Pitt Law Works: Volume 4 Issue 8 - October 17, 2008
ALUMNI CAREER CHAT IN REVIEW
The Honorable Lisa Pupo Lenihan
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for Western District of Pennsylvania
Recently, eight students had the opportunity to meet with Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan in her chambers at the Federal Courthouse. Judge Lenihan and her judicial law clerks welcomed students with a wonderful lunch and great conversation. The Judge explained her role as a Magistrate Judge, pointing out that Federal Magistrate Judges can handle everything a Federal District Judge can except for trying felony criminal cases. She also discussed the new mandatory Alternative Dispute Resolution Program in the Western District.
The Judge shared her own career path to the bench. After graduating from Pitt Law in 1983, Judge Lenihan joined the Pittsburgh firm of Dickie McCamey & Chilcote as a litigation associate. She explained that while she really didn't know what she wanted to do while in law school, the firm was a good place to begin her career. In 1986 she and four other lawyers left that firm to start Burns, White & Hickton. Judge Lenihan explained that it was an incredible experience to find herself as a founding partner in a law firm only being out of law school for four years. From 1997-1999 she served as managing partner of the firm and was the first female attorney to head a major Pittsburgh law firm.
While she loved the thrill and excitement of litigation, she decided that she needed to make a career change and took a position with UPMC as Corporate Secretary and Assistant Counsel. Judge Lenihan explained that this position gave her the work life balance she needed at this point in her life. On April 2, 2004 she was appointed to the Federal Bench. In her view, being a Judge is the best job any attorney can have, with in-house counsel being a close second. The Judge explained that throughout her legal career she was always a "joiner." She became very involved in bar association and community activities and volunteered for practically "everything." In her view, the network and contacts she developed through these activities were critical to her career successes, particularly her appointment to the Federal Bench. Judge Lenihan also stated that while the first year of practice can be very difficult, it is very important to work very hard at being a professional because "this is when your reputation is developed."
Judge Lenihan's three judicial law clerks (Carol Hesz, Gina Demarco and Jane Rodes) were quick to share their own experiences, and agreed that being a judicial law clerk is one of the best jobs you can have. They stressed the importance of making connections as a law student and as an attorney, explaining that developing contacts and seeking out mentoring relationships are critical to your career success regardless of what you may want to do. They also pointed out that while a mentor or contact may not be able to help you in your job search today, she/he may be of great value in the future. Additionally, they stressed that students need to keep in mind that mentors are important for more than just "job searching"; they are critical for your own "personal development." In their view, students and new graduates should not be afraid to seek out mentors. Attorneys are generally flattered to hear that you want to learn from them.
This "Alumni Career Chat" was part of the new partnership between the Career Services Office and the Pitt Law Alumni Association Board: alumni invite students to visit their workplaces to see the law in practice. Please be certain to check your CSO emails for future career chats with our Pitt Law alumni.
THE ABCS OF A POWERFUL RESUME
Each line of a resume should contain action words that described what you did for the organization and what you accomplished/what goals you achieved.| A | accomplished arranged achieved advised assembled acquired analyzed assisted adapted appraised audited adjusted approved augmented administered arbitrated authored |
| B | budgeted built |
| C | calculated conceived coordinated catalogued conceptualized charted conducted corrected consolidated corresponded coached constructed counseled compared consulted created compiled contacted cultivated completed controlled composed convinced |
| D | detected discovered decreased determined delegated developed distributed delivered devised documented designated designed directed |
| E | edited enhanced examined elicited exceeded eliminated established executed expanded engineered evaluated explained |
| F | flagged formulated founded |
| G | gathered generated guided |
| H | headed hired |
| I | identified initiated interpreted innovated interviewed implemented inspected improved installed inventoried increased instituted influenced instructed |
| J | justified |
| L | lectured lobbied logged led |
| M | maintained mediated motivated managed modified manufactured monitored |
| N | negotiated |
| O | obtained ordered overhauled operated organized |
| P | prepared performed presented promoted persuaded presided proposed placed processed provided planned produced purchased posted proficient |
| Q | quantified qualified |
| R | recognized reorganized researched recommended restored reconciled replaced reviewed reduced reported revised referred represented regulated |
| S | scheduled suggested screened solved supervised selected steered supplied served streamlined systematized simplified studied |
| T | taught tracked transcribed tested trained translated traced |
| U | updated utilized |
| V | vended |
| W |
won wrote |
As a practice exercise, take your old resume, and at random, look for places to insert good power words. Watch how quickly your old resume will be transformed!
