La Verne Law Students Prepare for Job Fair
Law students are preparing to participate in the 31st Annual Southern California Public Interest / Public Sector Career Day, which is a job fair co-sponsored by all Southern California ABA law schools, including La Verne Law.
Employers such as nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and public interest law firms will gather to conduct interviews and collect resumes for law students in all years of law school for paid and unpaid summer, fall, and postgraduate positions. Students will also have the opportunity to attend panels and discussion groups hosted by attorneys.
Employers are primarily looking for 1L and 2L students for summer positions and 3L or 4L students for postgraduate positions. Both paid and unpaid positions will be available.
“This is the hiring event of the year, especially for first-year students who need the valuable legal experience for their resume or upperclassmen seeking an inside track to government jobs post-graduation,” said Michael Chen, Director of Career Services & Professional Development.
Each law student can select up to fifteen employers to “bid” on for interviews to be conducted on February 6. “This is a huge opportunity for our students, because our law school has a near monopoly on San Bernardino and Riverside employers, due to the fact that Los Angeles and Orange County law school students are reluctant to travel to the Inland Empire,” said Chen.
However, with over 1,000 students bidding for interviews with 130 employers, not all students will be selected for interviews. Those not selected can still participate in “table talk” with employers who have set up tables to receive resumes for unadvertised positions. These informal interview opportunities are not only for the employer but also the student. “For the students, this will be a valuable opportunity to practice their interviewing and professionalism skills with many employers in a short period of time,” said Chen.
All students may also attend panels and presentations that are running throughout the day. There will be approximately a dozen discussions regarding legal careers.
“Although we host a job fair in the spring for private employers, this event is the best opportunity for students to consider a career in the public sector,” said Chen.
