Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every Tuesday.

Q:I am applying for associate positions at plaintiffs class action firms in San Francisco. I am a recent graduate from a law school with a ranking of 56, but transferred from a law school with a ranking of 62 (for in-state tuition purposes). I have average grades at both law schools. (I focused mostly on clinic work and pro bono cases.)

My career services office has the following policy on resumes for transfer students: It is unnecessary to list the law school attended as a 1L on my resume once I receive my J.D. from my new school, but I must list the 1L school until I receive my J.D. from the new school.

However, your July 12 article states, "If you ever interview for a job change, your resume must always show your first year at the initial law school, but it will indicate your J.D. is from the higher-ranked law school."

I don't want to give the impression that I am trying to hide something -- I am just trying to keep my resume to one page. What do you think -- include the 1L school on the resume, leave it off or mention it in my cover letters?

Truth or Consequences

Dear Truth or Consequences: I wonder why you think I would change my mind regarding my advice as to what you must disclose on your resume. I suppose it is because your law school's career services office has a policy wherein transfer students must show the 1L school on their resume until they receive their J.D., and then it never has to be listed on the resume again.

Well, even with that policy in place, I stand by what I advised in the July 12 column: Your resume MUST always show all of the law schools you have attended.

Now, I understand that you are not trying to hide something, although I can't imagine why adding another law school and year onto your resume would tip the balance for keeping your resume to one page. If that is the straw that breaks the camel's back, surely there is something else that can easily be shortened or removed to keep the resume down to one page, because this is really important stuff that simply cannot be omitted.

Think about this for a moment: Let's say you decide to make a lateral move down the road, and your resume indicates that you have received your J.D. from a certain law school. However, when the potential employer asks for your transcript -- and sooner or later, this will happen -- your 1L law school will appear on that transcript but not on your resume. Suddenly, a discrepancy will appear that won't escape anyone's eyes. Even though you have omitted your first law school quite innocently -- or due to a law school policy -- this omission definitely looks as if you are trying to hide something. Do you see the problem here?

Yes, my advice stands. Be certain to list your 1L law school when you are a transfer student and receive your J.D. from a different law school. By the way, 99.99999 percent of the time, the transfer is made to a higher-ranking school. You should be proud of this accomplishment and be pleased to show you were such a great first-year student that you were qualified to transfer.

I am confused by your law school's career services office policy. Is it possible that you have misread or misinterpreted it? It is hard for me to believe that it wants you to omit your 1L law school from your resume once you have graduated from law school and are practicing law. It is on your permanent transcript and will show up eventually on your paperwork with any employer. You might want to discuss this with your school's CSO and let them know that the policy might end up hurting someone rather than being helpful, which, no doubt, is the intent.

In any event, I strongly suggest that you make certain your 1L law school is on your resume -- and stays on there. Incidentally, I did speak with the director of recruitment at one of the top law firms in the country and one of the past presidents of NALP regarding this matter, and there is no question that it is critical to keep your 1L law school on your resume. Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates