Julie Cromer Young
(*On Hiatus* We’ll match you to another expert until Julie is back with us.)
Lawyer Coach and Law Student Coach
The Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Julie Cromer Young at “Her Honor: Women in the Judiciary,” for which Julie served as conference director.
Julie guides individual contributors, academics, and students toward rewarding, long-term careers in the law.
A former AmLaw 100 lawyer and tenured law school professor, Julie Cromer Young is a Harvard Law School trained attorney with 20+ years in law, legal hiring, and developing mid-level associates, entry-level lawyers, law students, and others. She has worked with thousands of lawyers and law students, including those in—or who have gone on to join—Global 100 / Fortune 500 companies, AmLaw 100 and AmLaw 200 law firms, international organizations and NGOs, ABA-accredited law schools, and federal and state government agencies. They have also become federal and state judges.
Throughout her legal career, Julie has been heavily involved in the development of legal talent—including advising on career paths, legal résumés, cover letters, interview prep, on-campus interviews, job search, and networking. She has been particularly valuable in helping mid-level attorneys and law students explore rewarding traditional and nontraditional career choices, as well as developing strategies for long-term career success. Julie also advises lawyers wanting to enter academic or higher education.
Mid-level attorneys / individual contributors / SMEs
Law firm associates and Of Counsel
Junior attorneys and entry-level lawyers
Prospective law school students
Recent law school graduates
Current law students
Traditional law students
Nontraditional law students
First-generation lawyers
LLM candidates and students
Lawyers entering academia
Law firm careers
Beyond law firms
Paths in academia and higher education
JD-preferred, nontraditional, and other career paths
Résumé critiques and strategies
Résumés and cover letters
Job search techniques
Preparations for OCIs and job interviews
Building a professional network
LinkedIn for lawyers and law students
Options for summer
Clinicals, externships, and internships
Judicial clerkships
Practice readiness
Law school success strategies
Law school grades and activities
Transition from law school to law practice
Preparation for law school
Julie Cromer Young teaching a civil procedure seminar.
Before earning her law degree from Harvard Law School, Julie graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Alabama, where she majored in Diplomacy. At Harvard, Julie wrote a thesis on the copyrightability of computer software and programs. Her thesis advisor was the renowned Prof. Arthur R. Miller, one of the country’s most distinguished legal scholars and author of 40+ books—including the foundational treatise, Federal Practice and Procedure—on civil litigation, copyright, unfair competition, and privacy. She was also Co-Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard International Law Journal.
Julie started her legal career as an intellectual property adviser and litigator in Chicago. She practiced at four AmLaw 100 and AmLaw 200 multinational law firms—Katten Muchin, McDermott, Baker & McKenzie, and Bell Boyd (now part of K&L Gates)—where she was a key member of global IP protection, licensing, enforcement, and litigation teams for Fortune 500 companies. She was also advised on brand management, advertising and marketing, and monetization.
As a law firm attorney, Julie was an interviewer—through the OCI process, call-backs, and other on-site job interviews—where she reviewed candidates’ résumés and cover letters, as well as evaluated their performance. More informally, she served as a mentor and confidante to junior attorneys at the law firms.
Julie stepped off partnership-track to explore IP in an academic setting. For 15 years, she was a full-time professor at an ABA-accredited law school, where her courses included copyrights, food and drug law, conflict of laws, administrative law, lawyers in film, and civil procedure. For 10 years, from 2008 until 2016, Julie was the director of a law school Center for Law, Technology, and Communications, where she led an experiential learning initiative focused on helping students prepare for the actual practice of law. She also organized and moderated symposia and conferences—including a Women and the Law conference featuring the Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg as keynote speaker.
“Hi Julie, I wanted let you know that since we last spoke, I accepted a position at an AmLaw 100 firm! It is a position I would not have likely even applied for before we spoke. You were so very helpful with my concerns and confidence. I understand that is part of your job, but your genuineness came through and made me feel a little more at ease with my search. Thank you!”
Teaching both in-person and through cloud-based or online services, Julie has been a visiting professor or adjunct professor at four U.S. law schools, as well as at foreign law schools, lecturing on diverse topics such as legal writing, technology law, international law, and anticipation of legal issues raised by space exploration. She was also elected Chair of the Association of American Law Schools’ (AALS) Art Law Section.
As a law school professor, Julie has advised students on career issues, including how they can find their passion and place in the legal industry, build their careers, and make a positive impact in the world. She has been a key figure of encouragement on identifying end goals and building paths to move forward toward those goals. Her mentoring and advising relationships with her students have gone well beyond their law school days, with some lasting 15+ years as attorneys advanced to mid-level, senior, and SME roles in law firms, companies, government, nonprofits, and other entities. Julie has also also earned the Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW) credential.
Julie doesn’t just help attorneys and students taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves, she also helps them create their own opportunities. She has introduced students to internship opportunities at law firms and institutions like the San Diego Zoo. She’s also advised students on preparing for and landing federal and state clerkships. She encourages students and junior attorneys to look beyond traditional paths at law firms to see the many types of opportunities in the legal industry as a whole, as well as how to use their law degrees in non-practicing roles in academia, the military, corporate communications, and general business.
Over her career, Julie has advised both college students, grad students, and others considering law school about whether law school is the right choice for them. She helps them examine both the end goals and the economics of law school.
Now a Foreign Service spouse—previously a military spouse—Julie has lived as part of the ex-pat and foreign diplomatic community in Manila, Philippines where she was also a Visiting Lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University School of Law. After serving as a visiting professor at American University Washington College of Law, Julie returned to her native Tennessee and joined the faculty of Belmont University.
