Where to go from here Forum

[jjf68]

Good luck to you. I am a recent licensed attorney who also "feels in the dark" about many things. I too have/had ZERO aspects of employment after graduation due to some decisions, which I am solely responsible for. Most of it was, as you mentioned, not understanding common terms and not caring for it enough that caused me a setback after graduating. This Forum was available to me, but I did not read up on some common job application methods, etc. I have been mostly lurking here recently picking up advice which I should have picked up on a few years ago. I feel so behind, but like I said, it cannot be changed now. I graduated from a T-1 regional and passed the bar on my first try with nothing to look forward to and am still hoping for something good. Right now, I am looking better than I was before. Again, good luck to you. Hopefully people will help you here.

Thanks for the kind words, a lot of what you said feels very familiar to me.

I had a friend a few years older than me who graduated from pharmacy school at the same university where i went to law school, a couple of years before I started law school. He was near the bottom of his class, but the market at the time was such that as soon as he had his degree in hand, companies were lining up to offer him six figure salaries.

That was, I think, the worst thing that could have happened to me. While I didn't think it would be as easy for me as it was for him, I did think that obtaining the degree was most of the battle, and with some average effort I'd find easy employment opportunities. There may have been a time that was true in the legal field, but not when I graduated 10 years ago. Then and now, it seems job searching and career building is a separate job in itself. Assuming that the degree is the ticket to easy street is terribly flawed--understandably so, perhaps, but flawed nonetheless.

[jjf68]

OP, have you considered applying to clerk for a state or Federal judge? Might really help with, say, midlaw applications. Your chances aren’t necessarily fantastic for an Article 3 judge but especially for judges from the same region or law school it might not be out of the question. IME some judges don’t mind or even prefer applicants who have work experience. You wouldn’t be the first applicant with significant prior work experience looking to clerk as a way of changing directions career wise. (You can explain you're looking to pivot to X in the cover letter, thus explaining why a former prosecutor is looking to clerk.) May be worth a shot.

i've thought about federal clerkships, and i keep an eye on my state's openings on the fed court job posting board. kentucky usually has zero hits, which is discouraging, but i check it nonetheless.

if an opportunity were available it would present a dilemma for me. it would likely (except in a dream scenario) require relocating, but also likely wouldn't be enough difference in salary to make relocating a no-brainer. that's not to say i'd absolutely rule it out or that i don't appreciate the input, just that it would be a tough decision.

[nixy]

OP, have you considered applying to clerk for a state or Federal judge? Might really help with, say, midlaw applications. Your chances aren’t necessarily fantastic for an Article 3 judge but especially for judges from the same region or law school it might not be out of the question. IME some judges don’t mind or even prefer applicants who have work experience. You wouldn’t be the first applicant with significant prior work experience looking to clerk as a way of changing directions career wise. (You can explain you're looking to pivot to X in the cover letter, thus explaining why a former prosecutor is looking to clerk.) May be worth a shot.

i've thought about federal clerkships, and i keep an eye on my state's openings on the fed court job posting board. kentucky usually has zero hits, which is discouraging, but i check it nonetheless.

if an opportunity were available it would present a dilemma for me. it would likely (except in a dream scenario) require relocating, but also likely wouldn't be enough difference in salary to make relocating a no-brainer. that's not to say i'd absolutely rule it out or that i don't appreciate the input, just that it would be a tough decision.

Check oscar.uscourts.gov instead. Regular clerkships may not get posted on the fed court job posting board - I think those are mostly permanent or short-notice positions, rather than standard term clerkships. Most judges hire at least a year in advance, so it would need to be a longer-term plan rather than responding to a specific posting.

[Auxilio]

On top of clerking, staff attorney positions might interest you as well. Pay is usually pretty decent and it's a lot of criminal work so former PD/prosecutor is a decent fit I would think.

[jjf68]

Thanks for the info re: clerkship/staff attorney search. I had no idea oscar existed.