The CCD wishes everyone good luck on exams and an enjoyable winter break!

Ideas for the Winter Break:

Who will you meet?

Did you know that most jobs are obtained by word of mouth, or who you know? Don’t worry if you don’t know any lawyers personally; they are all around you. While at holiday functions, let everyone know that you are in law school and are looking for a summer or permanent job. Getting a haircut or going to the dentist? Let them know too. Seek out the local bar association to see if there will be any luncheons or holiday receptions while you are in the area. Take control of your future -- go out there and NETWORK.

Complete your bar application.

Winter break is an ideal time to prepare your bar application for submission. While you are home, track down that missing information. We all know how daunting a task it is, and finding time to put this information together while keeping up with class work is close to impossible.

Volunteer.

Whether you are at home or in Gainesville, tis’ the season to volunteer to help others and gain hours toward your Community Service or Pro Bono Certificate.Conduct an informational interview. Meet with lawyers or professionals in your area to learn about their career path, how they prepared, and to seek their recommendations.

Prepare for next semester’s recruiting.

Prepare your resume and cover letter. Application deadlines begin right after the first of the year for many opportunities including government positions, internships, fellowships and OCI. Sample resumes and cover letters are available on the CCS website, and you can email your drafts to a counselor for review.

Go to court.

Observe proceedings and talk to the attorneys during breaks.

Read a book from the CCS:

• Kimm Walton’s Guerilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of your Dreams, What Law School Doesn’t Teach You...But You Really Need to Know, or America’s Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree are good bets.

• Try Never Eat Alone or How to Work a Room: The Ultimate Guide to Savvy Socializing in Person and Online or Choosing Small - Choosing Smart: Job Search Strategies for Lawyers in the Small Firm Market.

• Close to Graduating? Pick up The Legal Career Guide: From Law Student to Lawyer.

Loan Forgiveness Webinar

Equal Justice Works Presents:
GETTING YOUR STUDENT LOANS FORGIVEN: HOW GOVERNMENT AND NONPROFIT EMPLOYEES CAN EARN PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS
Wednesday, November 17, Noon – 1 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, December 8, Noon – 1 p.m. EDT
Space is limited, so participants are required to register at equaljusticeworks.org. Presented by Heather Jarvis, an attorney and leading national expert on Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The 1L Job Search: Manage the Marathon, not the Sprint

"The sprint is for a limited number of jobs at large law firms. Based on the misguided assumption that employers are eager to receive them, thousands of 1Ls send out applications that large law firms receive on December 1. Few are processed without spring grades. . . . " Read the full article by Susan Gainen at Lawyerist.com here.

LexisNexis Webcast: Alternative and Pro Bono Career Exploration

On Tuesday November 9th LexisNexis will host a webcast entitled Alternative and Pro Bono Career Exploration. In this webcast you will:
Learn about Pro Bono opportunities from Esther F. Lardent the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pro Bono Institute.
Hear from Edward Adams the Editor and Publisher of the ABA Journal about various legal career paths.
Register now - the first 1,000 students to register and attend the November 9th webcast will receive a free law student membership to the ABA valued at $25. You will also receive 200 LexisNexis Reward points for attending.

Minority Mentoring Picnic

The 7th Annual Minority Mentoring Picnic will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2010 from 12-4 PM in Hialeah, Florida. This is the ultimate networking event for minority law students from all over Florida.

For more information and to RSVP, click here.

How to Write a Good Cover Letter

Click here for a Wall Street Journal article on cover letters.

Looking for productive ways to use your free time over Spring Break? Consider:

• Networking
  Check with the local Bar Association in your home town or wherever you are visiting to see if there are any social, community or educational events you could attend.


• Informational Interviews
  Don’t know what you want to do with your J.D.? Contact attorneys in various fields to see if they can spare a few minutes, or more, to hand down some advice. Don’t forget to give them your resume and ask for names of other people you may talk to.


