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Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 11:55 pm
by Anonymous User
Has anyone participated in the Lavender Law Job Fair held by The LGBT Bar Association in the past?
What are their job fairs like? I've heard the job fair is much less structured than those diversity job fairs, but I'm wondering what are the odds to obtain a CB through Lavender Law.
Thanks!
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 12:00 pm
by Wustlmike19
I've gone twice, have gotten Big Law jobs twice, and have had a number of callbacks from Lav Law. For reference, I go to a lower-ranked double digit school. The jobs i received were at firms that did not do OCI at my school. So yes, I would strongly suggest that you attend, provided you can do so financially. Perhaps ask the school or your Pride org if they can foot some or all of the bill.
The job fair is basically a convention center room/s where ALL the firms are. They each have a table and you walk up to them, sit down give them your resume, and conduct mini-screener interviews. The other fairs, at least the fairs I've been to, have you bid for a firm and then fly up if you receive interview offers, here you show up and talk to any firm you want.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 1:21 pm
by grand inquisitor
the sex is the selling point. the job fair is just an excuse.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 1:34 pm
by Anonymous User
Wustlmike19 wrote:I've gone twice, have gotten Big Law jobs twice, and have had a number of callbacks from Lav Law. For reference, I go to a lower-ranked double digit school. The jobs i received were at firms that did not do OCI at my school. So yes, I would strongly suggest that you attend, provided you can do so financially. Perhaps ask the school or your Pride org if they can foot some or all of the bill.
The job fair is basically a convention center room/s where ALL the firms are. They each have a table and you walk up to them, sit down give them your resume, and conduct mini-screener interviews. The other fairs, at least the fairs I've been to, have you bid for a firm and then fly up if you receive interview offers, here you show up and talk to any firm you want.
Congrats!
If that's the case, then wouldn't the people lining up for the same firm would overhear the interview conversation?
And did you get CBs on the spot or did you get it some time after the mini-screener?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2017 10:37 pm
by Wustlmike19
There generally isn't a line because there are so many firms. And people stay a few feet away from you. I heard back days to weeks after.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:20 pm
by Anonymous User
Does each major office send its own interviewer? If not, would it be awkward or pointless to interview with someone who's not from the office I'm interest in?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:49 pm
by Anonymous User
Not LGBTQ but it's helpful to see the firms attending listed in terms of actually being active in pursuing diversity
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:57 pm
by lawdawg4
I'm officially going as of an hour ago. I received complementary registration for offering to volunteer, so others who are financially tight should look into it! Check the LGBT Bar email sent out this morning for more information! Pretty excited! Never been to California before.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 8:37 pm
by Anonymous User
CB from V&E in a TX location
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 11:37 pm
by Anonymous User
T30 TOP30%
Lavender Law is awesome! 3 CB from band 1 firms in SF/DC/NY so far, despite lack of tie. Got nothing so far from OCI.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 6:39 pm
by Anonymous User
I went to Lavender law several years ago. While I support the LGBT-Q community, i'm a heterosexual male and was quite comfortable at the convention and found several of the seminars helpful. The funny thing is, during one of my interviews, I had a good rapport with the interviewing attorney. I told him about my, then, current firm internship and he asked me "what did they say/how did they react when you came out to them?" To which I replied that I wasn't gay.
He turned bright red, although I was very matter-of-fact that if I were and came out to my boss and they didn't like it then i'd move on. Still...no callback

Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:37 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:T30 TOP30%
Lavender Law is awesome! 3 CB from band 1 firms in SF/DC/NY so far, despite lack of tie. Got nothing so far from OCI.
Opposite experience here. Have done very well at OCI as Top 25% at a T30. But I have heard crickets so far from Lav Law. Targeted exclusively Los Angeles (with ties, though from across the country), so I did not have terribly high hopes. The conference was great nonetheless!
Also, I don't even know where to start with that anon post directly above this.

Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 11:08 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:T30 TOP30%
Lavender Law is awesome! 3 CB from band 1 firms in SF/DC/NY so far, despite lack of tie. Got nothing so far from OCI.
Opposite experience here. Have done very well at OCI as Top 25% at a T30. But I have heard crickets so far from Lav Law. Targeted exclusively Los Angeles (with ties, though from across the country), so I did not have terribly high hopes. The conference was great nonetheless!
Also, I don't even know where to start with that anon post directly above this.

