Dedman School of Law
(2010 Graduate Catalog)
Office of Career Services
The mission in the Office of Career Services is to provide the resources and professional environment to enable students to achieve their career goals. The OCS assists students in their self-directed career searches by advising them about career options and job search strategies and creating opportunities for them to connect with legal employers. OCS staff provides individual career counseling, assistance with résumés and cover letters, mock interviews and a current and complete Resource and Technology Center. The office hosts numerous career-related programs throughout the year, including on-campus interviews and off-campus job fairs, recruiting opportunities, seminars, panel discussions and workshops designed to allow students to network with employers. OCS also works with a wide variety of employers to provide students access and exposure to a broad range of employment opportunities.
The OCS is located on the third floor of Carr Collins, Jr. Hall on the east side of the Law Quadrangle. Carr Collins houses the Godwin Gruber Lawyers Inn dining hall, where many career-related programs are held, as well as the offices of Admissions, Financial Aid and the Public Service and Academic Support programs. Interview rooms within the OCS are available for legal employers interviewing on campus.
The OCS staff includes six experienced career professionals and an administrative assistant: the assistant dean and executive director of career services, two directors, two career counselors and an assistant director for recruitment and events. The assistant dean oversees the management of day-to-day operations, creating and implementing innovative programs for students and employers, counseling students and conducting outreach to promote the Law School and students to legal employers. The directors work with the assistant dean to develop permanent job opportunities and internships in the small firm market and government sector. The directors also share counseling of the full-time J.D. students with the assistant dean and develop programs and opportunities to nurture and enhance the professional development of all students. The career counselors share responsibility for counseling students in the part-time J.D. evening program and the tax, general and international LL.M. programs. The assistant director manages all arrangements with employers and students relating to on-campus interview and résumé collection programs; coordinates all job fairs, special events and programs; and maintains technology services and databases, such as the website and the career management software Symplicity and LexisNexis.
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Career counseling is available to all students by appointment throughout the calendar year. Each student is paired with a career counselor, who will advise and coach the student throughout his or her Law School career. An individual career counseling session might include suggestions for self-assessment techniques, planning an individualized job search strategy, reviewing and revising a résumé or cover letter, direct referral to an employer or tips on successful interviewing. The staff is always available on an informal basis to answer questions and guide students through the job search process.
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The OCS maintains its own library of career resources. The Resource and Technology Center contains a wide variety of publications on career and job search information, legal specialties and judicial clerkships. The center also maintains employer brochures, résumés and National Association for Law Placement forms for employers that interview on-campus or list job openings with the OCS. Martindale-Hubbell, the
Texas Legal Directory and other directories of lawyers are available to students and alumni. Students have access to directories for courts, government agencies, nonprofit and public interest organizations and corporations throughout the country. In addition, various reference books for nonlegal/alternative careers are available for review. The Resource and Technology Center is equipped with computer terminals, a scanner and printer to provide access to Westlaw, LexisNexis and the Internet for online research of the legal market and legal employers. The office subscribes to Symplicity, a Web-based recruiting system that students use to manage the on-campus and off-campus recruitment programs, from the application process to scheduling interviews. Students also use Symplicity to conduct research on legal employers and access the online job bank for job opportunities posted by the OCS. Through the Web-based features of the system, students have the ability to access these services on campus and from their home computers.
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Throughout the academic year, the OCS conducts an extensive range of career-related panel discussions and presentations covering topics such as job search strategies, professionalism, networking, résumé and cover letter writing, interviewing skills and judicial clerkships. To educate students about the many practice areas of law, OCS invites attorneys to campus to network with students and share their experiences. Also, OCS actively works with student organizations to promote their career-related programs. Programs are scheduled during both day and evening hours to accommodate all students. Most of the programs are taped and posted on the Law School website for students who are unable to attend.
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The OCS hosts both on-campus and off-campus interview programs for employers. In recent years, more than 100 employers have visited the campus for the fall and spring interview programs. At anytime during the year, employers may solicit résumés from students and graduates, including lateral attorneys, by posting a position on the online job bank. More than 1,200 job notices (part-time, full-time, summer and graduate) are posted each year for law students and graduates.
Dedman School of Law also participates in a number of job fairs during the year, providing students access to local, statewide and national opportunities. The public interest job fair, Public Advocate Day, is sponsored by the OCS, along with the Public Service Program. Representatives from government agencies and public service employers come to the campus to discuss with students their work and employment opportunities in the public interest sector.
Law students and alumni also participate in the following off-campus annual fairs:
Boston Lawyers Group – Boston and Washington, D.C.
Equal Justice Works Career Fair – Washington, D.C.
Dupont Legal Minority Job Fair – Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Wilmington, Delaware
Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair – Kansas City, Missouri
Hispanic National Bar Association Job Fair – Minneapolis, Minnesota
IMPACT Career Fair for Law Students and Attorneys with Disabilities – Washington, D.C.
Lavender Law Career Fair (GLBT) – Miami, Florida
LL.M. International Student Interview Program – New York, New York
National Black Law Students Association – Regional Career Fairs
National Black Prosecutors Association Job Fair – San Franciso, California
Patent Law Interview Program – Chicago, Illinois
Rio Grande Valley Job Fair – Edinburg, Texas
Rocky Mountain Diversity Legal Career Fair – Denver, Colorado
Southeastern Intellectual Property Job Fair – Atlanta, Georgia
Southeastern Law Placement Consortium – Atlanta, Georgia
Southeastern Minority Job Fair – Atlanta, Georgia
Sunbelt Minority Recruitment Program – Dallas, Texas
Talent Expo (Dallas 100 Fastest Growing Companies) – Dallas, Texas
Texas in Washington Recruitment Program – Washington, D.C.
Texas Off-Campus Recruitment Program – Houston, Texas
University of Texas Public Service Career Day – Austin, Texas
VAULT/MCCA Legal Diversity Job Fair – Washington, D.C.
As a participant in all of the recruiting programs, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their interest for employment with a wide range of employers that have identified SMU Dedman School of Law as a top school from which to recruit. To emphasize the importance of professionalism in the interview process and in order to participate in the interview programs, students must sign a Memorandum of Understanding acknowledging their agreement to adhere to the ethical and procedural guidelines by which the interview programs operate. Students are expected to attend the interviews they are granted and to uphold their commitments to employers. The legal profession is built upon the highest ethical and professional standards, and cultivating these standards begins the day a student enters law school.
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