Legal Placement in the United States

Legal Placement and Legal Careers Historical Resources

The following is a list of “clasical” works on this area. There are more current books and resouces in the Lawi Project.

Prepared by Analisa Ornelas.

LEGAL CAREER OVERVIEWS

America’s Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree : And How to Make the Most of Any Job, No Matter Where it is! Kimm Alayne Walton. Chicago, Ill. : Harcourt Brace Legal & Professional Publications, 1999.
The Best of the Job Goddess: Phenomenal Job Search Advice from the Country’s Most Popular Legal Job Search Columnist. Kimm Alayne Walton. Chicago, Ill.: Harcourt Brace Legal & Professional Publications, 1999.
Careers in Law. Gary A. Munneke. 3d ed., Chicago: VGM Career Horizons, 2004.
Career opportunites in Law and the Legal Industry. Susan EchaoreMcDavid. NY: Facts on File, 2002.
Changing Jobs: A Handbook for Lawyers in the New Millennium. Heidi McNeil Staudenmaier, editor. 3d ed., Chicago, Ill.: Law Practice Management Section, American Bar Association, 1999.
Direct Examination: A Workbook for Lawyer Career Satisfaction. Kathy Morris and Jill Eckert. Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, 2001.
Full Disclosure: The New Lawyer’s Must-read Career Guide. Christen Civiletto Carey. 2nd ed., New York : ALM Pub., 2001.
Lawyerlife: Finding a Life and a Higher Calling in the Practice of Law. Carl Horn III. Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, 2003
The Legal Career Guide: From Law Student to Lawyer. Gary A. Munneke. Chicago, American Bar Association, 2002.
Making Work Work for You. Gary A. Hengstler. [Chicago, Ill.] : American Bar Association, 2001.
The Official Guide to Legal Specialties: An Insider’s Guide to Every Major Practice Area. Lisa L. Abrams. Washington, DC : National Association for Law Placement, 2000.
Should you really be a lawyer: the guide to smart career choices before, during & after law school. Deborah Schneider. Seattle, Wash.:DecisionBooks, c2005.
What Law School Doesn’t Teach You– But You Really Need to Know: Expert Tips & Strategies for Making Your Legal Career a Huge Success. Kimm Alayne Walton. Chicago, Ill.: Harcourt
Legal & Professional Publications, 2000
What They Don’t Teach You in Law School. Schuyler M. Moore. Littleton, Colo.: F.B. Rothman, 2001.

INTERVIEWS, RESUMES, COVER LETTERS

Annual Outstanding Resumes of College, Business, and Law Graduates, 1994-95. West Hartford, Ct.: The Group.
Games Companies Play: The Job Hunter’s Guide to Playing Smart & Winning Big in the High-stakes Hiring Game. Pierre Mornell. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2000.
Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams. Kimm Alayne Walton. Chicago, IL: Harcourt Brace Legal and Professional Publications, 1995.
Resumes for Law Careers. 2d ed., Lincolnwood, Ill., USA : VGM Career Horizons, 2002.
Stories Employers Tell : Race, Skill, and Hiring in America. Phillip I. Moss. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2001.
Sweaty Palms: the Neglected Art of Being Interviewed. H. Anthony Medley. Rev. ed., Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 1993.

CAREERS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE

“AmLaw 100″Information on the 100 top grossing Law firms in the U.S. July edition of American Lawyer at americanlawyer.com
How to Get the Job You Want in a Law Firm. Ann Turnicky. New York: J. Wiley,
1997.
The Lawyer’s Almanac. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Aspen Law & Business. “The leading reference to vital facts and figures about the legal profession.” Includes information found in Of Counsel 700 as well as leading officials, survey of corporate lawyers salaries, related legal
associations, state MCLE policies, bar exam statistics, AALS members, legal newspapers, U. S. Attorney directory, state attorneys general, and more.
Making Partner: A Guide for Law Firm Associates. John R. Sapp. Chicago: American Bar Association, Law Practice Management Section, 2002.
Of Counsel 700. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Aspen Law & Business, 1994- . Profiles on the nation’s largest 700 firms, including number of partners and associates, number of women and
minorities, branch offices, hiring and promotion, leading practice areas, billing rates, revenues and profits, and client representation.
Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms, New York, N.Y.: Vault, 2001- .

