In This Issue
Congress OKs Bill Forgiving Up to $60K in Loans for Prosecutors, PDs
Another Picture Worth 1,000 Words
Equal Justice Works Career Fair
How the Licensed Legal Intern Program Launched My Career
Change Your World - Innovative Recruiting Tool
You Asked, We Listened - Grade Conversions
Just in Time or Just in Case?
Email Protocol & Etiquette
NIST TREC Seeking Volunteers
Students interested in public service careers should take note of recent legislation that will aid in loan forgiveness. For details click here about the story as it appeared in the ABA Journal Law News Now online edition for August 5, 2008.
NALP has released its statistics for the Class of 2007 Employment Report and Salary Survey. As predicted, the bimodal distribution of fulltime salaries continued the trend evident in the past several years. The data reveal that two distinct and different employment markets exist for law students. For details on the national picture and explanation of this trend, click on this link.
For information regarding OCU LAW's employment and salary statistics over the past four years, click on this link.
Friday & Saturday, October 10-11, 2008
Washington, DC
Second and third-year law students interested in public interest careers and social justice issues should consider attending the Equal Justice Works (EJW) national conference and career fair which will feature employers from Alaska to New Hampshire that are interviewing for over 1,500 employment opportunities. The registration fee is covered by the annual membership which the PCDC maintains. These positions qualify for consideration to receive a Dean's Summer Public Interest / Pro Bono Fellowship from OCU LAW. In addition, students will also be eligible to apply for a fellowship from EJW. Several OCU students have received these in past years.
Additionally, the national conference will provide a venue where participants can learn and network about current social justice issues and develop skills that will help them in the workplace. Each year, over 1,000 individuals attend these events. For more information, see the EJW Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section or email careerfair@equaljusticeworks.org.
Stevie Lorance, 3L, has offered to field questions and encourage interested students as she attended the conference and career fair last year, "I really believe in the EJW organization and conference. I am so excited to attend again this year!" She can be reached by clicking on this link or by calling (405) 826-8752.
Questions regarding registration or other logistics should be directed to the PCDC by clicking on this link.
PLEASE NOTE: Students are responsible to cover their own transportation and lodging costs.
Tuesday, 9/9/2008, 5:00-5:45 PM - Sarkeys 103
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That is the conundrum many students experience when trying to get legal experience. Many employers want prior experience, but it is not always easy to get. The Licensed Legal Intern (LLI) Program helps solve this problem by offering opportunities for students to engage in jobs where they are able to practice law in a limited manner under the supervision of an approved attorney. This session will feature OCU LAW graduates, Kate Dodoo, JD2005 and Charles E. Chapin JD2006, who obtained experience through this program. Dodoo works for the City of Enid, Oklahoma, as an assistant city attorney and Chapin opened his own practice after law school in Oklahoma City.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES: At the end of this session students will understand: 1) what the LLI is, 2) the requirements to make application and participate, 3) where to look for supervising attorneys, 4) the role the PCDC plays in administering the program.
Many large, national law firms are examining their recruitment and retention practices. Developing a refreshingly innovative approach is K&L Gates LLP. This year, their firm is reducing waste by minimizing printed recruiting materials and eliminating promotional items. The money they save will be donated to a worthy charity. They want students to visit their Web site www.klgates.com/changeyourworld, play the "Change Your World" trivia challenge, and decide which of four outstanding non-profit organizations you want your score to count toward. If you are good enough, the organization you choose could receive the cash, and you will receive insight about the firm and whether you see yourself working there.
Last year, the OCU LAW faculty approved the conversion of the grading system to move from a 12.0 to a 4.0 scale. Details are outlined in Section D of the OCU LAW 2008-09 Student Handbook. Copies of the handbook are available in the Student Services Office.
The new 4.0 grading scale applies only to Fall 2008 incoming first-year students, i.e. returning students will continue to receive their grades based on the 12.0 scale. Because some employers who utilize online application systems do not recognize anything but a 4.0 grading scale, students who wish to convert their cumulative GPA from the 12.0 scale to the 4.0 scale are encouraged to use the approved conversion chart which can be accessed by clicking on this link.
