Legal Careers and Law on the Internet

Hot Jobs presents

August 10, 2000

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Jess: What type of schooling is required to become a legal secretary?

Tom Antisdel: Most legal secretaries have a college degree, but I also know of legal secretaries that have not finished college. The skills most required for a legal secretary are incredible word processing ability, good phone skills, and good multi-tasking ability.

ChrisW: What is the job market like today in the legal field?

Tom Antisdel: The legal job market today is as good or better than it has ever been. The dot-com craze has resulted in many lawyers leaving law firms, which has created vacancies to be filled. Not only are law firms hiring in record numbers, but non-traditional legal employers are hiring many attorneys as well. We have personally placed lawyers in consulting firms and start-up companies around the country.

Graduate: Has the Internet changed the law field? How?

Arthur Schwartz: The Internet has created several new sub-specialties of corporate and tort law, which in turn has created more work and more jobs. The Internet has also facilitated more efficient information exchanges, which has affected both the practice of law and the business of practicing law. By the business of practicing law, I mean that compensation has been significantly altered in the large law firms throughout the country. Just a few years ago a first year associate at a large law firm would start at approximately $85,000. Today, newly minted attorneys can start out as high as $160,000 per year. And this is due to the free-flow of information. That is made easier by the Internet.

Rick: If you don't have "2-3 years experience," how would you get a job in the IP area? I've been looking for 15 months, and am still unemployed.

Tom Antisdel: Most IP law firms are looking for lawyers with some sort of science background. They are strongly interested in candidates who have studied engineering or any of the sciences as an undergraduate. They are also hiring in large numbers because the Internet has created many new areas of practice with regards to IP. If the firms you are looking at require two to three years experience, I would suggest looking at some smaller IP boutiques or smaller IP practices that do not have such a high threshold of work experience qualifications. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office is also a good place to gain IP experience that makes one more marketable to law firms. Also, if you already have your J.D., one could get an L.L.M. (a Masters of Law degree) in IP.

Internetking: What's the most effective way to follow-up? Email or phone? How often?

Arthur Schwartz: As a general rule, attorneys are fairly busy. You might consider sending a letter after an interview, but contacting attorneys with whom you have interviewed by email or phone may just serve to annoy them and put you in a bad light.

PizzaProof: Where is the best place to start out in the legal system if I am just out looking to get my foot in the door?

Tom Antisdel: I am assuming you don't have a law degree. And if that's the case, becoming a legal assistant, paralegal, or legal intern is the best bet for you. If you already have a legal degree, I would look for employers with less stringent hiring qualifications. You could also try doing temporary legal work for a large firm. Temporary legal work provides great experience and often firms will hire permanent attorneys from the pool of lawyers that have done temporary work for them.

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