The Career Development Office provides resources, counseling services and informative programs for students and alumni. We are here to assist you in making the important decisions you face at each stage of your career development.
COUNSELING SERVICES
The Career Development staff is comprised of attorney career advisors available to help you develop and execute a successful job search strategy. The advisors are available by appointment and on a drop-in basis, and will help you with general or specific career planning, job search techniques, résumé and cover letter writing, or just building your confidence and network of professional contacts. Our counselors are:
Terrence Galligan, Executive Director of Career Development
Linda Maranzana, Associate Director, Public Interest Programs
Sarah Cunniff, Associate Director, Private Sector Programs
Eric Stern, Associate Director, Public Sector Programs
FINDING A JOB
Mock Interviews
Each year the Career Development Office offers several presentations on interviewing. Twice yearly we offer a mock interview program where practicing attorneys conduct one-on-one interviews with students, then provide students with constructive tips on how to improve their interview performance. Counselors are also always available to conduct mock interviews, which help students enhance their interviewing skills. Videotaped mock interviews are available upon request.
Resumes and Cover Letters
As a component of its orientation program for first-year students, the Career Development staff provides workshops on résumé and cover letter writing for both the public and private sectors. In addition, we provide informational online publications as well as one-on-one counseling to help students and alumni successfully develop professional, targeted résumés. Students and alumni may also submit résumés and cover letters for review by a counselor at any time.
On-Campus Interview Program
Boalt hosts on-campus interviews in both the fall and spring. The fall boasts participation of more than 350 employers. During the fall program students are given the opportunity to sign up and interview with law firms for summer positions as well as permanent postgraduate positions. In the spring the on-campus recruiting program is smaller in scale and tends to attract firms that are smaller in size. Both programs provide an opportunity to interview with public interest and public sector organizations.
PROGRAMS
Topical career-related programs are offered throughout the year. These programs address issues in both the private and public sectors and are designed to build the skills you need for a successful job search and expand your knowledge of available opportunities.
Private Sector Programs
The Career Development Office offers a wide variety of programming which highlights various private sector practice areas. Private sector program offerings include: Practice Areas Table Talk representing more than 30 legal specialties, field trips to local law firms, A Week in the Life of a Transactional Associate, and A Week in the Life of a Litigation Associate. Substantive topics continually change to highlight areas of interest to Boalt students. Most programs are conducted by practicing attorneys, many by alumni. The programs also provide students with great networking opportunities.
Public Interest Programs
The Career Development Office has one full-time counselor who specializes in the public interest and public sector areas of law practice. Our goal is to encourage and assist Boalt students interested in pursuing a public service career. We are proud to have active institutional and alumni support for our students who pursue public interest work. The Summer Public Interest Fellowship Program provides funding for students who work in public interest on public sector jobs during the summer. The Berkeley Law Foundation, our student public interest group, and other student organizations also raise money for summer grants and postgraduate fellowships. The following is a list of a few of the major public service career programs held each year:
Public Interest Reception for Bay Area Employers
Public Interest/Social Justice Mentor Program
The Northern California Public Interest/ Public Sector Legal Careers Day
Career Resources Library
Our library includes office publications on a variety of pertinent subjects, as well as reference materials that cover topics ranging from effective interviewing skills to finding work in a foreign country.
Website
Our password protected website has an abundance of useful job-related information for students and alumni, including:
online job listings
FAQs
Judicial clerkship database
Internet links to useful resources
Alumni Database
Our database allows us to contact alumni in various geographic locations and practice areas of the law. By facilitating professional connections for students, we provide valuable tools for networking and information gathering.
What Our Students Do During the Summer
Intern for U.S. attorneys, public defenders and district attorneys
Extern for federal judges throughout the United States
Work at America’s most prestigious law firms
Conduct cutting-edge human rights fieldwork worldwide
Study abroad
Provide direct client services at legal aid agencies in marginalized communities
Where Our Graduates Are Now
Running nonprofit organizations
Working in business, banking and consulting
Succeeding at every level of traditional law practice in top law firms, both large and small
Teaching at law schools and colleges across the country
