The scope and variety of employment opportunities and career paths within the law can be overwhelming. Our office is committed to partnering with you in your individual job search. While final responsibility for a successful job search rests with you, we are here to provide resources, knowledge, advice, and encouragement along the way. This page provides an overview of CDO services and introductory information about a variety of legal practice areas. We hope you will use this information to generate questions for discussion at meetings with your CDO counselor.

One-on-one career counseling. The most important part of any successful job search is the creation of a strategy. This strategy should be developed in consultation with your CDO attorney-counselor, who can provide insight, advice, and suggestions to help shape your job search. We encourage you to meet with your counselor as often as needed. These one-on-one meetings can also address other aspects of career planning including: resume and cover letter preparation and application procedures, market and employer information, practice area and career options exploration, interview preparation, and personal professional development. Appointments are available in person, via telephone, and via email. Schedule your appointments directly through CDOonline.

Open-door policy. We maintain an open-door policy for addressing student questions and concerns. While appointments are required for in-depth discussions, mock interviews, or other questions that will take more than just a few minutes, we are always available for quick walk-in questions.

Online resources. We have a variety of job search resources designed to assist you in narrowing and targeting your job search. These resources are available in our Resource Room, and many are also available online through CDOonline and Diigo. Through CDOonline, you can also access fantastic external resources such as Leadership Directories, and InterviewStream.

CDO Resource Room. We also maintain a resource library of hard copy reference materials, including directories, informational handouts, binders of fellowship and clerkship opportunities, legal periodicals, salary, practice-area reports and statistics, and more. Our Resource Room also contains a lending library of reference books that provide assistance with legal practice options, interview preparation, and more.

Programming. Each year, we host over 40 programs covering a variety of topics, including practice area exploration, professional development, e-professionalism, interview skills, and resume and cover letter workshops. These programs provide you with insight from practicing attorneys, expert advice on specific geographic markets, and other “insider” information that is invaluable to the job search. We advertise these programs in a variety of ways, including in the Docket, the CDO Record, Facebook, and CDOonline.

Job Postings. We posted over 1400 job opportunities to our students and alumni in the past year. Our job postings are updated each weekday, so be sure to check CDOonline on a regular basis and to apply for available opportunities without delay.

Recruitment Programs. In addition to year-round job postings, we coordinate two formal recruitment programs each year, the Fall Recruitment Program and the Spring Recruitment Program. Both programs contain on-campus interview and resume collect/direct opportunities. The Fall Recruitment Program also contains off-campus interview programs in New York City, Boston, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Southern California. All applications for the recruitment programs are submitted via CDOonline.

Reciprocity. Reciprocity allows students and alumni to receive temporary access to some or all of the career services resources of another law school outside the greater Cleveland area. Reciprocity is a valuable favor from another law school, and many schools will grant only a limited number of reciprocity requests each year. Because of this, it is critical that you make sure you have carefully read and understand the reciprocity policy of the school you are requesting access to and that you make your request at the time you are able to take the fullest advantage of the privileges extended to you. Reciprocity is not to be used to 'window shop' a legal market. We strongly encourage you to speak with your CDO counselor before submitting a reciprocity request.

To request reciprocity, please complete the online Request Form. A copy of our reciprocity policy is available here.

The scope and breadth of career opportunities within the law can often be overwhelming. The following provides a basic introduction to the most common sectors of employment for law school graduates, including links to informative articles, job search resources, and other helpful information.

Private Practice
Private practice attorneys are typically employed in a law firm or an in-house counsel’s office in a corporate setting. Some private practice attorneys, especially solo and small firm attorneys, will practice regularly in a variety of areas, while others will often be specialists in only one or two areas of the law.

Private practice attorneys generally represent a variety of clients as well. Some will represent individuals while others will represent businesses, governments, and other legal entities. In some instances, an attorney in private practice may have only one client and may handle all legal matters for that one client. This is especially true for attorneys working in the corporate setting – the corporation is their only client.

Salaries for entry-level attorneys in private practice vary greatly. According to the NALP publication Jobs & JD’s: Class of 2010, the national median salary for 2010 graduates entering private practice was $104,000. Salaries ranged from $30,000 to $160,000.

The following is an introductory list of resources we recommend to students interested in pursuing employment in private practice. This is not a comprehensive list, but simply a starting point for research:

• Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory
• Glassdoor.com gives you a free look at company salaries, reviews and interview questions at over 27,000 companies.
• NALP Directory of Legal Employers (available in our CDO Resource Room)
• Going In-House: A Guide for Students and Recent Graduates (available in our Resource Room)

Government
Attorneys are employed at all levels of government and in a variety of roles. Some attorneys work in a traditional legal role, serving as the attorney for the city, state, agency, etc. Other attorneys work in legislative affairs, compliance issues, or other law-related specialties. Government employment also encompasses attorneys working as prosecutors, as clerks or staff attorneys in judges’ chambers, as well as attorneys serving in the military as JAG officers.