DIRECTORIES

Directory of San Francisco Attorneys (AKA “The Briefcase”). San Francisco:
Bar Association of San Francisco.
Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. New Providence, N. J: Martindale-Hubbell, Annual. Can also be accessed online.
California Directory of Attorneys. Sacramento: Daily Journal Corporation, Semiannual.
Parker Directory of California Attorneys. Los Angeles: Parker & Son Publications, Annual.

CAREERS IN CORPORATE PRACTICE

Directory of Corporate Counsel. New York: Aspen Law & Business.
National Directory of Women Corporate Counsel. New York, NY: Fulcrum Information Services

CAREERS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Almanac of the Unelected. eds. Charles C. Francis and Jeffrey B. Trammell, Washington, DC: The Almanac, 2004
Biographies of staff directors of Congressional Committees– 22 House Committees, 16 Senate Committees and 8 Select and Special Committees.
Do Your Legal Career Justice: Opportunities for Entry-level Attorneys and Law Students at the U.S. Department of Justice. [Washington, D.C.?] : The Dept., 2002. (J 1.2:L 52/3/2002U. S. Agency)
Federal Law-Related Careers. 3rd ed., Washington: Federal Reports, 1994.
Part One: Understanding the Federal Hiring Process (section on Summer Employment), descriptions of more than 80 law-related positions.
Now Hiring: Government Jobs for Lawyers, 1997-1998 edition. Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, 1997.
The Public Lawyer. Washington, D.C.: Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division, American Bar Association.
United States Government Manual. Washington: Office of the Federal Register, (annual). Brief descriptions of all government agencies with some organization charts, independent establishments, government corporations, boards, commissions, committees, and regional offices of same. Addresses and phone numbers are included.
Washington Information Directory. Washington, D. C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Governmental and non-governmental organizations located in Washington, D. C.
Entries include name of director, address, telephone, fax and a one paragraph description; a separate section on Congress, political advocacy, foreign embassies, and labor unions, regional federal information sources, House and Senate committee assignments.

CAREERS IN CALIFORNIA STATE GOVERNMENT

California Roster. Sacramento: Secretary of State. Organization of state agencies, names and
addresses of division heads, county offices, county district attorneys. Updated version available online at: ss.ca.gov/executive/ca_roster

CAREERS IN PUBLIC INTEREST LAW

California legal services directory. State Bar of California Office of Legal Services, 2000-2001.
Directory of Legal Resources for People with AIDS & HIV. 2nd Ed, Washington, DC: The American Bar Association, 1997. Updated version available online at:
abanet.org/AIDS/publications/aidsdirectory.pdf
Human Rights Organizations & Periodicals Directory. Berkeley, Calif., Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute, 2003.
International public interest law : a guide to opportunities in the United States and abroad. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Law School ; New Haven, Conn : Yale Law School, 2002.
Lawful Pursuit: Careers in Public Interest Law. Ronald W. Fox. Chicago, Ill.: American Bar Association, Law Student Division, 1995.
Legal Resource Directory: a Guide to Free or Inexpensive Assistance For Low Income Families, with Special Sections for Prisoners. Anthony Bosoni. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1992.
Serving the public: a job search guide: Harvard Law School’s handbook & directory for law
students and lawyers seeking public service work. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School, 2005.

JUDICIAL EXTERNSHIPS AND CLERKSHIPS

(See also our Research resource about Judicial Directories.)

Chambers Handbook for Judges’ Law Clerks and Secretaries. Washington, DC : Federal Judicial Center, 1994. Also available online at:fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/Chambers.pdf/$file/Chambers.pdf
Judicial Externships: the Clinic Inside the Courthouse. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Pub. Co., 1999.

GRADUATE LAW AND FELLOWSHIPS

Annual Directory of Graduate Law Programs in the United States. West Hartford, CT: The Graduate Group.
Fellowships in International Affairs : a Guide to Opportunities in the United States and Abroad. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1994.

