Summer jobs and internships offer the best chance for law students to gain real-world experience, according to Neil Sirota, interim assistant dean for career services.
In a conversation with A.J. Kierstead on Inside Law Admissions, a special series of UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law’s The Legal Impact podcast, Sirota offered tips and advice on how to wade through the process of finding employment during school breaks.
“As students realize pretty quickly,” Sirota said, “there’s often a big gulf between what they’re learning in school and what they’re actually going to do when they practice. So summer employment starts by giving them some real-world flavor of what that’s going to be like.”
Summer jobs give law students a chance to start building their network for their post-law school careers. Getting to know other legal professionals within the area of law a student hopes to one day practice will give them a jumpstart in navigating the legal world. Networking also leads to opportunities, as many jobs are not posted and finding one can be a word-of-mouth process.
Sirota offered guidelines for job searching, including consulting with the career services professionals at UNH Franklin Pierce; narrowing down an area of focus; researching law firms and government agencies; and simply using Google to conduct that research.
“The nice thing is that anything you do over the summer is not an absolute etched-in-stone indicator of what you’ll do when you graduate,” Sirota said. “You can use the summer to rule things in or rule things out. That’s a good time to just explore, play around, and see what you like.”
The 2022 Public Interest Job Fair in the UNH Law IP Library.
While it’s not an area that typically gets many resources, UN Franklin Pierce holds a public interest job fair each year. The event provides a chance for students to investigate jobs and internships within the government and nonprofit worlds. Though the pay may not be as lucrative — or exist at all — as it is in the private sector, Sirota said these public interest positions are often the best way for students to get significant practical experience in organizations that are often understaffed and therefore welcome extra hands.
These experiences can influence the career path of law student. Sirota offered as an example a student who was certain she did not want to be a litigator, did not want to argue in court, did not feel confident in her skills in that area. After a nudge toward a summer internship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, that changed.
“I got a call from her after they had a mock trial — she loved every second of it,” Sirota told Kierstead. “She went on to become a prosecutor, then moved into the private sector doing litigation. She’s been a litigator her whole career, all because she took a chance that summer and did something a little outside her comfort zone.”
In addition to the public interest fair, Career Services at UNH Franklin Pierce organizes several other job fairs each year to help match students with opportunities. UNH is also a member of a law school consortium that holds a virtual job event in the winter. Sirota and other Career Services staff members devote significant time to searching online for job postings to share with students and also facilitate networking with alumni. State Bar events provide additional networking opportunities.
Also available through Career Services is the chance to have résumés reviewed prior to sending them out to potential employers.
“The résumé should be viewed as a sales or a marketing document,” Sirota said. “You’re marketing your services to an employer, so you want to think about designing it in that way. When you look at it, are you getting a sense of who you are? Are you putting forth to the employer the story you want to present? It’s not just a list of your accomplishments.”
Once the job has been secured, Sirota gave further advice for what’s next. He recommended asking a lot of questions, clarifying expectations and responsibilities, and submitting only final drafts of written work to supervisors. “Don’t think someone else may catch the mistakes,” Sirota said. “Do as many reviews as you would if you were turning it into a court, opposing counsel, or another party.”
After the summer is over, Sirota suggested asking permission to use completed work as a writing sample for future employers to evaluate and also said interns should remain in touch with co-workers to expand their networking circle.
“Go back to the networking,” he said. “This is a great opportunity.”
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