Salaries tend to be lower at the local and state government levels than at the federal level, though this is not always the case. According to the NALP publication Jobs & JD’s: Class of 2010, the national median salary for 2010 graduates entering government practice was $52,000. The median salary for federal government attorneys was $62,000; the median salary for state government attorneys was $44,000.

The following is an introductory list of resources we recommend to students interested in pursuing employment in the government sector. This is not a comprehensive list, but simply a starting point for research:

• Government Honors & Internship Handbook (available via the CDOonline Resource Library)
• PSJD Government and Prosecutor/Public Defender Careers Guides
• US Department of Justice Opportunities for Law Students page
• Working on Capitol Hill and Guide to Politics and Lobbying (both available in our Resource Room)

Public Interest
Public interest generally refers to attorneys working for legal services organizations and other non-profits, though some also work at for-profit law firms who serve the public interest. Attorneys working as public defenders are also generally categorized as public interest attorneys, even if the defender’s office is a government entity. Public interest attorneys represent the members of our society who are unable to represent themselves or who cannot afford to hire a private attorney.

Our law school encourages students to explore the public interest as a career choice that serves a vital role in our country’s justice system. To assist students interested in the public interest, we offer several summer funding opportunities as well as a post-graduate Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) to graduates who accept employment in the public interest.

Salaries for attorneys working in the public interest have traditionally been lower than those for attorneys working in private practice. According to the NALP publication Jobs & JD’s: Class of 2010, the national median salary for 2010 graduates taking jobs in the public interest was $42,900. Graduates beginning careers as public defenders earned a national median salary of $43,000.

The following is an introductory list of resources we recommend to students interested in pursuing employment in the public interest. This is not a comprehensive list, but simply a starting point for research:

• PSJD Nonprofit, Public Interest Law Firm, and Career Fair Guides
• PSJD job postings (requires free account registration)
• PSJD Summer Funding Resources
• The Equal Justice Works website and annual Conference and Career Fair
• Information about loan assistance and loan forgiveness through the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA)
• CWRU Law summer fellowships, which include the Klatsky Human Rights Fellowship, Adelstein Environmental Law Fellowship, Biskind Public Interest Fellowship, Center for Social Justice Fellowships, Law-Medicine Center Stipends, and Cox International Law Center stipends. Speak to your CDO counselor to learn more about criteria and application procedures.
• International Public Interest law: Guide to Opportunities in the U.S. and Abroad (available in our Resource Room)
• National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA)

Judicial Clerkships
Federal and state judicial clerkships traditionally are only one- or two-year term positions, though some judges and courts do hire career clerks. Clerkships provide excellent research and writing experience, as well as the opportunity to become familiar with the most popular legal issues before the courts. Clerkships, especially in the federal courts, are generally highly competitive. Judicial clerkship salaries are often mandated by statute or, in some states, union contracts. According to the NALP publication Jobs & JD’s: Class of 2010, the national median salary for 2010 graduates entering judicial clerkships was $51,900.

The following is an introductory list of resources we recommend to students interested in pursuing employment as judicial clerks. This is not a comprehensive list, but simply a starting point for research:

• Vermont Guide to State Judicial Clerkship Procedures (available via CDOonline’s Resource Library and in hard copy in our Resource Room)
• OSCAR Federal Judicial Clerkship system
• Behind the Bench: Guide to Judicial Clerkships, by Debra M. Strauss, Esq. (available in our Resource Room)
• The Judicial Clerkship Handbook (available in our Resource Room)
• BNA’s Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges and Clerks (available in our Resource Room)

Alternative Careers
Some students come to law school never intending to practice law, while others discover during the course of their law school career that a traditional career in legal practice does not suit them. So what do you do with a law degree when you don’t want to practice law? Many students find that the analytical, writing, research, and leadership skills refined during law school translate well to careers in management, non-profits, higher education, development, business, and more.

The following is an introductory list of resources we recommend to students who are interested in pursuing employment in alternative careers:

• What Can You Do With a Law Degree? and Running from the Law, by Deborah Arron (both available in our Resource Room)
• "Alternative Careers for JDs", originally published in the Michigan Bar Journal
• AlternativeLawyerJobs Jobs Board
• Careers in Financial Support and Searching for an Alternative: A Law Student’s Guide to Finding Non-Legal Jobs (both available in our Resource Room)
• JD Preferred! Legal Career Alternatives (available in our Resource Room)