Published on Secondary: What Effect? Forum

[Ohiobumpkin]

I had a question regarding getting published on a secondary journal. Is getting published on a secondary journal accorded the same weight as getting published on a LS's LR by employers? If so, will it matter to employers what I wrote on or what stance I took on the issue I investigated? Thanks for any input TLSers.

[OutCold]

Employers don't really care about publications. It's more valuable for clerkships. Might take up a few minutes of an interview if they ask you about the topic, though.

[objctnyrhnr]

I do not know what kind of jobs you're going for, but I can only speak to gov jobs (clerkships and govt PI jobs specifically). I will have been published in three different journals by next june. This is something that has always come up in interviews because virtually every employer is going to want to get you talking about a legal issue. if you can talk about a legal issue in which your opinion has been published, that makes your candidacy much stronger, IMO.

[Ohiobumpkin]

I do not know what kind of jobs you're going for, but I can only speak to gov jobs (clerkships and govt PI jobs specifically). I will have been published in three different journals by next june. This is something that has always come up in interviews because virtually every employer is going to want to get you talking about a legal issue. if you can talk about a legal issue in which your opinion has been published, that makes your candidacy much stronger, IMO.

I am interested mostly in Gov't and firm jobs, but would also like to clerk for a state court after graduation. I also have an ancillary question. Does the topic or position of your note really impact the boost in being published. For example, if I wrote on a tax issue and I am interviewing for a position with a labor law boutique firm, do they care less that my note/comment covered a non-labor law related issue, or do they just care about you being published?

[Helmholtz]

Firms won't care, unless, e.g., you wrote about a tax issue and you're interviewing for a spot in a firm's tax group. Even then, can't see it being a big deal. Might show your commitment to a particular field or give you something to talk about during interviews. In general though, firms won't care about publication merely for the sake of publication.

[objctnyrhnr]

I do not know what kind of jobs you're going for, but I can only speak to gov jobs (clerkships and govt PI jobs specifically). I will have been published in three different journals by next june. This is something that has always come up in interviews because virtually every employer is going to want to get you talking about a legal issue. if you can talk about a legal issue in which your opinion has been published, that makes your candidacy much stronger, IMO.

I am interested mostly in Gov't and firm jobs, but would also like to clerk for a state court after graduation. I also have an ancillary question. Does the topic or position of your note really impact the boost in being published. For example, if I wrote on a tax issue and I am interviewing for a position with a labor law boutique firm, do they care less that my note/comment covered a non-labor law related issue, or do they just care about you being published?

I do not know the answer to this question, though I have had a similar quandary. Everything I want to do is on the prosecution side, yet an article I wrote which advocates for defendants' rights in a particular context is going to be published. I always wondered if my viewpoint would affect any opportunities in my future.

[crouton62]

It's a nice line on the rez and looks good on your firm profile. It gives a firm something to point to to say that you're kinda legit when clients bitch about having to pay for associates' billing rates. If all other things are equal, I suppose it could be the straw that tilts the scales in your favor if an employer is totally stuck between you and another candidate (e.g., he/she worked hard enough/gave a damn enough to get published and is probs a cogent writer).

In terms of position you took or your topic, I can't imagine that hiring committees give a damn about that. Are they really gonna sit there and discuss the merits of your analysis of some obscure subpart of the niche topic that your secondary focused on? Can't see that.

[Jchance]

I had a question regarding getting published on a secondary journal. Is getting published on a secondary journal accorded the same weight as getting published on a LS's LR by employers? If so, will it matter to employers what I wrote on or what stance I took on the issue I investigated? Thanks for any input TLSers.

Employers, Gov't, etc. do not care about where you got published, they only see it as 1 publication or however many publications you have.

The only people that care where you got published is law schools for academia, you need a few articles in the top 50 or top 100 LRs to be competitive for those teaching gigs.

[Helmholtz]

It gives a firm something to point to to say that you're kinda legit when clients bitch about having to pay for associates' billing rates.

I would be kind of shocked if this has actually ever happened.

[Jchance]

I do not know what kind of jobs you're going for, but I can only speak to gov jobs (clerkships and govt PI jobs specifically). I will have been published in three different journals by next june. This is something that has always come up in interviews because virtually every employer is going to want to get you talking about a legal issue. if you can talk about a legal issue in which your opinion has been published, that makes your candidacy much stronger, IMO.

I am interested mostly in Gov't and firm jobs, but would also like to clerk for a state court after graduation. I also have an ancillary question. Does the topic or position of your note really impact the boost in being published. For example, if I wrote on a tax issue and I am interviewing for a position with a labor law boutique firm, do they care less that my note/comment covered a non-labor law related issue, or do they just care about you being published?

I do not know the answer to this question, though I have had a similar quandary. Everything I want to do is on the prosecution side, yet an article I wrote which advocates for defendants' rights in a particular context is going to be published. I always wondered if my viewpoint would affect any opportunities in my future.

No one reads your article. Really. Your only audience is Westlaw.

The only time it'd come up in your lifetime is during your interview, which you should be able to spin it.