Customer Reviews

The Legal Career Guide: From Student to Lawyer (ABA Career)

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For those launching or re-launching their law career in the down economy:

Whether you are a law student on the verge of launching his/her career OR a lawyer re-launching his career during the down economy--this book will help you assess your skills, teach you interviewing skills and resume writing, explain how to negotiate an offer, and help you decide what to do next (accept or reject the offer, re-structure your plans, etc.). The book also explores law-related and non-legal careers, also useful for those RELAUNCHING their career after a lay-off.

The book has sample resumes, checklists, and time tables. These documents are also included on a CD to use as templates for career decision making and job searching. There are also useful appendices, from a Career Resources Guide (including information about blawgs; legal directories; and books and periodicals about law careers and job searching), to descriptions of practice areas (especially useful for lawyers needing to shift practice areas during the down economy).

The only thing missing from this book is a discussion about how social and professional networking sites could be useful for your job search.

Read this book before you start law school, review it every semester to make sure you are on the career path that is right for you and read it if you are already a lawyer but need to re-launch your law career or contemplate a new career.

Although the sub-title is, "From Law Student to Lawyer," implying it is geared to the law student in his last year of law school who is on the verge of launching his career, this book is a "must read" even for 1st year law students--before he or she even steps foot in their law school door and for those re-launching their career. Why? Because this book will help the first year student learn that during their three years in law school they have more to do than just study and take the bar exam. While in law school, they should be ascertaining what type of career they want--from practice area to firm size, to even which city they want to practice in. They should be building their network with people who might assist them in their career choice and job search. This same advice applies to lawyers currently in practice who now need to re-launch their career.

This book is also a "must read" for pre-law students. Why? For the pre-law student, this book will help them appreciate what it takes to become a lawyer and help them decide if they are even up for the challenge.

Author clearly does not have familiarity with the realities of top national law firm practice or the issues faced by law students at top-20 schools. Maybe helpful for lawyers not aiming for top national and regional firms or senior roles in government and industry.