For Students
The Career Services Office provides a number of services to students designed to assist them with developing and achieving their career goals.
Individual Assistance and Counseling
We provide individual assistance to all students to help them with the career planning process. This includes individual counseling, identifying employment opportunities and help with the job search process. Students are encouraged to set individual appointments with the Director to discuss career planning goals.
Informational Workshops
We provide students with a variety of programs each semester, designed to build job search skills and to educate them about the process of seeking legal employment. In addition, the career services office regularly schedules guest speaker panels, featuring attorneys from a cross section of specialty areas. Recent panels have featured attorneys who practice in International Law, Business Law, and Employment Law. These panel presentations allow students to hear from and meet practitioners from various areas of the legal community.
Resource Room
The Career Services Resource Room contains numerous materials to assist students in their job search efforts. Resources include firm resumes (listing specifics about particular law firms), state and regional Bar directories, a national directory of corporate counsel, federal government employment materials, information on graduate law study programs, tips for those seeking judicial clerkships, employment surveys and articles, as well as various materials on alternative careers using legal skills. Materials may be checked out by students. Students from other schools may use the services of the Willamette Career Services Resource Room by presenting a letter of reciprocity from their law school.
Career Services Manual
Every student at Willamette College of Law receives a copy of the Career Services Manual. This helpful publication outlines job search techniques and provides samples of resumes, cover letters and other job search correspondence. First year students are provided with copies of this manual during their Career Services Orientation session in November.
Mentoring Program
The Career Services Office oversees an active student/attorney mentoring program. Our mentoring program pairs first year law students with one of approximately 150 volunteer lawyers and judges. This provides students with a tremendous opportunity, early in their legal careers, to forge an individual relationship with a practicing attorney or judge, who can offer insight about the practice of law.
Pro Bono Honors Program
The Pro Bono Honors Program is designed to encourage students to participate in community-based volunteer legal service projects. The Program allows students to enhance their learning experience through hands-on involvement in the community, while providing valuable services to people in need.
In addition, students who participate and provide a minimum number of hours of not-for-credit and not-for-compensation work during the year (April - March) will receive a Pro Bono Honors Program Award from Willamette and will be honored at a spring reception. In addition, those students who provide the most pro bono hours each year will receive special recognition.
Externship Program
Willamette has a very active externship program administered through the Clinical Law Program. The Externship Program is a 3-credit Honors-Pass-Fail course and requires that externs work a total of 104 hours during the semester. Second- and third-year students are eligible for the Externship Program. Externship opportunities are posted on Symplicity.
Other Services
We provide a number of services designed to make student job searching as trouble-free as possible. We provide students free use of phones in our office, to contact employers. There is a copy machine available for students to use, free of charge, to copy writing samples, transcripts, or other application materials. A computer and printer is available to students, to conduct on-line career related research or to print out resumes or cover letters. A typewriter is available for students needing to fill out employment applications.
Willamette's Reciprocity Policy
Willamette University College of Law requests that any student or graduate have a letter of reciprocity sent directly from his or her law school prior to visiting the Career Services office. This permits 3-month access to job postings and in-office use of career materials only. Visitors must sign in each time. A renewal letter must be received for each 3-month period of access. Services are only available to those students and alumni/ae of law schools which in turn allow Willamette students and alumni/ae use of their facilities.
