Customer Reviews

America's Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree & How to Make the Most of Any Job, No Matter Where It Is

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A terrific resource for jobs you wouldn't have otherwise considered. But it is so outdated I find myself not trusting its accuracy. For example, it considers one $80,000 job the highest paying position available to first-year associates (that's inaccurate by about $70,000). Given inaccuracies like this, should I trust the basic information printed in the book, like the addresses for where I should send my resume? It is a great place to get ideas, but you'll have to double-check everything. A new edition would get 6 stars.

My only regret concerning my purchase of this book was that it was published after I graduated. Walton provides a very thorough review of what you can really do with that law degree, including opportunities you may not have known existed. Walton's tongue in cheek approach is a relief from traditional employment manuals. After reading this book, I've left private practice and am an attorney with the Department of Justice. Had I not read this book, I would have never given the DOJ anything so much as a nod, but I think I've finally found my niche!

I read this book before I went to law school and during my recruiting season, and found it to be a very helpful and comprehensive resource. The book discusses many different employers, ranging from law firms, companies, clerkships, government jobs (including some agencies that people may not be aware of), small firms, public interest jobs, trade associations and law school administration jobs. Most of the companies/firms, etc. listed contain a brief factual description of the workplace, comments by lawyers and a description of the workplace environment. There is also advice on how to obtain some of the more unusual positions.

Although I usually do not like to comment on reviews written by other people, there are a few things written about this book that I believe are unfair to the author. First of all, yes some of the salary numbers and hiring numbers are out of date - this is to be expected when these numbers change yearly. That information is easily found on the internet. Second, please do not let people's political agendas distract you from a wonderful resource. The DOJ is still a great place to work in terms of legal jobs - any lawyer who wants a job where they only take on cases they fully support will probably be disappointed in the profession. Next, Ms. Walton made a strong effort to find firms all around the country to profile - she explicitly says that she could not find many NYC firms that fit her criteria (and to the person who complained about the ethics of Texas firms - you might want to check out the ethics of NYC firms!). Finally, Ms. Walton's point about the foreign service is not that it is the "best job" for lawyers wanting to work internationally, but rather one that many law students don't consider. She specifically recognizes the fact that American law students can work outside the U.S. in law firms, but mentions the Foreign Service as another excellent option (and it is absolutely true that many students who say they want to practice "international law" discover that they don't really like "international business law" in a firm). Finally, having worked at CEELI just two summers ago, I can verify that their expansion into nations other than Eastern Europe and the NIS states is very recent and therefore could not have been published in the book when it went to press. Again, the book was meant to be used as a resource and jumping-off point, and updated information can easily be found on the internet.

I highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of entering law school, in law school, or practicing law. It is an excellent career resource and may open your eyes to possibilities you did not realize were out there.

As a former librarian and book editor, and now as a lawyer and law school administrator, I was immediately impressed with the organization and comprehensiveness of this book. It is an invaluable tool for anyone with, or earning, a law degree, both within as well as outside the legal job marketplace. Loaded with information, wisdom, and references to other sources, it provides honest insights served up with an insider's style and wit. Thank you Ms. Walton!

I agree with the reviewer from Il. who criticized the book as out of date and not helpful. There definitely is a middle America bias to the book. It is not for someone who seriously wants to explore 'radical' public interest careers, for example. It is also not, like Aron's classic book, about a wide variety of things one can do with a law degree besides practicing law. Sure, there are some examples, but not many. There is regionalism all over the country, as the other reviewer pointed out, not just in the South. (His example.) In California, for example, California schools--even those that are not high pedigree--win out over higher ranked schools from other areas of the country besides legal employers tend to choose people whom they can identify with in terms of education and other things. Ms. Walton's book might have been more helpful if she had ever practiced law besides in the capacity of a summer associate. Asking "adminitrators" for data is a good start, but they often can't advise in terms of firm politics etc.

I agree with the reviewer from Il that this is not a helpful book, and that it was written in such a way that it would become outdated quickly. Culling information from "administrators" is all fine and good, but the book would greatly benefit from having been authored by a lawyer who had been in the trenches in more ways than as a mere summer associate--Ms. Walton's experience with practicing law. I am thinking, for example, of D. Aron's classic book on alternatives to practicing law, a book which benefits greatly from the author's experience of having practiced law. Such a perspective would allow one to more carefully explore firm politics and how a new associate might deal with them, for example. I also agree with the other reviewer's underscoring the impact of regionalism. In California, for example, we routinely hire prospects from California law schools that are not highly ranked. This is because we know that such schools turn out fine lawyers by having come against them or worked beside them. (I'd like to think it is not because we feel inferior to applicants from better ranked schools elsewhere, a problem the other reviewer hinted at as far as his experience in the South.)

I actually worked at one of the places she suggests (a government agency), and it was the worst place I have ever worked. It had a very high turnover rate, especially for a non-firm employer. I got the impression that the recruiter was a friend of Kimm's. Employers can simply schmooze the author into putting them into her book--this how many attorneys get on those "Best attorneys under 40" type lists.

I found that this book focused mainly on traditional law firms across the country rather than non-traditional aspects of the practice of law. If your willing to pick up and move across the country for a specific firm then this is the book for you. If your looking for something less traditional, keep looking...

I found this book to be very good, if a little bit outdated. For a more current resource also try the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms - 2002 edition, which has the added benefit of being able to be purchased in online format at vault.com and downloaded immediately if you are pressed for time before interviews. Good luck.

This book does a good job of bring together a lot of information but today with the internet all of this information can be easily found. It offers such great ideas as "Why don't you work for an NFL team? Here is the phone number to the Arizona Cardinals...." Hey why didn't I think of that? Why don't I take my JD and become the President of the United States?