Students come to Concord with a range of career and personal goals. Because many Concord students are mid-career and the average age is about 42, most have chosen to pursue a law degree at this time in their lives specifically to further a career path, increase marketability, or prepare for a career change. Our Career Services department is committed to providing a variety of resources to support students in making the best use of their legal education and achieving their professional development goals.
Online Resources
As is the case with all the student services at Concord, the Career Services center is readily accessible from the student's personal home page. In addition to links to Internet resources, students will find subscription-based services including the Vault Career Library, which provides downloadable guides to law firms and types of employers and practice areas. Titles include:The Vault Guide to Government and Non-Profit Employers, The Vault Guide to Corporate Law Careers, and The Vault Regional Law Firm Guides. The Library also includes resume and networking primers, as well as contact information and research on an expansive list of industries and companies.
"Lawschooljobsonline.com" is another resource subscribed to by Concord and accessible through the student's Westlaw account. It includes a searchable database devoted to legal and law-related jobs nationwide. The resource also features a section on legal career trends and chapters of career publications. In another section, it provides access to employment applications for the federal government and all states.
For students who would like to become involved in public interest law work, Concord is a member of the Equal Justice Works organization and PSLawNet. Equal Justice Works holds a national career fair and conference in Washington, D.C., each fall. PSLawNet is a worldwide network for public interest jobs and volunteer opportunities with a searchable database for students at member schools.
Additionally, Email Concord Career Services connects students with the Director of Development who is available for individual consultation.
Legal Career Management Course
In the fall of 2007, Concord launched its Legal Career Management course. Developed in partnership with Richard L. Hermann of Georgetown Associates LLC, the course is an online program that provides information, resources, and guidance on a wide variety of "mainstream" legal and law-related career paths.
Mr. Hermann is a legal career consultant with over 30 years of experience in career counseling of attorneys. He was co-founder and publisher of www.attorneyjobsonline and has written numerous books and articles on legal careers. Mr. Hermann is a former senior legal consultant to the U.S. Departments of Defense, Justice, and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School and Yale University.
The Legal Career Management includes video lectures, detailed career and job-hunting guides, as well as live classes. The course is open to third and fourth year students as well as graduates.
Follow Professor Hermann's blog on law and law related jobs at http://legalcareerweb.com
Externships
Under the direction of Professor Robert Barrett, Concord offers an ambitious nationwide clinical program that allows students to participate in externships in the state in which they reside. This fourth-year elective, Legal Education Experience Program-LEEP, provides students with the opportunity to gain legal or legally related experience for their résumés as well as useful contacts for future employment.
Bar Exam Support
Concord has developed a unique program to help students transition from law school to bar studies, our Bar Mentoring program. With the guidance of a full-time faculty member, Professor Sara Berman, bar applicants are paired with successful alumni who took and passed the bar exam in recent years. Students meet weekly in an online seminar to encourage active study and learning, reinforce skills, and to help students stay on track with time management. The Bar Mentoring program is designed to complement commercial bar review programs.
In addition, there are links to appropriate bar admission and preparation sites on the career services site. Concord also regularly holds information chats on the bar exam for third- and fourth-year students. Experts on the California Bar Exam, as well as graduates, participate in the discussion.