Hi all,
I'm about 3 years out of law school and looking to make a career change this year. I focused heavily on public interest while in law school (no firm experience, lots of clinical experience, a policy clerkship, somewhat above median at a T10 school), and have done an academic fellowship and a nontrad nonprofit job that isn't traditional lawyering but involves a lot of client-facing work since graduation.
I'm hoping to transition into more traditional legal work this year, and one of the things I'm particularly interested in is joining an L&E department. I took a few labor/employment classes in law school and did well, but don't have specific postgrad experience at this point. So my question for those of you who have done L&E firm work before is - what skills have you found particularly valuable in your practice? If you've interviewed or hired L&E associates, what are the key characteristics that you look for?
Sorry if this is broad, any insight would be appreciated!
Labor and employment - what skills are most important? Forum
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Re: Labor and employment - what skills are most important?
I worked in L&E biglaw defense and now do it for the federal government at an agency. I didn’t hire at my firm, but I have been on many hiring committees for my agency. So take what I saw with a grain of salt because not all of it will be relevant to firm hiring.
For me, people skills are the most important thing I look for when I interview. I don’t want someone who’s super socially awkward or who can’t have a normal conversation. So much of what you do as an employment or labor attorney is talking to non-lawyers. Whether you’re conducting and investigation (I did this a lot in private practice on behalf of large companies or municipalities) or trying to explain to an aggrieved employee why something happened a certain way, you’ve got to be able to communicate like a normal person. I also look for someone I think can take a stern stance wirh clients. A lot of times you’ll find managers are hesitant to follow your advice because they don’t want to respect the protections emplyeees have under certain employment laws. Bascially, I can’t hire a pushover.
Employment work also involves a lot of motion writing on the defense side. Almost all of your cases are going to either be ripe for summary judgment or need to be settled. These cases are usually low-dollar if they’re single plaintiff or have massive attorneys fee liability for class action (mostly wage/hour). Federal sector employment law is especially prone to firivlous filings by employees (because it’s so easy to file a case before the EEOC) so I’d say someone who’s a good writing is a close second on my list.
For me, people skills are the most important thing I look for when I interview. I don’t want someone who’s super socially awkward or who can’t have a normal conversation. So much of what you do as an employment or labor attorney is talking to non-lawyers. Whether you’re conducting and investigation (I did this a lot in private practice on behalf of large companies or municipalities) or trying to explain to an aggrieved employee why something happened a certain way, you’ve got to be able to communicate like a normal person. I also look for someone I think can take a stern stance wirh clients. A lot of times you’ll find managers are hesitant to follow your advice because they don’t want to respect the protections emplyeees have under certain employment laws. Bascially, I can’t hire a pushover.
Employment work also involves a lot of motion writing on the defense side. Almost all of your cases are going to either be ripe for summary judgment or need to be settled. These cases are usually low-dollar if they’re single plaintiff or have massive attorneys fee liability for class action (mostly wage/hour). Federal sector employment law is especially prone to firivlous filings by employees (because it’s so easy to file a case before the EEOC) so I’d say someone who’s a good writing is a close second on my list.
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Lasers
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Re: Labor and employment - what skills are most important?
well, the first thing you'd want in order to successfully transition is really what any great candidate would have for any other job: good grades from a good school with relevant job experience. sounds like you have good enough grades from a good enough school but the lack of relevant work experience will hurt you, especially for L&E. if you're looking for biglaw, most firms hiring experienced attorneys want to see L&E experience from another firm, or at the very least, general lit experience. if you're open to plaintiff-side work, there are a ton of shit firms out there, so be prepared to work your way up.
but to answer your question, being able to write is arguably the most important skill you'll need. second would be being on top of civil procedure (particularly if you're interested in wage and hour class actions). and third would be communication skills with clients/opposing counsel, etc. i am a wage and hour class action litigator on the plaintiff side but i had some experience first on the defense side (and i interact with them on a daily basis) and these are really the skills you're going to need in practice.
but to answer your question, being able to write is arguably the most important skill you'll need. second would be being on top of civil procedure (particularly if you're interested in wage and hour class actions). and third would be communication skills with clients/opposing counsel, etc. i am a wage and hour class action litigator on the plaintiff side but i had some experience first on the defense side (and i interact with them on a daily basis) and these are really the skills you're going to need in practice.
