Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley Advises GGU Law Graduating Class to ‘Take Your Place at the Table’ and Have Courage to Speak for Those Without a Voice in the Legal System

By Frank Zeccola
LCD Graduate Fellow 

Graduation season is wrapping up, and this year has seen speeches filled with high-minded idealism, lofty inspiration, and calls for drive and ambition. President Obama, for example, advised the class at Rutgers University that “Qualities like kindness and compassion, honesty, hard work—they often matter more than technical skills or know-how.”

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandburg discussed her experiences dealing with the recent death of her husband, and told the class at UC Berkeley to remember that “anchored deep within you is the ability to learn and grow. You are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up, draw on it when you need it,” she said. “In that process you will figure out who you really are—you just might become the very best version of yourself.”

And U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland told a fifth-grade class, “When you watch Steph Curry glide down the basketball court, and Beyoncé dance across the stage, it sure looks easy,” he observed. “But every step is a result of hours and hours of practice, discipline, and determination.”

Nancy O'Malley

At our own graduation ceremony here at GGU Law last month, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley addressed the class of 2016. The first woman appointed DA of Alameda County—a position once held by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren—O’Malley is a 1983 graduate of Golden Gate University School of Law. “GGU is in my blood—my DNA,” she said.

O’Malley’s father, a former judge in Contra Costa County, is a 1961 graduate of the same school. In addition, her sister graduated from GGU Law in 1985 and her niece graduated from the school in 2014. “So you can see that we have an affinity for this school,” she added.

O’Malley discussed her upbringing and the inspiration she draws from her father, the son of Irish immigrants, who went to law school after having seven children.

How to Dress Professionally on a Budget

By Frank Zeccola

LCD Graduate Fellow

Interview season is upon us—and it should go without saying that we urge you to wear formal business attire to all interviews. Beyond a doubt, you want the person you are interviewing with to be confident in the impression you’ll create in their organization if they hire you. However, we understand that many of our students graduate in debt, and you might not be in a position to spend a lot of money on clothing. Further, many of you are applying for low-paying public interest jobs, or even unpaid positions, and we understand that money is always tight.

To that end, here are several great ways to dress professionally on a budget.  Whether you are a 1L interviewing for a summer position or a graduate trying to land that first associate job, you always want to look your best for interviews. Here’s how to do it for less: 

Public Interest Law, Lateefah Simon & The PI/PS Launch Celebration Event

By Erica L. Morris
Graduate Fellow, Law Career Development

Just in time for National Pro Bono week, GGU Law is celebrating its students, faculty, alumni and staff who engage in legal service to their communities, and we are celebrating with a very special guest...

Public Interest Law is a cumulative array of industries and practice areas focused on improving the lives of everyone. Those who enter into public interest law may work in a government agency, such as by defending youth from wrongful criminal convictions. Or they may work for a public interest organization that helps victims of domestic violence. Or they may even speak out to improve civil and human rights in a foreign country. Or perhaps, they may "be the attorney who works on community economic development and helps minority-owned small businesses become incorporated. As a public interest lawyer you will be the attorney who ensures liberty and justice for all."

The public interest law sector is vast, and no matter your interest, there is a place for you to fit in - either as a career or as side pro bono work done apart from or within a fee generating practice.  It just takes one person to enact change. Take Lateefah Simon, for an example.

Legal Diversity Initiatives

by Jared Solovay
Director of Employer Relations and Administrative Director of the Honors Lawyering Program
Law Career Services

A longstanding issue of great concern in the legal profession has been the lack of diversity with respect to women, persons with disabilities, the LGBT community, and racial and ethnic minorities.¹

The result has been disproportionately lower representation for certain groups in the profession, particularly in leadership positions.

For example, according to a recent Law Review article analyzing this topic, “12.6% of the U.S. population was African American, 16.3% was Hispanic American, and 4.8% was Asian American” in 2010, yet these groups made up only “4.3%, 3.4%, and 3.4% respectively” of the legal profession that year.

As the ABA has noted, “Without a diverse bench and bar, the rule of law is weakened as the people see and come to distrust their exclusion from the mechanisms of justice. “ In addition, as some diverse attorneys have explained, this underrepresention can lead to a lack of adequate mentorship and the perceptions of hiring biases within the profession.

SAVE THE DATE! March 16, 50 Things You Can Do With a Law Degree

Please email lawcareer@ggu.edu to let us know you plan to attend

Holiday Parties - Let's Mingle

by Sabrina M. Johnson
LCS Graduate Fellow

Holiday Party season is upon us. This is a great way to meet new attorneys in a welcoming and casual environment. Enjoy the season and boast your network.

Click here to view a list of upcoming holiday season events!