Are you a Just in Time or Just in Case person? Do you wait until the last minute to prepare for an assignment, task, or invitation? Or, do you plan ahead and act proactively to make things happen when you want, versus reacting unprepared or missing out on opportunities all together? As it relates to career development in the legal profession, if you are a Just in Time person, chances are you will miss out on job leads and opportunities to make connections that will develop your professional contacts and network. It is critical to know how and when various types of employers conduct their hiring.
To discuss how to develop Just in Case habits with respect to career development, contact the PCDC by stopping by Sarkeys 216, calling (405) 208-5332 or by clicking here to send an email request or question.
Every student should know that email is the official means of communication by the law school. As such, it is important that you develop good organizational skills to manage your email. This is especially true when job opportunities and deadlines are announced. Employers are not impressed with students who ignore their email; many employers believe students would be wise to view their law school email account as if it was an employer account.
While there are different takes on email etiquette, every student should strive to develop a professional image through their law school email correspondence. Joy Fisher-Sykes has developed 12 Simple Rules to Stay Connected. Click on this link for full explanation of her suggested rules set forth below.
Rule #1 - Be concise
Rule #2 - Watch your words
Rule #3 - Follow a format
Rule #4 - Spell check
Rule #5 - Send messages to outbox first
Rule #6 - Avoid writing in all caps
Rule #7 - Reply to all sparingly
Rule #8 - Stay current
Rule #9 - Office email is never personal
Rule #10 - Stay organized
Rule #11 - Answer email
Rule #12 - Be patient
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and The Sedona Conference® are seeking “a few good” lawyers, paralegals, and law students to contribute to the third year of a world-class, state-of-the-art research project into the evaluation of competing search methodologies in the context of civil litigation. This is the third year that NIST has targeted litigation demands related to search and retrieval of documents as a new field of research. For the TREC legal track to be a success, approximately 110 responsible individuals will be needed to participate in an overall document review process which is to take place early this fall. The results of the research effort will be reported at the 17th Annual TREC conference to be held at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland, November 18-20, 2008. In particular, students at law schools are very much encouraged to consider participating on a pro bono volunteer basis in assisting this important research endeavor.
If you are interested in being part of this research project, please contact Jason R. Baron, Director of Litigation at NIST and Co-Chair of The Sedona Conference® Search and Retrieval Sciences Team, to express your interest and/or to follow up with questions. Volunteers will be accepted on a first come, first accepted basis until they have enough volunteers to sustain judging for all topics. He can be reached by email by clcking on this link, or by phone at (301) 837-1499.
Please also inform Laurie Jones, Pro Bono and Public Interest Law Coordinator, of your interest and if you are selected to pursue this volunteer opportunity. She can be reached by clicking on this link.
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Recent Job Listings
This list reflects some of the positions located in the Symplicity CSM jobs module as of August 29, 2008. Please note that these positions have rolling expiration dates and deadlines to apply. Check often!
On-Campus Interviews
Various employers and locations, login to your Symplicity CSM account and open the On-Campus Recruiting tab for details.
2008 Equal Justice Works Career Fair
Equal Justice Works (Washington, DC)
Associate
Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green LLP (Oklahoma City, OK)
Associate
Miller Dollarhide (Oklahoma City, OK)
Landman - Seeking Immediate Hires
Paramount Field Services (Dallas, TX)
Law Clerk
Michael E. Krasnow Attorney at Law (Oklahoma City, OK)
Real Estate Associate
Opper & Gambrell PLLC (Houston, TX)
Associate
Buxton Carson PLLC (Oklahoma City, OK)
HBNA Latino Job Fair
Hispanic National Bar Association (Washington, DC)
Law Clerk
Hickman & Fitzpatrick PLLC (Oklahoma City, OK)
Corporate Counsel
Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (Springfield, MO)
Legal Assistant
Rawls Law Office PLC (Oklahoma City, OK)
Associate
Federman & Sherwood PC (Oklahoma City, OK)
Assistant District Attorney
District Attorney's Office (Shawnee, OK)
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