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I am a 1L interning at a small general practice law firm that has an international/foreign practice among its several departments. Having spent 2 weeks here I have not done any work on international practice and do not expect anything much to do with it in the coming weeks, except maybe our partner will have meetings with foreign investors aiming to set up companies in NYC.
I am very interested in international trade and hope to develop my career in this area of the law.
Would it be deceitful for me to emphasize on my resume that it is a firm specializing, among other things, in international transactions, just as the the firm's website has done? I believe that should at an interview, I should be able to spin my experience.... because my boss has told me quite a bit about it. Nevertheless I probably won't have the good fortune to work on it, and this practice does not appear to be the main practice of our firm at the moment.

What do you mean "emphasize?" Just tell the truth. You got to know people who do what you want to do and you really want to do what they do. There's no need to stretch the truth or anything. Don't in any way attempt to make your itnerviewers believe you did anything other than what you actually did. Having talked to/gotten to know people who work in the area in which you want to work is a plus in its own right.

If you try to make them think you did substantive work, they will probably have follow-up questions which you probably won't be able to answer. You will get outted quickly. Whereas if you just say that you got to know people and their practices you will be easily able to answer their follow-up questions.

tl;dr, if you have to ask, don't do it.

i mean, suppose I say a few words describing my law firm on my resume (the type of law it practices) - shall I describe it like the way its website describes it, or do I just focus exclusively on what I have done this past summer? or should I do both?

Anonymous User wrote:i mean, suppose I say a few words describing my law firm on my resume (the type of law it practices) - shall I describe it like the way its website describes it, or do I just focus exclusively on what I have done this past summer? or should I do both?

I am confused. In what resume format do you describe the law firm? Is it not customary to describe what YOU did at the law firm?

So, yes, you describe your work at the firm on your resume, not the law firm itself (otherwise janitors would describe the interantal legal stuff).

You can explain what the law firm does in your interviews and your familiarity with its practice and why you want to build your practice around that area.

oh, one of the standard resume provided by our school: the law firm's name, followed by a line of description of its practices.
what I have done and will do this past summer does not cover all its works.

Bluntly:

If you have to ask this question, you should NOT attempt it. You don't know where the line is, and it's a very dangerous line to cross. Don't ever give an interviewer a chance to call you on bullshit.

Also...get your own resume format. Seriously. That's a much better way to distinguish yourself than lying.

Anonymous User wrote:oh, one of the standard resume provided by our school: the law firm's name, followed by a line of description of its practices.
what I have done and will do this past summer does not cover all its works.

If the firm is not well-known, I do not see the harm in having a line item similar to Firm Name (specializing in international mumbojumbo).

There's nothing wrong with highlighting something on your resume to ensure that it comes up in interviews or to demonstrate your interest in the area. DO NOT try to convince anyone you have done anything substantive though.

As a general point- your itnerest is very narrow. You might be limiting yourself come OCI/EIP/ODI or whatever your school calls it.


You other option is to reach out and try to get some substantive experience, anything at all that you can put as the first line item in your description of the work you did this summer.

Anonymous User wrote:Bluntly:

If you have to ask this question, you should NOT attempt it. You don't know where the line is, and it's a very dangerous line to cross. Don't ever give an interviewer a chance to call you on bullshit.

Also...get your own resume format. Seriously. That's a much better way to distinguish yourself than lying.

cr. anytime you have to say "am I fudging too much?" you are.

experts in international trade unicorn leprechaun law or whatever it is will be familiar with the firm. if they aren't familiar with the firm, it likely wouldn't have mattered anyway.

I agree that it is bad to lie.

However, I don't believe that an 'unknown" firm is unnecessarily offering experience any less useful.

I don't believe this firm is well-known. Yet it had some important transactions:
http://www.yoonkimlaw.com/international.html

Besides whether its ethical, its just a terrible idea.

"Oh, that firm does international XYZ, can you tell us what work you did in that field while you were there?"

You will look silly in an interview if this happens, and it probably will.

That you are asking if it is lying suggests the answer is closer to lie than not. Also, I'll just say it - yes, what you suggest is lying. You had to ask this???? You'd be better off begging for one assignment - even fucking doc review - then you could say "gained experience in . . ." But holy lord, this question was actually asked.

I'll beg for assignment related to my desired practice then. whatever it/they may be. meeting up with foreign clients with my boss, or helping to review documents/draft contracts.

Or you could just put this in your cover letter when describing your motivation to work at whatever firm next summer, just say something about the exposure and contacts you got this summer at this firm where they specialize in international trade and how it inspired you somehow.

The sublime idiocy of TLS never ceases to astound.

Teoeo wrote:Besides whether its ethical, its just a terrible idea.

"Oh, that firm does international XYZ, can you tell us what work you did in that field while you were there?"

You will look silly in an interview if this happens, and it probably will.

Answer: "Well I didn't do any work in that area per se; but my boss told me a lot about it."

-Interview ends-

No, I don't think that this is an acceptable form of advertising.