Keeping these holiday party tips in mind will allow you to enjoy your time:

1. Have an Entrance Plan. When you walk into a room, make sure you know where you are going. Head to the bar/food area or take a quick walk around the room. Having an initial plan helps alleviate anxiety and boost confidence. 
2. Prepare to Talk. Be able to talk about yourself. This includes both your professional self and other interests. "How about those Giants?" I am willing to bet that the Giants are a hot topic of conversation in San Francisco this season. 
3. Prepare to Listen. Listen to what others are saying, and use their name when appropriate. Active listening (eye contact and smiling) is an easy way to win over your audience. 
4. Dress the Part. Your outfit is your first impression, and while people don't necessarily notice a good outfit, they definitely judge an inappropriate one. Make sure your festive holiday attire is still professional. Remember, you can never go wrong with slacks and a collared shirt. 
5. Collect the Card. Casual conversations at holiday events tend to last 5 - 20 minutes. When you have a connection with someone or want to learn more, ask if you can follow-up with them at a later time. Be sure to get their business card. 
6. Follow Up with the individuals you enjoyed speaking with to wish them a happy holiday, invite them to join your LinkedIn network or to schedule an informational interview.

TED to the Interview Rescue

by Sabrina M. Johnson
LCS Graduate Fellow

Photo courtesy of TED

Are you looking for something fun to include when preparing for your next interview? Try these TED talks, mentioned by Lily Zhang in “5 TED Talks to Watch Before Your Next Interview.” You can prepare for an interview in more ways than research about where you are interviewing, and practice questions. I love TED talks because they are short and usually interesting. I have practiced some of these techniques for interview preparation, and even while taking the bar to boost my confidence. In particular the now famous Wonder Woman pose from Amy Cuddy’s talk. I also found the talk, “How to Spot a Liar,” very informative about techniques that could be used during an interview to make sure that the interviewer is telling you the truth about what it is like to work there. Each talk can help you to identify areas that can be changed slightly to achieve a different result from your next interview. 

1. Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are, by Amy Cuddy
2. How to Speak So That People Want to Listen, by Julian Treasure
3. Talk Nerdy to Me, by Melissa Marshall 
4. How to Spot a Liar, by Pamela Meyer
5. The Optimism Bias, by Tali Sharot

Controversy Abounds at the US Supreme Court

By Cynthia Chandler
Public Interest Career Counselor and Adjunct Professor

Over the last week, the US Supreme Court rolled out significant rulings that promise to shape our legal and political landscape. To enhance your own professional development, consider publishing your own analysis and commentary on the rulings. If you came to law school to work on controversies like these, make an appointment at LCS to figure out how. Here are brief summaries of the rulings; you can access copies of the decisions at www.supremecourt.gov. And to keep informed of Constitutional trends, check out the American Constitutional Society's "What's Next?" Conference Call Series: information at http://www.acslaw.org/WhatsNextSeries2014

Book Review - Best Friends at the Bar

by Sarah Wood
LCS Grad Fellow

Best Friends at the Bar by Susan Smith Blakely is a book designed for young women in law schools as well as women pursuing their undergraduate degree who are considering a career in the legal field. The author has worked in the legal field for 25 years and has experience in both the public and private sectors. She includes contributions from more than 60 legal professionals, including judges and legal career counselors. The focus of the book is to help women make well-informed choices regarding their legal careers because according to the author’s research over 40% of women leave the legal profession midcareer and nearly 80% of women in major law firms leave after just five years of work.

In addition to advice from her contributors and her own personal advice, the author provides her readers with article, book, and web resources within the text. This book is a quick and easy read but is still very well researched and packed with useful information and advice. Every chapter incorporates advice from people in the profession such as practitioners, authors, judges and also law school career counselors. The author addresses the impact of the current economy and the difficulty of balancing work and home life. She includes excerpts from women in the field of varying ages on how they have personally dealt with the work-home life balance. For specific research and resources on this critical topic, see the University of California Hastings’s Project for Attorney Retention.

The author emphasizes the importance of choosing a specialty early on and finding a mentor (male or female). She explains with staggering statistics the reality of the legal profession still being male dominated and provides realistic information about pursuing a career in litigation or with a large firm. The new idea of flexible hours and part-time partnerships are discussed and, while technically possible, the author emphasizes that they are not always a reality in large firms and on the whole are extremely hard to come by. There is a section titled “critical lessons” which includes tips on dressing appropriately (which means different things in different legal settings as well as different areas of the country), office relationships, keeping emotionality to a minimum, and working with other women in the profession. The book concludes with profiles of women working in the legal profession and who struggled with a variety of work-life issues. She incorporates advice from 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60-somethings as well as a male perspective on women in the legal field.
 
[ This book is available for check-out at Law Career Services. ]