“There’s been a vast improvement in my job search prospects since I talked to you. It was incredible how quick it all happened. Not only am I finally getting responses to my résumé, but I also just wake up feeling better, with more get-up-and-go. Things are starting to move!”
— Junior litigator
Shauna C. Bryce as a legal careers panelist for “Carpe JDiem: Leveraging Legal Skills in Alternative Careers” at University of Pennsylvania School of Law. Moderated by Vivia Chen, senior columnist at The American Lawyer and the creator of The Careerist blog, with Djung Tran of Tran Law Associations; Scott Lee of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and David Zhou of the SDNY U.S. Attorney's Office.
If you’re a junior lawyer, a new attorney, a traditional law school student (straight from college to law school), or a non-traditional law student (second-career, multiple degrees, more than two years of non-attorney work history, etc.), then right now you’re facing questions and decision-making on:
Finding your place in the legal field, including the types of job environments that suit you and your goals best
Deciding how to use your law degree, both for a job now and to set up you for the career and life you want
Converting the $$$$$ you invested in your law degree into a legal or law-related job that’s full-time, permanent, paying (preferably, market rate!), and setting you up for continued success as you advance in your career
Showcasing your individuality and your value—in your résumé and LinkedIn profile, as well as in job interviews
Navigating the legal job market in a highly competitive economic environment
Finding and seizing opportunities—not just for a job now, but also to build your legal career
Understanding, meeting, and even exceeding hiring attorneys’ expectations throughout the hiring process
“I joined [AmLaw 100 law firm] right after we did my résumé the first time. A BigLaw partner on the other side of the deal asked for my résumé and that day he sent it to 5 AmLaw 100 firms. I interviewed with 4 and got offers from 2. Even though I had never practiced before and didn’t work in a law firm, the firm lateraled me in as a second year.”
— Associate breaking into BigLaw from non-lawyer role in a company in just 6 weeks
The exact numbers wax and wane, but each year there are some 125,000 students enrolled in law school, and tens of thousands joining the ranks of newly licensed attorneys.
Your JD or LLM is the starting point of your legal career, not the end goal. Now you have to decide how to use that degree. What kind of career do you want? Where do you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, or 30 years from now? What if you don’t know? How do you set yourself up for success?
What if you don’t even know which practice areas will be the best fit for you? Or types of legal environments, like how big law firms, small law firms, government, nonprofits, and other employers differ? How do you get started off on the right foot—particularly if you’re feeling like you’ve already made some career missteps or that your law school career services hasn’t been able to help you the way you’d hoped?
You’ll also need more than a law degree to wow hiring attorneys with your potential to be a good practicing lawyer.
But many law students don’t know how to write a résumé that impresses employers. They don’t teach that in law school.
“I got caught up in what I was supposed to be doing, as opposed to what I wanted to be doing. This session has helped me realize how much that has happened... It’s a real weight off my shoulders... [N]ow I can see myself down the line in a career that I would be interested in.”
— Law student going through on-campus interviews
Worse, résumé samples from law school career services centers often don’t help you stand out. Instead, they make everyone look the same. And if you were all the same, then that format would serve you equally well.
But what do you do if…
“When I talked to Career Services, they basically told me there was nothing I could do to look for a job while I wait for the bar exam results. But you’ve already outlined a lot of logical things I could be doing to be a better candidate and look for a job. And that makes so much more sense to me, because doing nothing but sitting around makes *no* sense.”
— Recent law school graduate
You’re more than an inflexible and dated résumé template?
Your GPA doesn’t reflect your abilities or you’re a hands-on learner?
Your current résumé focuses on your college jobs in retail or restaurants rather than your potential as a lawyer?
You have questions about getting your legal career off to a good start?
Your law school career services center is overwhelmed can’t offer you the individual help you need?
You’re still waiting to pass the bar exam and be sworn into your state’s bar, a process that can take months—or even years?
You want to do something different, rather than follow a traditional path?
You don’t even know what you want to do with your career or where to start next?
Every junior associate or entry-level attorney is different, with different backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, and career goals. You’re applying in different areas of the country, to different types of employers who look for different qualifications…
An aspiring litigator is great with people and great on his feet.
He took two clinics and summered at litigation boutiques where he excelled. But he’s not so great in the classroom. His grades just don’t reflect his ability. How can he find and market himself to employers who value his strengths rather than focus on his weakness?
An entry-level lawyer with an M.S. and a B.S. in mechanical engineering co-authored six academic papers.
She’s now a patent agent in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a non-attorney role. Now that she has two years of solid training in patent prosecution, how can she transition to a patent attorney role that pays more and sets her up for a long legal career?