• Shadowing
  Arrange to sit in on a court proceeding, mediation or deposition. Seek out a substantive project, and get to know as many people as possible.


• Preparing targeted mailings
  Take time to research firms and use this information in your cover letters to show your interest in that particular firm. This will help distinguish your cover letter from the many others that firms receive.

How not to handle a cold-contact e-mail mistake

Check out the following blog for some invaluable information about what not to do in your job search: http://bfwa.com/2010/02/03/how-not-to-handle-a-cold-contact-e-mail-mistake/.

Interested in public policy?

Check out the University of Arizona's new Public Policy Handbook at www.law.arizona.edu/career/PublicPolicy10-11/LoginForm.cfm. For log-in and password check the Announcements page in Symplicity.

Patent Bar Information Now on YouTube

Hundreds of students go to the PLI website every year to listen to their free archived briefing on the Patent Bar. They have decided to make it a little easier by putting some short videos on the subject up on YouTube. Just go to YouTube and search for "PLI Patent Bar". The "soup to nuts" 45-minute audio briefing is still up on the Website, www.patentbarreview.com. The YouTube videos are just short introductions to who can take the Exam, how it works on computer, etc.

The recession makes externships a sweeter deal for students

Without summer associate programs to rely on, law students are turning to alternate ways of gaining practical experience and making connections that could lead to full-time employment. Click here for the full National Law Journal article.

Federal Government Needs Massive Hiring Binge, Study Finds

A study by a think tank says the federal government needs to hire more than 270,000 workers in “mission-critical” jobs, and the legal sector is one of five fields where more workers are needed. The study by the Partnership for Public Service says hiring will need to be beefed up, partly to replace retiring baby boomers, the Washington Post reports. More workers will also be needed to handle new challenges planned by the Obama administration, such as repair of the financial sector and climate change. Included in the new hiring are an expected 4,000 new positions in the Justice Department. Check out the full article in the Washington Post.

Writing Competition

The International Ombudsman Association is sponsoring an annual writing contest for students in law school or graduate programs in dispute resolution. In the inaugural contest, law students are invited to submit articles arguing for a statutory privilege for organizational ombudsmen. The author of the winning article will receive a cash prize of $2,500 and an invitation to the IOA Annual Conference in April 2010 in New Orleans to receive the award. IOA will provide registration, airfare and lodging for the conference. The winning article may also be published in the Journal of IOA. Submissions are due November 15, 2009. Click here for details.

Coming This Summer

Small Firm Practice Series

May 29 & June 5, 12, 19

HOL 382, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Get the practical skills that firms are looking for:

• Pleadings and Motion Practice
• Crafting a Defense
• Deposition Skills Workshop
• Understanding Malpractice Insurance and Tips to Avoid Claims

Local practitioners will be here to share their knowledge and give you hands-on practice.

Sign up on Symplicity in the Events tab. Click "Review" next to each class & select "RSVP."

Expanded Federal Employment Resource Center on PSLawNet

With interest in federal legal careers building rapidly among law students and attorneys, NALP's PSLawNet site features a newly enhanced federal government careers page. This thorough resource, available at www.pslawnet.org/governmentcareers, emphasizes simple explanations about federal hiring processes and points of entry to federal jobs, downloadable resources, and answers to FAQs. Topics include:

• Types of Practice for Lawyers in the Federal Government
• Where are the Federal Government Jobs?
• Practicing Law in the Military
• Resources to Help You Find a Position with the Federal Government