Yeah, I saw the last anon's post and thought I'd just let it sit and simmer or let someone else deal with it.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 2:24 pm
by Anonymous User
Anon here that you two apparently don't know how to deal with - what's the issue?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 2:28 pm
by grand inquisitor
isn't lavender explicitly for allies as well as acronym'd people?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 2:54 pm
by Anonymous User
The career fair is not intended for allies.
http://lgbtbar.org/annual/career-fair/
"The National LGBT Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law® Career Fair is designed to achieve a sense of community and inclusion
for LGBT candidates within the legal profession’s recruiting efforts. By participating in this career fair, candidates will talk directly to LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBT rights groups, and corporate legal departments."
Additionally, despite recruiting at LavLaw numerous times, I have never outright asked a student if he or she was LGBTQ or about his or her "coming out to the firm" story. Some have volunteered it, but it's a borderline inappropriate question to ask.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 3:13 pm
by grand inquisitor
that's fucked up, then. agree that it's weird to ask people their summer associate coming out story in an interview.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:17 am
by Anonymous User
Did anyone hear from Lav Law firms so far?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 10:04 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Did anyone hear from Lav Law firms so far?
I received a callback from one firm's office located in Houston.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:10 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Anonymous User wrote:Did anyone hear from Lav Law firms so far?
I received a callback from one firm's office located in Houston.
Nice! Anyone else? When did you receive a callback?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:28 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:The career fair is not intended for allies.
http://lgbtbar.org/annual/career-fair/
"The National LGBT Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law® Career Fair is designed to achieve a sense of community and inclusion
for LGBT candidates within the legal profession’s recruiting efforts. By participating in this career fair, candidates will talk directly to LGBT-friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBT rights groups, and corporate legal departments."
Additionally, despite recruiting at LavLaw numerous times, I have never outright asked a student if he or she was LGBTQ or about his or her "coming out to the firm" story. Some have volunteered it, but it's a borderline inappropriate question to ask.
Anon here who was asked the semi-inappropriate question - I really didn't take issue with it (perhaps a member of the LGBT community would?) but rather took it as a sign that I was having an honest, open discussion. I would presume that being a member of the community entails dealing with certain issues, and discussion of those is at least tangentially related to the convention.
While LavLaw is intended for inclusion of LGBT candidates, I would also presume that a group who is fighting for equality wouldn't begrudge a heterosexual person attending the event. In fact, there were a fair number of us who were there who were straight (the women more so) and it was met with general appreciation and acceptance. All in all, I had a good experience.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:12 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: Anon here who was asked the semi-inappropriate question - I really didn't take issue with it (perhaps a member of the LGBT community would?) but rather took it as a sign that I was having an honest, open discussion. I would presume that being a member of the community entails dealing with certain issues, and discussion of those is at least tangentially related to the convention.
While LavLaw is intended for inclusion of LGBT candidates, I would also presume that a group who is fighting for equality wouldn't begrudge a heterosexual person attending the event. In fact, there were a fair number of us who were there who were straight (the women more so) and it was met with general appreciation and acceptance. All in all, I had a good experience.
I agree that heterosexual students and lawyers should attend LavLaw. Progress does not happen through living in a bubble and excluding allies. But, I'm conflicted about whether non-LGBTQ students should expect a different response from a screener than not getting a callback. 99% of the screening process is being memorable, particularly in a cattle call environment like LavLaw. These screeners may speak with 30+ candidates in a day, generally with the marching orders of expanding the firm's diversity profile. The screener is in control - if you make him or her uncomfortable, then you are memorable for a bad reason. If I were advising an ally going to LavLaw I would encourage him or her to network as an ally, to try to make very clear connections during mixers and sessions and events, but to leave the career fair to its intended audience.
To me, it's a judgment question -- I would consider you a strong ally and very mature if we were at a mixer and you told me that you weren't going to participate in the job fair; and, I may consider you opportunistic if our screener conversation revealed that you were straight. Consider a parallel -- If it were a job fair
intended to advance women (assuming you're male), would you go? Would you be surprised if you didn't get a callback despite a good conversation?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 3:58 pm
by Anonymous User
Hetero anon here (never thought i'd type that). So I guess I should be clear, I wasn't expecting a call back - but just dismayed that I didn't get one, just as I would have been had I not received one at OCI (I received many). All in all, I had multiple 'brief' interviews at LavLaw and only in one of them did my orientation come out (the odd interaction I noted above).
In law school, there were many women's groups and events that my male counterparts attended (I never had any interest so I didn't attend) and, as I recall, the prevailing thinking was all are invited even though the group is meant to promote x. I attended la raza, middle eastern and asian-pacific american events despite being affiliated (by race) with any of them.
So, though I never said I expected a call back, I didn't expect my orientation to get me any special consideration, but I didn't once consider it to hinder me either. To be honest, I never felt that it did either. Even the awkward interaction I had with the screener, he ended up knowing my interim roommates and we all went out for drinks afterwards.
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 10:04 am
by Anonymous User
The point of a place like LavLaw is for LGBTQ people who otherwise do not have the same privileges that you do (male hetero anon) to be in an environment where their differences are celebrated. It is assumed that the students who go there identify on the non-hetero spectrum of sexuality. For you to show up in a space like that is unfair. It is exactly what so many people are always talking about, people with a certain privilege taking up space in an environment specifically created to prevent that. Think about all the other places you could go to, why take up space even as an ally?
Re: Lavender Law Job Fair 2017
Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:06 pm
by Anonymous User
Baker Botts NYC CB via phone call (from TX number)