As you know, while many legal market experts believe the worst is behind us, there is a lot of uncertainty about the extent and speed of economic recovery, particularly as applied to the large law firm market. See, e.g., Hildebrandt/Citibank’s latest Client Advisory, which we blogged about on the CDO Newswire.
We will continue closely monitoring the state of the market and updating you via email and the CDO Newswire. In this kind of market, knowledge is power. We are committed to giving you all the information you need to make the very best career-related decisions and to insure you get the most out of the fall semester on campus interview program (OCIP).
Now, more than ever, you need to know how the legal employer hiring process works, how the economy is expected to change it, how to research employers, what to ask them, the details about bidding and interviewing strategy, and the various job search alternatives to our on-campus interview program (OCIP).
Given that the first OCIP deadline will fall on the second day of classes, we can’t wait to present all this information to you after the Summer Break, which is why we had to begin our OCIP programming this semester. We hope you can carve out some time to attend the remaining OCIP preparation presentations:
1. Webinar: “Insider’s View of Law Firm Hiring” featuring Prof. John Steele, former hiring partner of a large national law firm.
Tuesday, April 6th at 12:45PM (until 1:45PM). You will need to pre-register for this event. Contact mrabkin@law.berkeley.edu for registration details. Registration slots are limited, so please do not register (and potentially take a slot from another student) unless you are absolutely certain you will attend.
Prof. Steele has done this talk over the past few years and the feedback we’ve gotten from students is that it’s tremendously helpful. In addition to helping you figure out what firms are all about and which ones might be a good fit for you, his presentation also describes how firms approach hiring and how you can critically evaluate the large amount of information available about large law firms.
2. Mock Interview Program and Employer Reception
Tuesday, April 8, 3:30-7:30PM at Hotel Durant. Deadline for signing up for a mock interview is April 1. Click here for details.
3. OCIP Employer Research Workshop
Monday, April 12th at 12:45PM (until 1:45PM) in Boalt Room 100.
What do you know about the employers who will be coming to OCIP in the fall? What do you need to know in order to prepare your bids, and later on, to do your best at interviews? How do you find out the information that you need? Sarah Cunniff of the CDO will provide you with research tools to help you distinguish among the different employers, and distinguish yourself in the recruiting process. BYO lunch.
4. OCIP Orientation Session
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 from 12:30 to 2PM (Booth Auditorium)
We’ll describe the entire OCIP process, provide tips for navigating the b-Line, offer useful information on employer research and bidding, and answer all your OCIP-related questions.
For general overview information about OCIP, visit last year’s OCIP webpage (which will be updated with this year’s details by the end of April).