Committee on Animals and the Law of the New State Bar Association is very pleased to announce the Fifth Annual Student Writing Competition. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2013.

The Committee on Animals and the Law was established to provide information resources for the New York State Bar Association's members and the public about nonhuman, animal related humane issues, which arise from and have an effect upon our legal system. This competition seeks to foster legal scholarship among law students in the area of animals and the law. This competition provides law students with an incentive and opportunity to learn more about this area of law.

Law students (which include J.D., L.L.M., Ph.D., and S.J.D. candidates) are invited to submit to the Committee on Animals and the Law an article concerning any area of Animal Law. All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of attorneys and other professionals practicing or otherwise involved in animal law.

Prizes Awarded:

The winner will be chosen in accordance with the attached rules.


·         1st place: $1,000 and a certificate of achievement
·         2nd place: $500 and a certificate of achievement


RULES

Topic: Any topic on Animal Law.

Eligibility: To be eligible for consideration, the submission must be written by a student currently enrolled (full time or part time) in an ABA-accredited law school. Students  expecting to receive their degree in 2013 are eligible for consideration. The submission must be written by one and only one student, i.e., papers jointly written by more than one student or that have been subjected to line editing by professors or advisors shall not be considered. No paper that has been previously  published in any form shall be considered. We will only accept one submission per  entrant.

Deadline:

Papers must be postmarked no later than July 1, 2013.

Award Criteria:
Written submissions will be judged based on quality, clarity, originality, and organization. All essays must also meet the following criteria:

Length: Type written, double-spaced, no less than 12 point Times New Roman font, on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, with 1 inch margins, and no more than 25 pages, including footnotes. Footnotes should be single spaced, and no less than 10-point font.

Format: One hard copy of the written submission and one electronic copy in Microsoft
Word format on a disk or CD must be submitted by mail, postmarked no later than
July 1, 2013, and addressed to:

Kim Hojohn, Liaison
Committee on Animals and the Law
New York State Bar Association
One Elk Street
Albany, NY 12207

Cover Page: Entrants must submit a cover page indicating the entrant’s name, law school, expected year of graduation, mailing address, email address, and telephone number. All other references to identifying information, such as name, law school, and contact information should be deleted or redacted from the body of the submission.

The Committee also reserves the right to offer the winners (and other entrants), in the Committee's discretion, the opportunity to publish his/her paper in the Committee's Laws & Paws publication. Offers to publish are purely within the discretion of the Committee, and the Committee in no way guarantees entrants the opportunity for publication.