Recognizing and relying on our resilience may be the key to surviving layoffs, delayed start dates and reduced hiring. This past week, I was privileged to participate in two very different events both of which made me realize that “we will all get through this ” is not merely a motivational mantra. It has substance. There are solid reasons for optimism and hope.
The NALP Annual Education Conference, held in Washington, D.C., this year, could have been a pity party but instead was inspiring and left me tremendously encouraged about the future of the legal profession. The annual conference brings together legal recruiting professionals from law firms and other legal employers with law school career services professionals for four days of intensive educational programming and meetings of various interest groups such as LLM and clerkship advisors and those interested in advancing law student and lawyer professional development. I must add a disclaimer at the outset that I am an active member of NALP and am by no means an unbiased observer.
While few answers (and no magic bullets) emerged from the four days, all participants left with new ideas — whether about reaching students through blogs or learning to be a more effective leader or counselor or about the imminent demise of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The optimism came in part from the setting — Washington at the peak of cherry blossom season — but most came from the dedicated professionals who attended, whether they were speaking on panels or providing inspired leadership to NALP as an organization.
NALP certainly had its share of the latter. That resilience is emotional as well as intellectual was evident in both NALP’s outgoing president’s reflections on the changes in the legal market over the past year as well as the incoming president’s exciting vision for the future focusing on leadership, technological innovation and marketing.
While it is helpful to realize that others are in the same boat, it is even more encouraging to observe how employers and law schools can support each other through this crisis. We spend so much of our workdays supporting law students and attorneys that many of us came to the conference drained. We reveled in the support, listening abilities and helpful insights of our colleagues and friends.
The programming was exceptional. Technology was a hot topic. To blog or not to blog? To tweet or not to tweet? Can we be the efficient and effective people we want to be more easily in Second Life than in this first one? One session focused on broadening our range of counseling techniques. We were introduced to a variety of new ways to reach our students — both in person and via the Internet. We explored government hiring, clerkships, how to increase diversity, public interest job searching, 360 reviews, jobs with associations and the economics of law firm practice, to name just a few. In all, there were 105 concurrent sessions.
While the dark cloud of the economy did hang over the conference and references to the economy ran through nearly every program, the market did little to dampen the joy of folks who love their jobs. Our students and co-workers need us to be centered and joyful.
A number of fun social events, especially the member celebration, which took place at the National Portrait Gallery, combined the social with the educational. Seeing the sculpture of Rosa Parks in close proximity with a portrait of Thurgood Marshall and the now famous portrait of President Obama could not help but lift one’s spirits and provide perspective.
At the conference, I tried to give back as much as I got from the people around me — an impossible task. NALP is clearly a resilient organization that provides its members with the knowledge and support they need to be successful and effective in any economic climate.
The day after I arrived home from the conference was our annual Day at Northwestern Law, Northwestern’s version of admitted students’ day. I was intrigued to get a first look at the Class of 2012. Despite the fact that, realistically, this group would find a much improved market when they graduated, I expected them to be focused on the current economy. I participated on a panel on judicial clerkships and externships and led a session on the mission and functions of the Career Center and prospects for 1L summer hiring for 2010. I emphasized the strategic nature of our one-on-one counseling sessions, assuring that each student leaves with a plan. I mentioned that I expected that summer job options for first-years would be similar to those available in past years. The students did ask a few questions about the economy but they seemed, appropriately, I thought, focused on the future rather than the current economic situation. They asked the typical questions about international opportunities and first-year jobs with large firms. I found this refreshing. I much preferred answering questions about the geographical reach of our programs than questions which required digging out my crystal ball for August 2010. They also asked perceptive questions about judicial clerkships, which is a ways off for them, and judicial externing, which is a bit closer. As in past years, they seemed eager and a little nervous.
Like my colleagues at the NALP Conference, the admitted students seemed engaged, thoughtful and creative. Energy, joy, hopefulness and, most of all, resilience abounded at both events. Both experiences provided opportunities to re-energize and re-connect with the Career Center’s core mission: to do our best to help our students and alumni find satisfying employment and to educate the students in our care to make the most of the opportunities that are out there for them.
The legal profession, including law students and legal career professionals, will not only survive the crisis but can seize the opportunity to learn more and reexamine old models until the good times return. Whether we have jobs we love or whether we are laid off, deferred, or looking toward graduation without a job, it is essential to find some kind of activity that reminds us that we are not alone, an activity that reveals our resilience. For me, it was the NALP Conference and Admitted Students’ Day. It might be reconnecting with your law school career center, attending a local bar association meeting or program or setting up a lunch with a friend we have not seen in awhile. You could start a fitness routine or join a community chorus. Through connecting with each other and sharing the positive energy in laughter and honest communication, we realize how resilient we are.
William A. Chamberlain is assistant dean, Law Career Strategy and Advancement, Northwestern University School of Law.