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.
SUMMER 2009 INTERNSHIPS
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is currently accepting internship applications for Summer 2009. LDF, a non-profit civil rights law firm founded in 1940 by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, is the finest human rights law firm in American history. For decades LDF has worked through the courts and Congress to make our nation's constitutional and statutory guarantees of equal treatment and civil rights a reality for African Americans and other disfranchised groups. LDF is recognized for its pioneering and long-standing advocacy. LDF remains committed to cultivating the next generation of civil rights attorneys; and we also rely on assistance from law students to support our litigation efforts.
If you plan to pursue a career in racial justice and civil rights law, we want to hear from you.
LDF's current docket reflects its continued commitment to combating race discrimination and its effects, ensuring equality of opportunity, and promoting inclusion of those who have been excluded from full participation on account of race. Our primary program areas are education, economic justice, political participation, and criminal justice. In addition, our Washington, D.C. regional office is involved in policy and legislative work on civil rights issues at a national level.
Summer interns will be responsible for intensive legal research and memorandum writing, drafting portions of pleadings and briefs, participating in strategy sessions and negotiations, as well as fulfilling other needs that may arise during the summer. Interns in the New York office will also enjoy a weekly series of brown bag luncheons featuring prominent civil rights and public interest attorneys, attended by interns from numerous non-profit, legal organizations in the city.
The internship positions are unpaid and limited in number. Students should seek summer funding from their law schools and student-run public interest organizations. Interns are expected to work for at least ten weeks during the summer. No split summers. Due to the demands of the internship, our preference is to hire students in their second year of law school.
The New York and D.C. offices award internships independently. Applicants should send a cover letter, resume, 5-10 page writing sample, and list of three references to the appropriate office below. Positions will be filled on a rolling basis; we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible beginning October 2008.
New York office:
Summer Internship Coordinator NAACP LDF
99 Hudson Street, Suite 1600 • New York, NY 10013
No phone calls please.
Washington D.C. office:
Summer Internship Coordinator NAACP LDF
1444 Eye Street, N.W., 10th Floor • Washington, DC 20005
dfinley@naacpldf.org • (202) 682-1300
THE REGINALD F. LEWIS FELLOWSHIPS FOR LAW TEACHING
Harvard Law School is offering the Reginald F. Lewis Fellowships for Law Teaching for the academic year 2009-2010. The fellowship is designed to bring to the School a law graduate who has demonstrated a strong interest in law scholarship and teaching, and who is preparing for career in law teaching.
The Lewis Fellowship program supports the training of prospective law teachers who will enhance the diversity of the profession. We especially encourage applications from candidates of color. The Lewis Fellow is required to prepare a major article for publication and has an opportunity to audit courses at the Law School. The Fellow is expected to follow a schedule of research and work to be agreed upon with the Lewis Committee.
We expect to award one, two-year fellowship in the amount of $52,000. The Fellow is expected to be in residence at Harvard Law School for 12 months. The Fellow generally should not be degree candidate at the Law School or other schools during the term of the fellowship. Funds are made available for the Fellow to attend relevant conferences and workshops relating to the Fellow's substantive areas of interest and law teaching.
The Lewis Fellowship is made available from a gift from Reginald F. Lewis, an African American graduate of Harvard Law School (Class of 1968). Shortly before his death in 1993, he gave the largest grant at the time in the Law School's history. The Law School's International Law Center was renamed in his honor. Lewis was founding CEO of TLC Beatrice Foods International. He was also author of the book Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?
