Thursday, May 28, 2009

"Smart Networking and the Art of the Ask"

Today, the Personal Branding Blog has an interesting article on networking by Liz Lynch entitled "Smart Networking and the Art of the Ask." It's a great piece about how to confidently network with peers and ask for their assistance with success.

"Knowing how to build your network is crucial, but knowing how to tap into your network for help is even more important. After all, if you can’t get the help you need for yourself or for others from the people you know, where will you get it?

Some people are reluctant to ask for help out of fear of looking helpless or a fear of rejection. But giving help is actually very natural. As Daniel Goleman wrote in Social Intelligence, “Our brain has been preset for kindness. We automatically go to the aid of a child who is screaming in terror; we automatically hug a smiling baby. Such emotional impulses…elicit reactions in us that are unpremeditated and instantaneous.”

So when someone sees us in need at a primal level, they react automatically to ease our suffering. With a higher-order need like finding a job, however, we’re less likely to get help for it by screaming like a five-year old."

To read the rest of the article, go here.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Social Media and Your Summer Job

"So, you are about to start (or already started) your summer job. Now what? What should you do with your impressive online presence that you’ve been cultivating and improving on during the school year?

Using Social Media to Help You this Summer

Proficiency in the realm of social media is not common. A lot of people don’t understand Twitter. They may not even be aware of LinkedIn. Still others may have a Facebook account, but may not know how to use it. If you are proficient with those and other similar sites, you are at an advantage over your co-workers."

To read the rest of this great article from Social Media Law Student, go here.

Career TV: How employers are using social networking sites

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn - they're websites about you, but should recruiters be looking at them when you're applying for jobs? You'll find the answer to that question in this episode of CareerTV.

Go here to watch.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Looking for a Last Minute
Study Abroad Opportunity?

The CBL International Oxford Summer Law School will be held at Oriel College (University of Oxford) from July 13 until 31, 2009. Students and young professionals from all over the world get the exceptional opportunity of studying international business law in the city of Oxford, England.

Lectures will be given on international corporate law, European business law, international intellectual property law, international environmental law and international dispute settlement.

Among others, CBL International Oxford Summer Law School is supported by:

* Allen & Overy LLP
* Rouse & Co. International
* Thomson Reuters
* Westlaw

All details and a detailed timetable can be found here.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Touro Law Center Students
Hit Home Run in New Orleans

Hearsay: "Information gathered by a first person from a second person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person has no direct experience." See Wikipedia. While this definition of "hearsay" may seem familiar to most law students and lawyers, a new definition is slowly working its way into the vernacular.

Hearsay: "A new newspaper written, edited, and published by Touro Law Center students." Hearsay is in its second month of publication, after an immensely successful pilot edition in April 2009. The April issue was spearheaded by several students, but its motivating force was graduating student Ray Malone. Mr. Malone is such a large and energetic presence on campus that the SBA recently named an annual award after him, with the first winner of the Ray Malone Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Student Body going to, not surprisingly, Ray Malone. With Mr. Malone graduating, however, new energy was needed to spearhead Hearsay.

Stepping up to the plate is the new Editor-in-Chief, Cheryl Van Dyke. Ms. Van Dyke has put together a winning team and the May issue of Hearsay is outstanding. While the issue includes articles by students, alumni, and professors about the law school community, most impressive are the articles written by students describing their efforts to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Over the past 24 months, more than 120 Touro Law Center students have devoted their spring and other breaks to traveling to New Orleans and surrounding communities to help with the legal, financial, and social problems of Katrina victims. They have been warmly welcomed into communities which, understandably, in light of the pathetic federal response, have been somewhat leery of outsiders. Faculty members traveling on their own have mentioned Touro and have heard residents quick to express praise and thanks to the law students from Long Island who have helped them over the past two years. Everyone in New Orleans, it seems, knows about Touro Law Center and the students who decided to give up spring breaks to help them.

Hearsay contains the moving accounts of the students and faculty who talked the talk and walked the walk in New Orleans. This law school is so very proud of them. They, quite frankly, make the rest of us look good. Even as these students go through law school and graduate, they will never be forgotten, as they are heroes to the people of New Orleans and, just as much, heroes to us.

To ready the May edition of Hearsay, go here.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

NYC Summer Associate Annual Reception

The New York City Bar and the New York Law Journal will host the annual welcoming cocktail reception in honor of summer associates, their mentors, and colleagues. Guests can mingle with other summer associates and attorneys, enjoy drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and have the chance to win great door prizes.

This event, at the Bar Association is free, but please register online or by calling (212) 382-6665.

Summer Associates Annual Reception
Thursday, June 18, 2009 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
The New York City Bar Association
42 West 44th Street New York, NY

LGBT Law Student/Lawyer/Career
Reception in NYC

Join the New York LGBT legal community as they prepare to welcome the National LGBT Bar Association’s Annual Career Fair and Conference attendees this coming September 10-12th in Brooklyn!

As space is limited, this event is only open to law students and event sponsors. Students (1L, 2L and 3Ls) are encouraged to RSVP immediately.

