CDO counselors are available to meet with alumni by phone or in person to assist with career transitions.  Career counseling sessions are confidential. 

To arrange an appointment, send us a request at career@law.berkeley.edu.

The California Bar Association offers resources to its members who are facing personal or professional challenges.  The Bar’s Lawyer Assistance Program(opens in a new tab) serves attorneys grappling with stress, anxiety, substance abuse or concerns about their careers.  All consultations are confidential, and many of the services are free. 

The CDO offers extensive guidance and resources to assist you through the judicial clerkship application process.  We recommend that you start by reading this guide(opens in a new tab) that we prepared especially for alums.

• Law Teaching
• Association of American Law Schools(opens in a new tab)

• Guidance, information, and links especially for those seeking public interest (non-profits, private firms with public interest missions) or public sector (government) jobs.
• Switching from Private Sector to Public Interest (4/16/2010)
  Alums Neil McCabe and Harry Jackson share their stories about making the switch from the private sector to the public sector.

• Panel on In-House Careers – audio recording (4/28/2011) (Four Boalt alums speak about in-house legal careers)
• Article(opens in a new tab) on making the decision to go in-house.
• Article(opens in a new tab) on the difference between working at a firm and in-house.
• GoInhouse(opens in a new tab) (jobs board exclusively for in-house lawyers)

• Contract, Freelance and Temporary Lawyering

• An Unexpected Switch in Practice Area Brings Growth and Satisfaction: Tomomi Glover (’06) (1/5/2011)
  When Plan A Didn’t Work, Staying In Touch With Friends Resulted in a Better Plan B
• A Bold Move That Actually Worked: Steve Koyanagi (’09) (1/5/2011)
  Opting out of a second year of his clerkship without another job opportunity in a tough market wasn’t an easy decision, but for this alum it all worked out
• Successfully Navigating the Course From Private Practice to Nonprofit: Jora Trang (’01) (1/5/2011)
  After the recession made continuing her private practice of seven years impossible, this alum engineered a career transition culminating in getting her dream job at a nonprofit.
• 5 Big Steps From BigLaw to the SEC: Maggie Spillane (’01) (1/5/2011)

• Resume Guide
• Cover Letter Guide
• Effective Interviewing
• Informational Interviewing
• An Article About Using a Headhunter in Your Job Search(opens in a new tab)
• Self Assessment (see drop-down on linked page)
• Great Things to Do While You Are Job Searching
• Negotiating Compensation: A Guide to Assisting Law Students & Graduates(opens in a new tab) (NALP Publication)

• An extensive list of external links to useful resources, organized by theme.
• Consult our Quick Guide to Employer Research and our more detailed Employer Research Guide.
• NALP Directory(opens in a new tab)
• NALP Salary Information(opens in a new tab)
• Salary Negotiations – updated 8/22/2013 (12/19/2011)
  (Information, Salary Calculators and Articles on Negotiating Salaries and Responding to Salary Requirements)
• Law.com (opens in a new tab)lists and rankings (including clerkships)
• Accessing Lexis and Westlaw
• List of Legal Temporary Agencies

Developing and maintaining your professional network will be a key feature of your working life. 

LinkedIn(opens in a new tab) is a particularly powerful resource for networking, and every attorney should have a profile, which needs to be updated regularly. Be sure to join the Berkeley Law Alumni Group.  For more details on using LinkedIn in your job search, see our Social Media guide, below. 

Here are links to CDO’s resources on networking (including informational interviewing) and using social media (including LinkedIn).

CDO Guide to Informational Interviewing

FindLaw’s National List of Legal Associations & Organizations(opens in a new tab)

CDO List of Professional Associations and companion Guide on how to use it.

CDO Guide to Career Fairs & Receptions

Social Media, Your Job Search and Your Legal Career

Leverage connections in the Berkeley Law community to advance your understanding of the job market and specific careers  — see the CDO guide Connecting to the Berkeley Law Alumni Network for guidance on reaching out to other alums.  See the “Key Resources” listed at the end of the guide for links to external tools and databases to locate alumni in specific organizations, practice areas or geographic markets.

You may also locate alumni using @Cal AlumniNetwork(opens in a new tab).