by Wes Porter
Associate Professor of Law
Golden Gate University School of Law
Many law students consider what they may want to do with a law degree, but not necessarily where they may be able to do it. As you think about internships and job prospects after graduation, you or someone you know has thought, or will think, generally about the government. If you have developed a specific interest, really enjoyed a particular class or know exactly what you want to do, then there are dozens of local, state and/or federal government offices that do that type of work and lawyers working in those offices that would be happy to talk to you. A few thoughts about what to talk about are below.
Investigate office and positions. Many government offices today have web pages, directories and office/position descriptions. Some are not very informative. Learning about government offices should also come from meeting attorneys and asking questions (
Where do you work? What type of work do you do? What do you like/dislike about your office/job? Is that transactional or litigation? Is that civil or criminal? What offices and/or attorneys are working most with/against?) Most attorneys enjoy talking about themselves and “their practice.” For most government attorneys, no one is asking these questions – during my 12 years in the government with several departments and agencies, only a handful of times did a law student ask me about my practice.
Find your government “goal job” and start a pathway. I had no idea that I would ever work in government or serve as federal government attorney when I was in law school. But I had an interest in trial work and criminal law. Then when I helped a solo criminal defense lawyer as a 2L, we took our client for an interview at a local US Attorney’s Office. I didn’t know (nor did I ask) where we were going, what the office did, with whom we were meeting and what the meeting was about. My role was to take notes and be quiet. It was then that I met my “goal job.” As we left, I grabbed some letterhead from the front desk, pestered my guy with dozens of questions on the walk and proclaimed that
I want to do that.
I learned everything about that office, other offices like it, the agency, and specific positions available there. I also learned that you can’t get that job right out of law school. This led to more questions.
Who do they hire? What does it take to get there? What references will matter to them? What experience do they like? What are the prior jobs of the people in these offices and with these positions? The answers to these types of questions create your plan, your pathway. For you, it may mean reading resumes, websites and attorney bios, sending “cold” e-mails, availing yourself of the law school’s resources, LCS, faculty (even adjuncts) and alumni,
thinking about and asking questions and developing your five-years-from-now resume and interview answers now. For me, it also meant volunteering at specific offices, finding (and working extremely hard for) my future “government references” and seeking only positions that would reflect the “right experience.”
I hope to offer more advice for those considering government opportunities. Until then, a mentor at my goal job told me that once you get there, you must ask more questions, develop a new goal job and start on your next pathway.
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Look for my next post about “Cold e-mailing,” current events and the government informational interview and government interviews, offices and attorneys can be different.)
