Preparing
for a
Legal Career
Eileen Doyle Crane, J.D.
University Prelaw Advisor
Utah 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
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Reading
Writing
Logic
Major
Oral
Professional behavior
Prelaw Issues
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Curriculum
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Faculty Mentor
Advising
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20-page paper per semester
Reading outside of textbooks
Prelaw advisor
100 x JD: Connected Lawyers are Happy Lawyers
Law School Preparation
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Test prep
Application procedures
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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
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Constitutional, torts, criminal, property, contracts,
and civil procedure
Legal writing and advocacy course
 2L
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curriculum set by school/ABA
& 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
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Faculty mentor
100 x JD outreach
Student Bar Association
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School-based
National organization
Career Services Office
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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
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State bar license
Placement data:
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http://www.nalp.org/uploads/NationalSummaryChart
forSchools2010.pdf
Data on Class of 2010
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Reported 34,092/44,258
Private/Public Sector
Academic
Business
Judicial Clerkships
Unknown
Private Practice
Government
Public Interest
77%
66%/32.5%
3.7%
15.0%
9.3%
1.5%
50.9%
12.8%
6.7%
Law Practice
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Size of Firm Reports
Reported 18,329
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2-10
11-25
26-50
51-100
101-250
251-500
501+
Unknown
Solo
39.1%
8.9%
5.3%
4.2%
5.6%
6.0%
20.5%
4.9%
5.7%
Law Practice
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Salaries, 2010
Bi-Modal Curve:
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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. However,
when women’s mentors are highly placed, women are just as likely as men
to get promoted. 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:
7
8
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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
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State-based
Reciprocity
Utah Bar: www.utahbar.org
MPRE—test of ethics understanding for lawyers
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State determines passing score
Offered three times per year
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March
August
November
Bar exam offered twice per year
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February
July
Officer of the Court
 Duty
to uphold the system
 Representative at ALL times
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Never not an attorney
 Requires
honesty and law-abiding behavior
 Grievance Committee
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Not answering phone calls in a timely manner
Dealing with client funds
Community Leader
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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
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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
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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!