ALTERNATIVE CAREERS

Nonlegal Careers for Lawyers. 4th ed., Gary A. Munneke and William D. Henslee. Chicago: American Bar Association, 2003.
Running from the Law: Why Good Lawyers are Getting Out of the Legal Profession. Deborah Arron. Seattle, Wash.: DecisionBooks, 2004.
What Can You Do With a Law Degree?: a Lawyer’s Guide to Career Alternatives Inside, Outside & Around the Law. Deborah Arron. 5th ed., Seattle, Wash. : DecisionBooks, 2004.

SUMMER AND PART-TIME JOBS

Annual Law School Summer School Programs at Home and Abroad. West Hartford, CT: The Graduate Group.

EMPLOYMENT ABROAD

Careers in International Affairs. Edited by Maria Pinto Carland, Michael Trucano. 6th ed., Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 1997.
Foreign Service Career-candidate Guidebook. [Washington, D.C.?] : U.S. Dept. of State, Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment, 2001. (S 1.40/2:F 76/11/2001-2002 U.S.
Agency)
How to Get a Job in Europe. Robert Sanborn. 4th ed., Chicago: Surrey Books, 1999.

SOLO PRACTICE

Flying Solo: A Survival Guide for the solo and small firm lawyer. K. William Gibson. 4th ed., Chicago, Ill.: ABA, Section of Law Practice Management, 2005.
How to Start and Build a Law Practice. 5th ed., Jay G. Foonberg. Chicago: American Bar Association, Law Student Division, Section of Law Practice Management, 2004.

SPECIALTIES

Careers for Legal Eagles & Other Lawand-Order Types. Blythe Camenson. Lincolnwood, Chicago, Ill.: VGM Career Horizons, 1998.
Careers in International Law. eds. Mark W. Janis, Salli A. Swartz. 2d ed., Washington, DC: ABA Section of International Law and Practice, 2001.
Directory of Lawyers Practicing Disability Law. American Bar Association, Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 2000.
Entertainment Law Careers. William D. Henslee. 2d ed., Chicago, IL.: American Bar Association, 1998.
Environmental Law Careers Directory 2002-2003, Ecology Law Quarterly, Boalt Hall.
Family Law Careers. Sara Vlajcic. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, Law Student Division, 1998.
The Official Guide to Legal Specialties: An Insider’s Guide to Every Major Practice Area. Lisa L. Abrams. Washington, DC : National Association for Law Placement, 2000.

ONLINE CAREER INFORMATION

ABA (abanet.org/careercounsel/home.html). ABA’s Career Resource Center includes
information tailored for students and lawyers alike. The site includes career publications and articles, information about internships, fellowships, links to job boards and resume review service.
FINDLAW (careers.findlaw.com). Findlaw legal job search portal. Job postings, regional salary charts and, bulletin boards and an online version of The Insiders Guide to Law Firms. The site belongs to West Thomson.
LAW.COM. Law.com’s Career Center sponsors a job board, resume posting service (job alerts also), career articles and a Lawlorn, a monthly career advice column.
LEXIS. This site includes the LEXIS®-NEXIS® Career Library a database of legal, judicial and government job sources, company profiles and career advice from Vault.com, Martindale-Hubbell directories and NALP directories, listings and articles.
NALP (nalp.org). Since 1971, NALP has served as a source of information for legal career planning and recruitment. NALP Research available on their web site covers recent graduates, salaries, judicial clerkships, women and attorneys of color, lateral and entry-level hiring, fall recruiting activity, part-time lawyers, employment trends, and monthly research updates.
VAULT: Before publishing guides such as “Vault’s guide to the top 100 law firms” the vault.com was providing career and industry information on their web site. Check out their profiles of law firms, their lists such as, the top 20 firms for diversity and job search tools such as sample cover letters.
WESTLAW. In this website there are career directories, access to job and resume databases, student jobs online, judicial clerkship directory, articles and other resources.

Legal Placement