A second-career law school student worked in his family’s construction company for six years and then as a real estate broker for another 10 years.
He isn’t a traditional law student and, while he understands the idea of paying one’s dues, he doesn’t want a traditional entry-level lawyer experience. How can he get proper credit at a law firm for his valuable work experience and transferrable skills?
A law student wants to switch direction from immigration to high finance.
Anticipating she would be an immigration lawyer, she attended her local Tier 3 law school because of its strong ties to the local immigrant community. However, she worked full-time during law school at a local bank, and now she’s decided to pursue a career in Islamic finance. Is it possible to land a role in a multinational financial services institution or a Big 4 consulting firm?
A junior associate on a budget wants coaching and résumé writing help.
He finds hiring a professional to be a financial commitment he hesitates to make on top of his student loan obligations. Yet, he needs more individualized assistance than any generic résumé book or his law school career service center can provide. How can he get personalized résumé help on a budget?
A newly admitted attorney is first generation American.
She’s also the first college graduate—and first lawyer—in her family so she can’t inherit a professional network from her family. How can she start to build a network of her own?
*Samples are composites designed to protect the identities of individual clients.
We make coaching for new lawyers and law students simple: just tell us the issues you’d like to discuss, and send us your current résumé so that we have some context. We can talk about interviewing, job search, networking—anything you need.
Get the help you want, when you want, at an affordable price.
We get that cost is a major factor if you’re at the start of your career—so we’ve pioneered a way to provide nationally recognized coaching and résumé writing help to entry-level lawyers needing help fast and affordably—while also needing more personalization and creativity than law school career service centers and résumé templates can provide.
Instead of hiring a true professional résumé writer to write your résumé from scratch or booking a multi-session package with a professional career coach—both long and expensive processes—we save you time and money through interactive, screen share services.
“I just accepted an offer at [AmLaw 100 law firm], as an Associate in their real estate section. Graduating from a Tier 4 school, I never thought this would be possible. I owe a huge part of it to you!”
“I’ve really been digging to LinkedIn and I’ve gotten more than 100 new connections in my area since we last talked. I’ve also been doing a lot of research to find lawyers who used to work at the employers I’m targeting.”
— Junior public defender
LinkedIn is a great place to be found. It is now one of top recruiting tools for retained, contingency, and internal recruiters. Therefore, we recommend all lawyers have a strong, polished presence on LinkedIn—even those who are not actively looking for a new job.
Get started early in your career—building a professional brand and presence, making connections into potential employers, researching, and establishing rapport with potential clients.
We can help you set up your profile and give you confidence and tips on reaching out effectively.
Why work with Bryce Legal? How can you choose the best lawyer career coach and legal résumé writer for you? Here’s what just a few our clients say. For more, please see Our Client Testimonials.
“Hi Julie, Thank you again for lending your invaluable experience and brain to helping me launch the next phase of my life and career. I am most thankful for your assistance in this journey!”
- Second-career attorney finding a position after a clerkship
“Hi Julie, Thank you so much for the taking the time to hop on a call today and work on both my résumé and cover letter with me. I also appreciate you providing me with tips for updating my LinkedIn profile. I will be sure to keep you updated on my job search!”
- Junior associate seeking first in-house counsel position
“Thanks Julie! I want to thank you for your guidance and assistance with revamping my résumé and my approach to transitioning into my second career. Your guidance was invaluable and I am eternally grateful!”
- Second-career professional getting first associate attorney role
“After our meeting, I sent my new cover letter and résumé to the recruiter posting a role with [Global 15 law firm], but the recruiter didn't seem that enthusiastic, so I did like you said, Shauna—I figured out who the partners who would be making the decision were and I sent my materials to them. I got responses from both partners within 24 hours and now I have an interview set up.”
- Junior corporate lawyer breaking into BigLaw from small firm
“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, and hopefully I can get back to you later stating that I got the job.”
- Junior attorney transitioning from private practice to public defense
A former AmLaw 100 lawyer and government attorney, Natasha Alladina DiFiore has 10+ years working across legal sectors. She is also a legal recruiter at one of the nation’s largest and best regarded recruiting firms.
A former Federal Reserve lawyer, tax controversy attorney, and pro bono program director for lawyers at AmLaw 100 firms, Kamilah Exum has 20+ years working with executives and other lawyers in a variety of environments.
A former public company compliance director, Fortune 50 in-house counsel, AmLaw 100 lawyer, and federal government (HHS-OIG) associate counsel, Niteesha Gupte has 20+ years working with attorneys across sectors and environments. She is now a coach and career strategist at another AmLaw 100 firm.
