University counsel jobs? Forum

[misterhoof]

This may be a bit of a silly question, but I thought I'd see if anyone had any insight. I've spent some time combing through the staffs of offices of the general counsel at various colleges. It seems like the attorneys working for the universities come from pretty diverse career backgrounds, but I was wondering if there is maybe a most common path to landing one of those jobs? I realize they aren't all doing the same thing, so there won't be a single answer. I'm considering law school and just putting my feelers out to see what types of job I'd prefer. Working for an educational institution is attractive to me, so I'm just curious.

As a side bar, anyone have experience going to a small law firm right out of law school? Any insight about difficulty landing the job/ pluses and minuses compared to big law?

Sorry to lump two different questions into one thread. Based on my research I don't think big law would be my cup of tea, so I'm trying to get a sense of the alternatives.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Re: university counsel, I think a lot of people go to it after 7-10 years of private practice. It can be an unusual mix of litigation and transactional but it's probably closest to an in-house job, with more constitutional stuff sprinkled in (First Amendment, due process for student disciplinary stuff, that kind of thing).

[misterhoof]

Re: university counsel, I think a lot of people go to it after 7-10 years of private practice. It can be an unusual mix of litigation and transactional but it's probably closest to an in-house job, with more constitutional stuff sprinkled in (First Amendment, due process for student disciplinary stuff, that kind of thing).

Thanks!

[silenttimer]

If you are right out of school, I recommend looking at fellowships. I believe that Stephen Dunham, who is now at Penn State but who used to be at Hopkins, runs a fellowship program for recent graduates who are interested in higher ed practice. There are also other such programs around the country. Also, many public universities use the state's AG office, so you may want to check on that as well. There are also a number of big law firms that have higher ed practice, but that's harder to crack. Also, please check out NACUA.

Good luck!

[misterhoof]

If you are right out of school, I recommend looking at fellowships. I believe that Stephen Dunham, who is now at Penn State but who used to be at Hopkins, runs a fellowship program for recent graduates who are interested in higher ed practice. There are also other such programs around the country. Also, many public universities use the state's AG office, so you may want to check on that as well. There are also a number of big law firms that have higher ed practice, but that's harder to crack. Also, please check out NACUA.

Good luck!

Awesome! Thanks for your help.