Where to Get Legal Experience

At Cincinnati Law, we understand that real-world experiences not only enhance your resume, but also give you the opportunity to make important connections, network in your areas of interest, and experience first-hand what goes with different types of legal work. We offer experience in our prestigious centers and institutes, as well as internships and scholarships to set you up for lifelong success. Whether you dream of becoming an executive, prosecutor, judge, social justice advocate, or lawyer, UC Law offers ways to get there. ✓ It`s time to recharge before the in-depth law school experience Learn more about law firms Most night law students intend to stay in Oregon or the Portland metro area after graduation. If this is not the case for you, please make an appointment for an interview with Career Services counsellors as soon as possible, as we have additional information very specific for job seekers elsewhere. Before you can even think about contacting companies, you need to know what`s out there. There are excellent resources for researching law firms and getting basic information on size, business areas, and contacts. These directories and many other legal, corporate and government directories are available at the Office of Career Services or can be accessed via the career links on our website. These positions often depend less on legal experience than on administrative experience. Consider taking a secretarial position if you`re familiar enough with an office, and then progress from there. Required skills typically include familiarity with computers, software, and office tasks.

In addition to emphasizing academics, we strongly recommend that pre-law students consider articling or volunteer work at a law firm, court, or other legal setting to help you decide if a legal career is right for you. We hope you will leave these experiences with a better insight into the legal profession and a realistic understanding of what it means to work in the field of law in different contexts. This page gives you an overview of all types of legal work experience, including vacation programs, mini-students, and internships. They hire contract lawyers, paralegals and litigation staff to handle this time-consuming and labour-intensive task. These workers are not employees of a company. They are independent contractors who are hired to work on specific projects on a contractual basis. Would you like to gain professional experience in the legal profession? These three promises will get you there – read them now>> Identify and improve transferable skills Virtually all evening students have some type of work experience, ranging from odd jobs during undergraduate studies to long-term, high-level professional careers. In both cases, it is important to identify the skills you possess that are transferable to the legal field. Examples of transferable skills include: writing, publishing, contract review, customer service, policy analysis, marketing, advertising, negotiation, interviews, mediation, organization, training, etc. Legal employers value these transferable skills – your job is to connect your previous work experience to the employer with the transfer of these skills to the legal field.

The two most important things you can do are: (1) Write your resume and have it reviewed by Career Services. (2) Prepare a „skills database” that includes a detailed list of the skills you use for each job on your resume or the tasks you have. This will not be passed on to anyone under any circumstances; Rather, it will be a valuable tool for identifying skills that you can reconfigure in a legal resume with the help of Career Services. It`s a handy option, but legal secretaries often work hand-in-hand with their lawyers, especially in smaller offices. You will gain valuable practical experience to accompany your degree. Think of it as a temporary job that pays a little better and offers benefits. Identify and use your „network” to find out who you know. Often, evening students do not have time to participate in student activities, especially those offered on campus during the day. Therefore, it is very important that you identify and develop a group of people with whom you can network. The vast majority of students and alumni get their jobs from people they know. The first step is to identify people you already know, which may include people from the following sources: * Undergraduate School Alumni Office * Undergraduate professors, colleagues * Family, friends, religious/athletic partners * Business/professional associations * Business partners and former business partners * Customers, suppliers, suppliers, customers * Social acquaintances, neighbors Think of one of these persons who may have legal experience or contacts within the Community, on the basis of the rule of law. The next step is to start expanding and building this network of links, especially in the legal community.

The Career Service can help you by providing you with contacts and ideas. Network ideas for busy people. Networking doesn`t just involve informative conversations and conversations with people. It also involves a variety of other things, depending on your background, interests, and experience. There are several groups in the city that are specifically geared towards networking lawyers. Career Services can help you identify professional organisations in your areas of interest and can help you by providing you with specific names and contacts. Keep in mind that many networking events last only a few hours per month and can often be done in the evenings or weekends (e.g., attending board meetings or lunches, agreeing to write an article, etc.). This „networking” should be integrated into your daily routine and not treated as an „extra duty”.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of ideas to get you started: * Join a professional organization, especially a bar association or a legal or specialized group of lawyers (e.g., Oregon Women Lawyers, Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Oregon Trial Lawyers, etc.). Most of the information about these groups can be found on the front of the Oregon State Bar Directory or on the Oregon State Bar Association`s website * Volunteer to help plan a CLE, help with a CLE, edit continuing education materials * Talk to your company`s lawyers (in-house or at a law firm) * Get a lawyer mentor through Career Services mentorship programs * Go to career fairs. These often take place on Saturdays. * Participate in a variety of events in lawyers and groups of lawyers. * Conduct informational interviews. Arrange a breakfast before work, coffee break, lunch or drink after dinner with your contact. The Oregon State Bar offers a New Lawyer Reference List, an informal mentorship program designed to help young lawyers and law students connect with Oregon lawyers working in their field of interest. If you are considering a career as a lawyer, work experience in a law firm or in-house lawyer is best suited and may include: To learn more about some of the legal internship opportunities available, visit the links below Law students can participate in moot court competitions to improve their oral advocacy skills through mock oral pleadings before a judge. Strong writing skills are required for many legal professions, and students can gain writing experience through writing competitions, writing clinics, and school-related magazines and newsletters. Temporary workers are not employees of the business or business for which they work, so they do not receive any benefits or other employment-related benefits. However, benefits can be offered through the legal recruitment agency. To help you with this process, The Lawyer Portal has provided a free personal portfolio tool that allows you to track your professional experience and the knowledge derived from it in a simple and transparent way.

Regardless: Extracurricular activities can provide useful experiences that can help you when you`re still in school. You can rest assured by the fact that most students come to law school with little to no real legal experience. That`s perfectly fine – but it doesn`t mean your CV has to be a blank page. Articling at UC Law resulted in memorable experiences that brought our students to the top after graduation. Students have completed internships at Cincinnati Public Schools, Macy`s, Procter & Gamble, the Internal Revenue Service, and many other leading organizations. Students who earn their limited license as articling students from the Supreme Court of Ohio or Kentucky may even perform for clients. In addition to first-hand legal experience, internships also offer academic loans.