Top Law Schools

(Hey everyone, I posted this in the legal employment thread, but that was probably the wrong place for it.)

Just something I was wondering about. I've had a bunch of internships, mostly unpaid, ever since undergrad began. Do they actually contact everyone that you list? It seems like a lot of work for them.

I'm applying in PA and NJ in case anyone can shed light into the mysterious world of C&F.

I imagine they would. Why do you ask?

On the GA app you do your employment history and check a box if its a legal job. I imagine they pay more attention to that than the others. Especially for people with long work history, companies they may have worked for may no longer exist, not have anyone there that remembers them, etc.

cinephile wrote:I imagine they would. Why do you ask?

Just wondering really. Also, wondered if I had to worry about my employment dates...I guesstimated a few on my law school app because I didn't have any exact records on me. I went by my resume and I only had the years on it, so I ballparked some start and end dates.

Nothing is grossly wrong, I might be off by a month or two for start/end dates (think october-april vs nov/dec-march for example) on some of them. And none of the jobs is fabricated for sure. I just don't know the exact dates. That's not an actual problem later on for C&F is it?

i seriously doubt that they contact every employer for every applicant

presidentk1 wrote:i seriously doubt that they contact every employer for every applicant

That's what I'd think too. And what about that situation I mentioned above?

DanTheClam wrote:

cinephile wrote:I imagine they would. Why do you ask?

Just wondering really. Also, wondered if I had to worry about my employment dates...I guesstimated a few on my law school app because I didn't have any exact records on me. I went by my resume and I only had the years on it, so I ballparked some start and end dates.

Nothing is grossly wrong, I might be off by a month or two for start/end dates (think october-april vs nov/dec-march for example) on some of them. And none of the jobs is fabricated for sure. I just don't know the exact dates. That's not an actual problem later on for C&F is it?

Yeah, I did that too. It's hard to figure out what spring 2009 actually meant. Maybe you can get copies of your old W2s or some other tax-employment type document (I don't really understand taxes, but I imagine there's a form out there somewhere in your tax history that could show who you worked for and when).

cinephile wrote:

DanTheClam wrote:

cinephile wrote:I imagine they would. Why do you ask?

Just wondering really. Also, wondered if I had to worry about my employment dates...I guesstimated a few on my law school app because I didn't have any exact records on me. I went by my resume and I only had the years on it, so I ballparked some start and end dates.

Nothing is grossly wrong, I might be off by a month or two for start/end dates (think october-april vs nov/dec-march for example) on some of them. And none of the jobs is fabricated for sure. I just don't know the exact dates. That's not an actual problem later on for C&F is it?

Yeah, I did that too. It's hard to figure out what spring 2009 actually meant. Maybe you can get copies of your old W2s or some other tax-employment type document (I don't really understand taxes, but I imagine there's a form out there somewhere in your tax history that could show who you worked for and when).

Exactly, I had seasons and years...the ones I don't know the exact dates for though were unpaid internships. I guess I only worry because one of them was with a government organization that I imagine would have some sort of records of me working there. But I wouldn't have filed taxes for any of these jobs.

Edit: Basically, my question is, do I have anything to worry about? Or should I just forget about it?

OCS at my school told me they go through and pick a few randomly, especially if you have several.

courtneylove wrote:OCS at my school told me they go through and pick a few randomly, especially if you have several.

You don't think I have anything to fix right?

DanTheClam wrote:(Hey everyone, I posted this in the legal employment thread, but that was probably the wrong place for it.)

Just something I was wondering about. I've had a bunch of internships, mostly unpaid, ever since undergrad began. Do they actually contact everyone that you list? It seems like a lot of work for them.

I'm applying in PA and NJ in case anyone can shed light into the mysterious world of C&F.

Every law student and lawyer that I have chatted with said the C&F contacted every employer. They would leave a message if nobody answered, but would never follow up.

If the employer answered, they would verify everything on the information you submitted to your employer, and then ask general character questions. Typically questions about honesty and drug abuse.
One guy's resume didn't make up with what the employer told them, so C&F made him write an explanation on why his job title didn't match up with the employer's job title --he exaggerated greatly his job title on his resume -- so he called up a lawyer friend and crafted a response and he passed C&F.

PolySuyGuy wrote:

DanTheClam wrote:(Hey everyone, I posted this in the legal employment thread, but that was probably the wrong place for it.)

Just something I was wondering about. I've had a bunch of internships, mostly unpaid, ever since undergrad began. Do they actually contact everyone that you list? It seems like a lot of work for them.

I'm applying in PA and NJ in case anyone can shed light into the mysterious world of C&F.

Every law student and lawyer that I have chatted with said the C&F contacted every employer. They would leave a message if nobody answered, but would never follow up.

If the employer answered, they would verify everything on the information you submitted to your employer, and then ask general character questions. Typically questions about honesty and drug abuse.
One guy's resume didn't make up with what the employer told them, so C&F made him write an explanation on why his job title didn't match up with the employer's job title --he exaggerated greatly his job title on his resume -- so he called up a lawyer friend and crafted a response and he passed C&F.

You think I have to amend anything on my app in the fall when I get to school? I filled the employment dates to the best of my knowledge, but I just don't know some exact dates for things. If they called up some of these places, it's possible there will be some mismatches (off by a month or two).

Relevant to my interests. What do they typically ask your employers?

I've got a few questions here. I get what C&F is, but what does it actually stand for?

Also, does C&F check your resume upon graduation, or the one you submitted to law schools? Just wondering, because it would seem probable that by the time you graduate law school, a lot of your places of employment will no longer employ the people you worked with/for...

Zionman wrote:I've got a few questions here. I get what C&F is, but what does it actually stand for?

Also, does C&F check your resume upon graduation, or the one you submitted to law schools? Just wondering, because it would seem probable that by the time you graduate law school, a lot of your places of employment will no longer employ the people you worked with/for...

It stands for Character & Fitness. How do you get what it is without know what it stands for?

They probably would look at the resume you submitted to law school as well as your current one to make sure there aren't any discrepancies. And even if your places of employment no longer employ people that you actually worked with/for, they will most likely have a record of when you worked there, your position, whether you left voluntarily or were fired and possibly more (like if you ever received any warnings, write-ups, performance reviews, etc.)

Do you provide all jobs and internships you had to the bar or do they just go off your resume or application submitted to LSAC? I know my resume provided to my school only listed those I felt were relevant while my LSAC application listed everything I had done.