There is no application form for the fellowship. Interested applicants should submit a detailed (three to four page) description of the research project that will be undertaken with a view to publication during the fellowship, a statement of their interest in teaching, and a statement of the fields in which they expect to teach and pursue scholarship. Applicants should include a résumé (including publications and work experience) and a copy of the applicant's undergraduate and law school transcripts. The applicant should arrange for two letters of reference to be sent directly to the committee--both commenting on the applicant's potential as a scholar and a teacher. Candidates must provide all required documents for their applications to be considered. The deadline for receipt of all material is December 15, 2008.
For questions, please contact Akiba Covitz at acovitz@law.harvard.edu.
Applications should be sent to:
Lewis Committee
Griswold 207 • 1525 Massachusetts Avenue • Harvard Law School • Cambridge, MA 02138
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:
American Bar Association - Student Resource Center
http://www.abanet.org/students.html
The American Bar Association website is a great resource for law students to explore different career opportunities. The website includes a student resource center which provides information on bar admission requirements and links to state bar examiners. This site also has details about careers in the legal profession, and the law student and young lawyers divisions. Students are invited to join ABA practice area sections for free or reduced rates: they can then receive information on trends in the field as well as specifics on employment, internship openings and mentoring opportunities.
FOCUS YOUR JOB HUNT: SIX KEY MOVES
If you're collecting more job rejection letters than interviews, you need help. But don't worry too much - a little focus can go a long way toward finding a job in a tough market. Keeping focused and positive is a state of mind, and you need to work at it when you're not seeing immediate results.
1. Identify target organizations and ideal jobs.
If you're just sending résumés to Symplicity postings, you're not doing enough. Before you even think about working on a résumé, spend time identifying 10 organizations you would like to work for and why. It's not enough to say you want a summer big firm job in Boston; be specific. Know if you are interested in the organization because of the work environment, size, organizational goals, practice area, or proximity to your home. The more specific and detailed you are, the more focused you'll be in a search.
2. Brush up on your job hunting skills.
Tailor and customize your résumé; a blanket résumé isn't good enough and probably won't get a second look from any employer. Your résumé should reflect accurately what you've done and what you're qualified to do for the organization. In other words, you do not need to put every job you have ever held on your resume. If the skills you employ as a bartender do not relate to the skills you will employ as a judicial law clerk, reduce or eliminate the bartender entry. Retool your legal experience to highlight relevant skills. Tailoring your resume to specific employers requires that you research the employers in advance; this will help you stand out in your application materials and in your interview.
3. Put your network to work.
Talk with people inside your targets (or students who have worked at these organizations in the past), and find out who to contact for informational interviews.
4. Set mini-goals and establish a routine.
Making goals for your job search will help keep you focused on the job search. They're reminders that you need to stay active and positive in your search. For example:
- Work on résumé
- Identify a contact at target organization
- Call someone in your network you haven't spoken to this semester
Set aside time in your week to focus on your job search. If you find your energy flagging at home, come into the CSO office and use the tools at your disposal.
5. Balance your mind and stay positive.
Job searching 24/7 won't help you stay balanced and focused for very long. Be sure you are taking care of your physical well-being. Also, get involved in the community by volunteering. Giving your time will give you a sense of accomplishment, help boost your confidence and will demonstrate your commitment to the community in which you will be working.
Although staying positive in a prolonged job search is a challenge, it's essential. Employers pick up on desperate and negative vibes and may perceive you as someone who would be difficult to work with.
6. Give yourself permission to be frustrated.
It's possible to be doing all the right things in a job search and still not find a job. Don't get discouraged. Instead, review what you've been doing and look for opportunities to improve. Ask for feedback and be open to criticism - you may not be describing yourself and your skills in the right way. Think about ways you can market yourself even more and stand out above other job seekers. Any opportunities for you to focus will aide your hunt and ultimately land a job.