Law Student Summer Kickoff Reception
Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 6:00-8:00pm
Elmo Lounge at 156 Seventh Ave, New York City (map) (“The Best Restaurant of the Year. Swanky, trendy décor and American “comfort” cuisine, beautiful people and an achingly cool reputation make Elmo our pick for the best eatery of the year!” - Instinct Magazine)

Monday, May 18, 2009

LexisNexis Offers Continued
Database Access to Some New Grads

LexisNexis has announced a program, the Associates Serving Public Interest Research (ASPIRE) Program, which will provide complimentary LexisNexis access to several groups of new graduates. All 2009 graduates pursuing verifiable public service (non-profit or charitable) work following graduation are now eligible. This includes:

• Deferred fall associates pursuing public interest work during their deferral periods,

• 2009 graduates who elect to pursue public interest work while searching for law firm employment, and

• 2009 graduates who pursue public interest work as a continuing profession.

Complimentary LexisNexis access will be provided throughout these graduates' public interest employment periods, up until September 2010.

Further details and registration requirements are available here.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

When Grandma Goes to Court

(Click on image to enlarge it.)

Young Lawyers Blog is a great resource for, umm, young lawyers.

Check out this relatively new blog, Young Lawyers Blog, that has some interesting tips for new attorneys (and law students, too). Recent posts include subjects such as legal writing, social media, good idea/bad idea, making yourself indispensable at work, don't get bullied by opposing counsel, and news. You may also follow the blog on Twitter (which is what we do) here.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Stress Relief: Important while
studying for finals and the bar exam

Final exams and the bar exam are sources of great stress for many people. In addition, other sources of stress - finances, relationships, family, children, substances - only magnify the stress inherent in test taking environments. It is important that you keep your levels of stress in check in order to maximize your potential for success.

"The body’s natural relaxation response is a powerful antidote to stress. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and yoga can help you activate this relaxation response. When practiced regularly, these activities lead to a reduction in your everyday stress levels and a boost in your feelings of joy and serenity. What’s more, they also serve a protective quality by teaching you how to stay calm and collected in the face of life’s curveballs."

For more information and practical suggestions and techniques to relieve stress, go here.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Managing a Legal Career Transition in Tough Times: A Special Video Presentation

As a public service, NALP, the Association of Legal Career Professionals, and ALI-ABA, the American Law Institute / American Bar Association, have teamed up to offer Managing a Legal Career Transition in Tough Times — a 75-minute presentation by Marcia Pennington Shannon and Susan G. Manch of Shannon & Manch LLP, who generously donated their time and talent to this special project to assist lawyers and graduating students who are currently seeking employment.

To view this great video, go here.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

We Invite Alums to Provide
Graduating Students With Tips
on Passing the Bar Exam

Who better to advise graduating students on how to pass the Bar Exam than alums who have already taken it? We invite alumni to click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post to bring up the comment screen. Type your advice on the screen and we will get it up and running so graduating students can review it as they study for the Bar Exam. Thank you in advance for your participation!

New Grads: Click on the "comments" link below to read the advice.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Struggling with Law School Student Loans?

Learn about the College Cost Reduction & Access Act and how it supports careers in public service and government!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009
2 workshops to choose from, attend either:
3:30-5pm or 5:30-7pm
Fordham University School of Law
140 West 62 Street, McNally Amphitheatre

Reserve your seat! Heather Jarvis is an expert on federal loan forgiveness law - the College Cost Reduction and Access Act ("CCRAA"). Signed in September 2007, this new law offers amazing financial assistance to law school graduates pursuing public sector work after law school. However, the CCRAA is complex and Ms. Jarvis' presentation will provide information indispensible to those concerned about law school debt.

CCRAA income based repayment is available to any law graduate with federal government loans who is working in the not-for-profit or government sector. If you follows all of the rules outlined, you could minimize your monthly payments immediately and be eligible for complete loan forgiveness in 10 years. Heather Jarvis is Senior Program Manager for Law School Advocacy at Equal Justice Works and Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Legal Education's Committee on Government Relations and Student Financial Aid.

Find out about qualifying employment, eligible loans, repayment plans, and tax implications. Heather will break down even newer federal loan forgiveness programs for civil legal services attorneys, prosecutors and defenders under the Higher Education Reauthorization and College Opportunity Act of 2008. Details will include updates on the regulatory process and issues of funding and appropriations for the new programs.Reserve your free seat by registering online at http://law.fordham.edu - click on the words "Law School Calendar" and go to the day of Wednesday, June 10 to register for either of the presentations (two sessions of the same presentation).

Monday, May 4, 2009

Resources on How
to Use LinkedIn Effectively

In a previous post, we discussed why and how to include a LinkedIn profile on your resume. Establishing an effective presence on LinkedIn, however, is a first step.

As we are forever eager not to reinvent the wheel, here are several good resources to learn how to use LinkedIn most effectively:

How to Use LinkedIn Effectively

Top Eleven Ways to Use LinkedIn Effectively

Six Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn: Seven Tips to Make the Most of Your Profile

Leading Professional Network LinkedIn Offers Ten Tips for a Great Online Profile

Five LinkedIn Tips on Effective Personal Branding

Touro Law Center Alum
Invents Bar Exam Study Game

Some of you may know a 2006 graduate of Touro Law Center, Caryn Pincus.

Caryn has invented a new bar exam study game called "Passing the Bar." The #1 legal twitterer (Rex7) just mentioned Caryn's new game in a tweet. Word is getting out. Moreover, our own Dean Emeritus Barbara Mehrman received special thanks in the game website's acknowledgments.

To see the game, go here.