Health Insurance Program Eligibility Update

In response to the April 22, 2009 announcement from the ABA Law Student Division regarding the availability of purchasing health insurance up to one year after graduation with UnitedHealthcare Student Resources (UHCSR), some law students were informed by UHCSR customer service agents that they were ineligible for the plan if they were not going to be actively attending classes for 31 days after the purchase of the insurance plan.
Although this is the eligibility requirement for initial enrollment, UHCSR worked with the ABA Law Student Division to respond to the growing number of graduating law students without employer health insurance coverage and agreed to waive the 31-day class attendance requirement through May 15, 2009. UHCSR sent notification to all its customer service representatives this morning advising them of this exception for the ABA Law Student Division plan.
Graduating law students, who are currently uninsured, may purchase the 2008-2009 ABA/LSD plan coverage prior to graduating or no later than May 15, 2009, whichever occurs first:
- Semi-Annual coverage before May 1, 2009; or
- Quarterly after May 1, 2009
Students who are insured under this plan on their graduation date can continue coverage up to one year past graduation.
Graduate extension coverage purchased after August 1, 2009 will fall under the 2009-2010 plan and the rates for the 2009-2010 plan will be available in the next month. Each student has a choice of one of the benefits plans. Plan I has higher benefits than Plan II. Make your selection carefully. You cannot upgrade coverage after the initial purchase of the Plan for the policy year. Please be aware that if you choose to change plans in any subsequent policy year, a new Pre-Existing Condition exclusion and waiting period will apply.
If you are currently insured under another UHCSR school endorsed plan, you cannot receive a refund on your school UHCSR plan if you choose to purchase additional coverage under the ABA/LSD plan
Since benefits may be different than your current plan, students may view the health plan benefits and enroll online at https://www.uhcsr.com/ABA. Please contact UHCSR directly at 800.505.5450 for specific information on the plans.
For questions or additional information contact the ABA Law Student Division ABALSD@staff.abanet.org

Seeking Summer Housing?

Each year law students around the country spend their summer in a different city. Finding housing for the summer is one of the biggest challenges to spending a summer away. Here are two resources that may help you if you seek summer housing options.

• The NALP Apartment Exchange allows students to search for housing or post their own listing - all for free. The NALP Apartment Exchange will be available through May 15th. Free registration is required to use the site.
• Spending the summer in NYC? The Educational Housing Services ("EHS") is a not-for-profit organization that provides safe and affordable fully furnished housing to students, grad students and interns coming to New York City. EHS manages multiple properties throughout New York City and Brooklyn, and is a great short term housing option that offers the opportunity to live in a community of your peers. Pass the good news on, and earn $100 for each friend you refer to EHS (that books a reservation). Also, this year EHS is offering 10 FREE SUMMER HOUSING scholarships.

Ombudsman Internships

An ombudsman investigates reported claims, reports findings and helps achieve equitable settlements. Internships are available with a number of agencies and organizations:

• Department of Homeland Security, CIS Ombsman:
  Apply for general 2010 DHS internship through usajobs.gov & indicate this office in your cover letter. Unpaid internships offered year round. Interested applicants for both programs may email cisombudsman.publicaffairs@dhs.gov.
• Inter-American Development Bank, Office of the Ombudsman: For more information and to apply: enet.iadb.org/jobs/siprog.asp.
• Food and Drug Administration - Office of Ombudsman: For information visit: www.fda.gov/oc/ombudsman/homepage.htm.
• Department of Education - Federal Student Aid Office of the Ombudsman: Announcements for the position and application procedures will be posted in March to the office’s website at http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov/.
• National Public Radio - For more information and how to apply visit: www.npr.org/about/jobs/intern/.
• National Institutes for Health - Office of the Ombudsman/Center for Cooperative Resolution. For information visit: ombudsman.nih.gov/homepage.html, to apply contact Samantha Levine-Finley at levinesa@od.nih.gov
  

Considering an LL.M.?

Check out these sites for information about U.S. and international LL.M. programs:

• www.llm-guide.com/usa


• http://www.nationaljurist.com/?q=content/llm-programs

Job Advice for 1Ls Who Are "Scared to Death"

Click here for an American Lawyer article by Lynne Traverse, recruiting and professional development manager at Bryan Cave, with some practical advice on job-searching for 1Ls.