Washington State Senate Committee Services OCI Info

If you are a 2L considering applying to the Senate Committee Services through OCI, be sure to check out their brochure and fact sheet for additional information about the program. These links are also available on Symplicity.

Be sure to check Symplicity for the latest job postings

We have had several postings come in to Symplicity this week, so be sure to log in to check out the latest! There are several Legal Intern positions that will offer very valuable experience (including contract and litigation work) to interested students.

Join the KCBA and WSBA

One of the best ways to connect with the local bar is to join a section of the KCBA and WSBA. The KCBA sections hold monthly meetings that provide an ideal opportunity to build relationships with your future colleagues. By joining the WSBA, you can get involved in the Young Lawyers Division, learn about upcoming CLEs, and get added to a section listserve.

State Court Clerkships: Better Late Than Never?

The deadline for submitting materials to Erin Fullner for state judicial clerkships has already passed. If you're planning to try to put together late applications, you should have coordinated with Erin already, if you haven't, RUN, don't walk, to your "compose new email message" button and email Erin to let her know what your status is.

Don't Know OSCAR? Better Get to Know Him Soon!

Federal clerkship applications deadline:
The deadline for submitting materials to Erin Fullner and completing your OSCAR applications is August 28 at noon. If you're planning to apply for federal clerkships but have not yet spoken with Erin, please contact her as soon as is humanly (or super-humanly) possible. Late applications will get last priority.

The beauty that is PSLawNet

Have you been searching the fellowship and job database on PSLawNet? If you're a student interested in public interest and are going to bookmark only one site this year, PSLawNet is the one to tag. SU is a member school, which gives you access to job and fellowships databases, international resources, a public interest career fair calendar, summer public interest funding opportunities and much more. Check the site often for intern, attorney, and fellowship opportunities.

Presidential Management Fellowship Program

If you are interested in public policy and policy management, you should consider the Presidential Management Fellowship program. This competition results in a two year fellowship with a federal agency. Participants are recent graduates (class of 2010 and earlier are eligible) from a variety of academic disciplines, including Law. The application period is October 1-15, 2009. Applicants must be nominated by their school, so if you are interested please contact CPD as soon as possible to get the application and nomination process underway. Recent SU alumni have served as fellows; this is a great opportunity to expand your skills and gain entrée to federal employment. Please read the PMF website at: https://www.pmf.opm.gov

Student Debt Relief

If you anticipate graduating with any federal loan debt and are considering a career in public interest or the public sector, check out Equal Justice Works' Student Debt Relief Webinar Series. You can save yourself a lot of money and stress in the long run by learning about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act now.

Equal Justice Works Fellowship applications now available

Equal Justice Works Fellowship Applications are now available! A link to the application and a fellowship timeline is available here.

Evaluating a Large Firm's Commitment to Pro Bono

Deciding which firms to apply to during OCI can be a difficult process. One factor you may want to consider is the firm's commitment to providing pro bono legal services. Two resources may be of assistance to you in assessment:
The Pro Bono Institute's Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge lists large firms (over 50 attorneys) that devote three or five percent of their billable hours or 60 or 100 hours per attorney annually to the provision of pro bono legal services to individuals and organizations in need. Signatories to challenge can be found here.
If you are researching law firms (particularly if you are looking outside the Seattle area), the Stanford law student-driven nonprofit to assess hours, committment to pro bono and diversity, and layoff information is Building a Better Legal Profession.

Latham Diversity Scholars Program

Latham & Watkins is once again pleased to announce the Latham Diversity Scholars Program which will award a $10,000 non-renewable scholarship to each of four second-year law students for use during their third year of law school (2010-2011). For details and application instructions, please check out the Latham website. The application deadline is September 15th.

Positions with the EPA Region 9 office

The San Francisco Region 9 Office of the Environmental Protection Agency is currently accepting applications for the following positions:

• Summer 2010 Law Clerk - This position is open to current 2L students, and will take place over a 10 week period in the summer of 2010. The application deadline is October 15th.
• 2010 Honors Attorney Fellowship - This position is open to recent graduates and students who will graduate no later than summer of 2010, and will last for a 2-year period. The application deadline is October 1st.

Details and application instructions for both positions can be found on Symplicity.

Summer Job Tips

Before you leave your summer job:
(1) Let people know you're leaving and set up lunches, coffees, etc.;
(2) Get together with fellow summer associates and buy thank you presents for the secretaries, word processors and others who made you look good this summer (and don't forget to write personal thank you notes);
(3) On your last day, drop in and say a personal goodbye to the people with whom you really connected this summer; and
(4) Feel free to send an email after you leave, asking if the deal you worked on actually happened, or the outcome of the lawsuit on which you assisted.

OCI Bidding Opens August 3rd

The OCI application period for all sessions will open on August 3rd. At that time, you will be able to upload your application materials and apply to specific employers via Symplicity. The bidding period will remain open until each session application deadline.

OCI Application Deadlines

OCI is divided into three sessions this year, each with a separate application deadline. Be sure to take note of these dates:

Session 1: August 25th at noon
Session 2: September 1st at noon
Session 3: September 8th at noon

For a list of the employers that will be participating in each session, please see Symplicity.