Developing Legal Experience
Evening Students

As an evening student, you face a special set of challenges.  You are required to devote countless hours and an amazing about of energy to preparing for law school classes, synthesizing classroom material, preparing writing assignments and studying for exams, while continuing your high level of performance at your current job.  Chances are that you are involved in balancing these expectations with a demanding personal life.  The prospect of taking on another task can be daunting. . . .

Yet the legal community expects evening students to take on another challenge during their law school years: the challenge of developing practical legal experience.  Legal employers want to hire you with the confidence that you can apply the skills you've learned in law school to the legal task at hand.  They want to know that the excellence you've demonstrated in your current career will extend beyond the law school classroom and into the practice of law.  They want to see proof that, given a legal job, you'll hit the ground running.

Due to your unique circumstances, we suggest that you meet with a career strategist in our office as early in your legal education as possible.  The Career Services Office offers evening appointments one day a week throughout the year and we are available by appointment.  We will help you tailor your job search strategy and identify ways you can complement your professional experience with experience in the legal community.  In addition, you'll want to revise your resume and incorporate either law related work you currently perform or identify transferable skills that you want to market to legal employers.

Below are a number of ways evening students can develop practical experience.  Consider these options:

1) Bar association activities: Become an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, American Bar Association or other bar association committee.  As a committee member, you can network and work side-by-side with attorneys who practice in the areas of law in which you are interested.  Conveniently, many committees meet during the lunch hour.  Visit our office for a listing of several bar associations in the Chicago area.

2) Volunteer: Volunteer your time to a public interest group or government agency.  Consider the Cook County Public Defender's Office and State's Attorney Office, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and similar organizations.  You'll develop practical legal skills and relationships with attorneys who will attest to your legal abilities.  Contact organizations in which you are interested to learn whether they have evening or weekend hours. Two good places to look for volunteer opportunities are Illinois Pro Bono and Chicago-Kent's Public Interest Resource Center. At Illinois Pro Bono, click on the "Directory" tab to identify legal aid organizations. Click on the organization you are interested in to find out if they take volunteers. Chicago-Kent's Public Interest Resource Center produces a newsletter, "Public Interest Matters" which lists volunteer opportunities.

3) Write an article: Write a law-related article for publication in a legal or non-legal journal.  An article is a great way to show a prospective employer that you have a sincere interest in a particular area of law.  Legal employers recognize the time and commitment that go into writing a publishable article.  Publishing an article can help you transition from your current career to your legal career by demonstrating your high degree of interest in and level of commitment to the legal profession.

4) Faculty Research Assistant: Students hired for these positions assist professors with their current research.  The assistantship can give you the chance to sharpen your research and writing skills and develop closer contact with a faculty member who is researching one of your areas of interest.  And, many professors are willing to accommodate evening students' schedules.  During the legal job search, it can be very helpful to have a faculty member who has worked closely with you speak about your analytical and writing ability.  Faculty members can be excellent networking contacts, as well.

5) Clerking for a law firm: Working part-time for a law firm will help you develop the on-the-job skills that are important to success in law practice.  Ask attorneys about opportunities to do project-by-project work.  You may be able to draft motions, briefs, etc. and work on other matters on your own time, making adjustments for your current work schedule.  If you currently work for a corporation, try approaching the corporate law department and ask to work on a special project.

Some evening students opt to find full-time employment as a law clerk or paralegal for a law firm during their four years in law school.  This is an excellent means of acquiring practical legal experience.  In some instances, employers have offered attorney positions to their clerks or paralegals, once they have completed law school.

6)  Do a Judicial Externship: The Judicial Externship program allows students the unique opportunity of acting as a "junior law clerk" for a judge.  The externship provides you with the opportunity to see the judicial system first hand, to better understand judicial process, and to gain hands-on experience drafting opinions and doing research.  Although most judges will require that you take time away from your daily responsibilities, some judges and their clerks are flexible in scheduling in-chamber meetings and some of the research and writing can be done at night or on weekends.  In addition, an externship in the summer may offer more flexible scheduling.

7) Chicago-Kent's Clinical Programs: Opportunities through the clinical programs are very limited.  The clinical and advanced externship programs require a commitment during daytime work hours.  However, some evening students have been able to arrange a clinical schedule around their current work schedule.

The Law Offices of Chicago-Kent offers In-House Civil, Criminal, Health, Alternative Dispute Resolution, and Tax Clinics and the Advice Desk.  All provide an excellent opportunity to develop practical experience while earning law school credit.

The Advanced Externship, another clinical program, gives you the opportunity to work for a law firm, corporate law department, or government agency for the period of one semester.  It's a great way to make contacts and learn about one of the legal fields in which you're most interested.

8)  Networking and Informational Interviews
If your schedule is too packed to allow you to gain any direct legal experience, informational interviewing becomes a crucial tool for gathering information to sound knowledgeable to prospective employers.  Learn what issues are central to your practice areas of interest, and what kind of experience employers are seeking so you will know how to counter concerns about any lack of direct experience.  Once you are ready to look for a legal job, talking with practitioners, classmates, alumnae/i, etc. will make you aware of position openings and meet persons with the ability to assist you in your career goals.

Networking and informational interviews can also accommodate your schedule in that you can contact persons by phone or e-mail, and then follow-up with a meeting (perhaps during your lunch hour).