In anticipation of NALP’s upcoming Summit on Emerging Careers for Law Grads, this column takes a look at recent changes in the mix of jobs taken by law school graduates for the last half dozen years for which data are available, as well as a more detailed look at JD Advantage jobs taken by the Class of 2017. https://www.nalp.org/viewBulletin/?bulletinID=454&documentID=3980.
For career service professionals in charge of our departments’ employer outreach, the task of creating an employer outreach strategy to access these emerging legal career employers seems daunting. With the field being so broad, how does one even begin to formulate an employer outreach strategy? Assigned this enormous endeavor for my career services department, I decided to tackle this task by tweaking a successful employer outreach strategy I have been using for traditional legal employers. With a few key changes, I created a four-step process that breaks down outreach to emerging legal employers into bite-size, digestible pieces. Hopefully, ...
For too long, success in legal education has been narrowly defined by bar passage. Yet every year, thousands of law graduates build fulfilling careers outside traditional practice in roles often labeled JD Advantage (JDA) or JD Preferred (JDP), that draw deeply on legal reasoning and communication skills. Law graduates do not leave the law when they pursue JD Advantage careers, they extend it.
A career services office can maximize its support of MLS students through personalized outreach and individualized counseling, programming, a specialized student/alumni job board, and conscientious inclusion into the greater law school community.
Various methods for law schools to better connect with LLM and JD students, including mentorships, language exchanges, academic interaction, student organizations, bar associations, and other areas.
For those exploring options outside of becoming a lawyer, JD Advantage (JDA) roles offer a compelling alternative. These positions, sometimes referred to as non-traditional roles, often do not require a law degree. This article looks at the potential benefits for law graduates, and the supplementary skill sets that JDs bring to these positions.
The Emergent Employer Engagement (E3) Task Force is focusing on member resource development in the area of emerging legal jobs and relationship-building with employers hiring JDs for these jobs.
Findings on JD Advantage jobs in the legal profession from NALP’s graduate employment data from the Class of 2018.
NALP: JD Advantage Resources
The NALP Emerging Legal Jobs Work Group shares findings from their explorations of the future of the legal industry.
Outlines resources and projects from the JD Advantage Work Group
USC Gould School of Law’s Sarah Gruzas share best practices for supporting international students in the role of coordinating and communicating with your law school’s visa and immigration advisors.
Legal careers relating to data collection and privacy are on the rise. For law students and lawyers, this increase provides an opportunity in terms of both traditional attorney and JD Advantage careers. Industry research shows that while data privacy is still a relatively new field, 35% of privacy officers who came to their work from another field came from a legal background. The same industry research shows that hiring and salaries are on the rise.
Director of Research Danielle A. Taylor provides an overview of key takeaways related to JD Advantage jobs from NALP’s Class of 2020 Employment Report and Salary Survey.
Penn State Dickinson Law's Tom Lee offers advice in the areas of sponsorship and mentorship.
