Why labor law? Forum

(On Campus Interviews, Summer Associate positions, Firm Reviews, Tips, ...)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
Anonymous User
Posts: 428098
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Why labor law?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:43 pm

Interview with a large labor and employment firm.

Anticipating on being asked why this practice area.

I like that you can advise companies and govt entities on how to conduct themselves. You get to deal with clients before anything happens and direct their activies so as to follow laws and regulations involving employment. Other areas of law, like litigation, you are dealing with things after the fact.

Also, job security. Work comp claims will always be plentiful.

I want one more reasons. Are there any that I'm overlooking?

User avatar
zot1

Gold
Posts: 4476
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2013 12:53 am

Re: Why labor law?

Post by zot1 » Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:51 pm

Just make sure that this firm doesn't also do labor litigation...

Anonymous User
Posts: 428098
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Why labor law?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:13 pm

They also do labor litigation....

LawyerEsq

New
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2015 2:00 pm

Re: Why labor law?

Post by LawyerEsq » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:15 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Interview with a large labor and employment firm.

Anticipating on being asked why this practice area.

I like that you can advise companies and govt entities on how to conduct themselves. You get to deal with clients before anything happens and direct their activies so as to follow laws and regulations involving employment. Other areas of law, like litigation, you are dealing with things after the fact.

Also, job security. Work comp claims will always be plentiful.

I want one more reasons. Are there any that I'm overlooking?
Work in any "large labor and employment firm" will inevitably largely consist of employment litigation, especially for a junior associate. Explaining why you don't like litigation would probably earn you a quick ding. Also, such firms also never (or very rarely) handle workers comp claims, so don't mention it.

To get a sense of what work in a large L&E group consists of I'd suggest you study this: http://www.chambers-associate.com/pract ... employment

Danger Zone

Platinum
Posts: 8258
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:36 am

Re: Why labor law?

Post by Danger Zone » Tue Oct 13, 2015 8:34 pm

Fuck Proskauer Rose.
Last edited by Danger Zone on Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428098
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Why labor law?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:01 pm

Bless you lawyeresq

kaiser

Gold
Posts: 3019
Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 11:34 pm

Re: Why labor law?

Post by kaiser » Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:21 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Interview with a large labor and employment firm.

Anticipating on being asked why this practice area.

I like that you can advise companies and govt entities on how to conduct themselves. You get to deal with clients before anything happens and direct their activies so as to follow laws and regulations involving employment. Other areas of law, like litigation, you are dealing with things after the fact.

Also, job security. Work comp claims will always be plentiful.

I want one more reasons. Are there any that I'm overlooking?
Every labor & employment firm does employment litigation. Its a core part of L&E practice. Counseling and litigation go hand in hand in actual L&E practice. You don't want to make it seem like you want one at the expense of the other. Show your interest in both. Its actually great to have some variety in your work, and not be stuck doing just one monotonous thing.

User avatar
ManoftheHour

Gold
Posts: 3486
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:03 pm

Re: Why labor law?

Post by ManoftheHour » Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:33 pm

Danger Zone wrote:Fuck Proskauer Rose.
:lol:

Anonymous User
Posts: 428098
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Why labor law?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Oct 14, 2015 12:31 am

Thanks
Last edited by Anonymous User on Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Anonymous User
Posts: 428098
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Why labor law?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Oct 14, 2015 1:11 am

I'm just a 2l, and I don't currently work for a labor and employment firm, but I used to work at a large labor law firm doing paralegal work. I worked a labor-related job my 1l summer. I have been doing extracurriculars and a lot of course work in labor and employment law. All of my callbacks were from firms interviewing me for their labor and employment groups, and I did end up landing a SA spot in a labor and employment group, so I think my responses to OCI questions regarding "Why labor and employment?" were solid.

Personally, I really liked the work. The cases are really interesting and relatable to anyone who has had a job. Because the work involves people in a simple, understandable context the cases are often comical, sad, dramatic, etc. I usually had some examples of cases I worked on as a paralegal to illustrate this point. I also agree with the some of the other answers. Make sure you are able to demonstrate an interest in litigation. There is some advisory work, helping write employment policies, employment contracts, etc., but really the bulk of the work is litigation.

Somebody mentioned that work comp. isn't big, and that is true. Workers' comp. attorneys are a niche practice and they require certification. Also, the thing that is rough for workers' comp. attorneys is that they can only work for a set percentage (10, 12, or 15% depending on the complexity of the case) on contigency, so one workers' comp. attorney will often take on tons of clients. Of course, you would be defense side, but still, these firms don't really do that. The huge issues right now are in wage and hour law often in regards to classification of workers. Uber is kind of a big deal in that regard, which I find pretty interesting. If you've been following that storyline, it might be good to talk about. I personally find discrimination and whistleblower retaliation cases more interesting though.

Oh, and talk about the breadth of the practice area. It really is a huge area of law with a ton of different issues. Wage and hour, discrimination, whistleblower, FMLA, harassment, disability, workplace torts, benefits, executive compensation, etc. I even worked on a case involving human trafficking while I was a paralegal. So, I think while it may seem like a single practice area, it is really broad and assignments will really vary which will make it interesting.

RaceJudicata

Gold
Posts: 1867
Joined: Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:51 pm

Re: Why labor law?

Post by RaceJudicata » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:16 am

"I want to focus on litigation, and L&E allows me to focus on litigation, but adds a human dynamic that makes the cases very interesting. And while I am mainly focused on litigation, I like that L&E allows me the opportunity to counsel clients as well."

User avatar
lacrossebrother

Platinum
Posts: 7150
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:15 pm

Re: Why labor law?

Post by lacrossebrother » Wed Oct 14, 2015 11:16 am

law360 recently released a study (survey) that showed that though l&e lawyers work just as much as other lawyers, they are the happiest despite the fact that they are also the least pay. it speculates that is is because there's meaningful advising to be done.

might be pay walled:
http://www.law360.com/articles/692034/e ... ers-around

pretty sure you can access on Lexis if you are though.

Highlights:
“They’re not just moving money from one rich person to another or from one rich company to another,” Richard said. “They’re very much in the client-counseling business, where there is a lot of opportunity to give guidance — to offer preventative maintenance — much more than most other practices.”
“Demand for labor and employment relative to many other practices is strong currently, and to an extent that's translating into a more satisfying work experience and higher productivity,” Zimmermann said.
it easier for a labor and employment practitioner to “feel like they are able to obtain a high level of mastery.”

“That mastery — a sense of effectiveness — is a big contributor to satisfaction,” Richard said. “It dovetails very nicely with a sense of meaning and people.”

blackmooncreeping

Bronze
Posts: 164
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:44 pm

Re: Why labor law?

Post by blackmooncreeping » Wed Oct 14, 2015 11:49 am

OP-

I'm an associate at a big L&E firm. PM me if you have any questions.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Legal Employment”