Best ECs For Future Job Prospects

[Chewy]

I understand that grades are the most crucial factor when it comes to securing employment during and after law school. Aside from that, what are some extracurriculars that one can participate in law school that can give them an advantage over others with similar grades?

For example, volunteering at a legal clinic, joining the school's law review, etc.

Or does this depend on which area of law you're wanting to practice?

Thanks.

[Aureliuse]

Any that you join because you are genuinely passionate about the work, and not because you want to add extra padding to your C.V. or resume.

Yes, it will largely depend on the area of law you are interested in.

But on a topical level, I find these ECs are helpful in job hunting because they can demonstrate interest, experience, commitment, and hard work in a field:

1. Top places in moots/negotiation competitions, participation in moots in your field of interest

2. Pro Bono work

3. Work at a clinic

4. Academic collaborations with professors, papers on developing law

5. Volunteer work at lawyer organizations (The Advocates' Society, The Canadian Bar Association etc.)

6. Non-law related work that suggests that you value diversity, equality, human rights, client service, community service (e.g. Women's Shelter, crisis line, suicide prevention, fire fighting, food delivery for seniors etc.)

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Aureliuse

[LMP]

I hear law review plays well if you apply to the NY. Though that might be outdated. 

I personally think clinics can be amazing if done right. I didn't get into the meat of my clinical placement in advance of the recurit, so it wasn't much help. But if I should choose to switch firms later on I'll be able to talk about some pretty significant legal work I got to take on. Well, significant for a student at least! 

I know mooting gets a lot endorsements. Personally I can't stand moots or the people who do them, but I'm not an employer! I've only ever had one interview ask about why I didn't do more in that area. So take that as you will. 

In actuality 95% of the interest employers had seemed to focused on my military experience and previous startup. I don't think you have to do those exact things, but having something more uncommon or that stands out is a route I'd reccomend.

[Turtles]

41 minutes ago, Chewy said:

I understand that grades are the most crucial factor when it comes to securing employment during and after law school. Aside from that, what are some extracurriculars that one can participate in law school that can give them an advantage over others with similar grades?

For example, volunteering at a legal clinic, joining the school's law review, etc.

Or does this depend on which area of law you're wanting to practice?

Thanks.

Outside of an impressive accomplishment through an extra-curricular (e.g., winning moots, doing something that gets press, doing something at the appeals/scc level, etc), I think the primary value of extracurriculars with respect to the recruits is to (1) signal/demonstrate your interests, (2) signal elements of your diversity and/or community involvement, (3) develop anecdotes to answer interview questions (e.g., "tell me about a time you worked as part of a team", "why do you want to do X law?"), (4) network with lawyers through that EC to get your name out there and build a network, and (5) to get attention from interviewers/recruiters who did the same experience.

As an example, I was told by a partner an employment shop, for example, they try to weed out people who aren't actually interested in employment law, so she said to make sure your CV highlights the interest by having something relevant (e.g., club). I think this holds more true for non-corporate roles, whereas corporate doesn't expect you to demonstrate your love for the shareholders given almost everyone is just there for the money 🙂 

But I will be clear: an extracurricular isn't a magic pill to make you an attractive candidate. Most if not all candidates will have something. It's less about what you have (absent something incredibly unique) and more about what you can take out of it. Oh you mooted and got a participation trophy? Cool, so did 105 of your colleagues. Oh you were 1:1 coached by someone at the firm you're applying to, learned about a pro bono file they did that really helped X community, their mentorship helped you improve significantly between rounds, you learned how much the firm's mentorship program helped them grow in their practice, and now you're applying because you're confident the firm's mentorship program would help you achieve incredible things? Now you have an interesting story to talk about and maybe someone to put in a good word. 

In the NYC recruit a couple lawyers from my school (since NYC firms try to get you in front of someone from your school) had taken the same clinic and wanted to chat about it. In another case, one was an exec in the same club and wanted to ask what we were doing that year. These things can be nice to build connections. This is especially helpful if you find it difficult to relate / find common ground to chat with the multi-millionaire lawyers living in another country 🙂 

In the 2L recruit, one of my otherwise useless club exec roles became valuable when I had a pre-existing relationship with a couple of partners at a particular firm due to having arranged for them to speak at an event and asking questions throughout, so when the firm asked who I wanted to meet, I had names to throw out of people more likely to advocate for me (someone who expressed continued interest in their area and hopefully asked smart/interested questions) compared to a random person they would pick. 

But this is specifically about a small boost ECs can have to your recruit success (again, outside of actually impressive ECs). I think the bigger value of ECs for most people is to figure out what the hell you want to do. You really don't learn about actual practice areas in 1L, so it's a great way to explore various ECs to see if you actually like immigration law, or employment law, or commercial litigation, or actual crim work, etc.

[Byzantine]

I was really involved with a legal clinic during 1L. That was good to do on its own as it got me lots of practical experience, a bit of court time, and was able to help some people. I think it also helped a lot during the 2L recruit. I could respond to a lot of generic interview questions by talking about my experiences there, and I also got at least a question each interview on that experience in particular. So I'd recommend trying to get involved in something like that during 1L. 

I didn't volunteer on the law journal so can't comment on that. I was in the middle of a competitive moot during the 2L recruit and don't remember much interest in that (although it has been a worthwhile experience). But as you identified, good grades are the most crucial factor. 

[Chewy]

Thank you, everyone, for the feedback and insight.