Professional Associations and Affiliations
Harvard Law School Association of Washington, DC
Intellectual Property Advisory Board for John Marshall Law School
Art Law Section Chair for Association of American Law Schools
Treasurer for American Women’s Club of the Philippines
American Intellectual Property Law Association
Professional Association of Résumé Writers & Career Coaches (PARW/CC)
Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW)
Bar and Court Admissions
California and Illinois (inactive)
U.S. District Courts for S.D.Ca., N.D.Ill., and E.D.Pa.
Panelist. “Justice and Law | Virtual Career Learning Opportunity,” Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools, Aug. 2020.
Moderator. “Career Transitions,” Harvard Law School Association of Washington, DC, hosted by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Feb. 2020.
Presenter. “Charting the Course of Intellectual Property Laws in the Privatization in Outer Space,” IP Scholars Asia 2018, Singapore Management University, Mar. 2018.
Presenter. “Charting the Course of Intellectual Property Laws in the Privatization of Outer Space,” 4th International Scientific Congress on Private Law, Ateneo de Manila University School of Law (with University of Málaga), June 2018.
“Hello Julie, I had a great second interview and received an offer from the firm yesterday! Thank you so very much for all of your help... Your expertise and guidance has been invaluable.”
Presenter. “Mars by 2024: Is Earth Law Ready?” Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, Oct. 2017.
Presenter. “How Mark Watney Owns the Universe,” University of San Diego School of Law, Oct. 2016.
Presenter. “How Mark Watney Owns the Universe,” Marquette University Law School, Feb. 2016.
Moderator. INTA Trademark Scholarship Symposium, San Diego, CA, May 2015.
Conference Director. Her Honor: Women in the Judiciary Conference, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA, Feb. 2013
Presenter. “Copyright in Memoriam, 10th Annual Intellectual Property Scholars Conference,” UC Berkeley School of Law, Aug. 2010.
Presenter. “Death Plus Seventy,” 2010 IP Scholars Roundtable, Drake Law School, Mar. 2010.
Presenter. “From the Mouths of Babes: Protecting Infant Authors from Themselves,” Vanderbilt School of Law, Nov. 2008.
Conference Director. Virtual Women: Emerging Issues in Intellectual Property Law Conference, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA, Feb. 2007.
Presenter. “Much Ado About Little: How the De Minimis Doctrine is Causing Big Problems,” 5th Annual Intellectual Property Scholars Conference, Cardozo School of Law, New York, NY, Aug. 2005.
Panelist. “Recent Developments in Copyright Law,” Entertainment Law Society Conference, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA, Apr. 2005.
Presenter. “The European Union Database Directive, U.S. Database Legislation and Sports Law,” Entertainment Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association, San Diego, CA, Feb. 2005.
Moderator. Sports Law Society Conference, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA, Feb. 2005.
Panelist. “The Uncertain Future of the Music Industry,” Thomas Jefferson School of Law Alumni Event, San Diego, CA, Oct. 2004.
“Hey Julie, I think the interview went well. You were right in predicting the format and the hypotheticals that they had. Thank you for all the help you’ve given me.”
Lecturer. “Questions about Copyright (And a Few Answers),” San Diego Institute of Art, San Diego, CA, Aug. 2004.
Presenter. “Database Rights and Protection Worldwide,” North County Chapter, San Diego World Affairs Council, Rancho Bernardo, CA, June 2004.
Lecturer. “The Importance of Intellectual Property and its Global Impact,” New College Distinguished Alumni Lecture, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, Apr. 2004.
Presenter. “The European Union Database Directive,” Southern California Intellectual Property Law Conference, California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA, Mar. 2004.
Presenter. “Legal Protection for Databases in the United States: Is Sui Generis Protection Required?” Computer Law Association Annual Meeting, Paris, France, Nov. 14-15, 2002.
Author. “Charting the Course of Intellectual Property Laws in the Privatization in Outer Space,” ATENEO LAW JOURNAL (forthcoming summer 2018).
Author. “The Online-Contacts Gamble After Walden v. Fiore,” 19 LEWIS & CLARK L. REV. 753 (2015).
Author. “Copyright in Memoriam,” 13 VAND. J. ENT. & TECH. 507 (2011).
Author. “From the Mouths of Babes: Protecting Infant Authors from Themselves,” 112 W. VA. L. REV. 431 (2010).
Author. “It’s in the Cards: The Law of Tarot,” LAW AND MAGIC (Christine Corcos, ed., 2010).
Author. “Harry Potter and the Three-Note Crime: Are We Vanishing the De Minimis Doctrine from Copyright?” 39 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW REVIEW 603 (Karen B. Tripp ed., 2007).
Author. “It’s Hard to Find a Good Pair of Genes: So Why Make Them Free for the Taking,” 76 UMKC L.REV. 505 (2007).
Author. “How on Earth Terrestrial Laws Can Protect Geospatial Data,” 32 J SPACE LAW 253 (2006).
Author. “Harry Potter and the Three-Note Crime: Are We Vanishing the De Minimis Doctrine from Copyright?” 36 N.M. L. REV. 1 (Vol. II, Summer 2006).
Conference Paper Author. “Much Ado About Little: How the De Minimis Doctrine is Causing Big Problems,” 5th Annual Intellectual Property Scholars Conference, Cardozo School of Law, New York, NY, Aug. 2005.
Author. “Techies Take Heart: ‘Grokster’ Leaves Loopholes for You,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (July 25, 2005), p. 8.
Conference Paper Co-author. “Legal Protection for Databases in the United States: Is Sui Generis Protection Required?” Presentation, Computer Law Association Annual Meeting, Paris, France, Nov. 14-15, 2002.
Author. “Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: What They Could Mean for Health and Safety Regulations under GATT,” 36 HARV. INT’L L. J. 557 (1995).