Frequently Asked Questions
Click here to see questions specific to Evening students.
What does the Office of Career Services offer?
Where do Loyola students and graduates obtain jobs?
How are job opportunities found?
What kinds of salaries can I expect?
What about opportunities in public interest law?
How do employers view Evening Division students?
Will I have to take a salary cut?
I'm older. Don't employers want to hire younger people?
What if I don't get any legal experience by the time I graduate?
What if I don't have a job lined up by the time I graduate?
What Does The Office Of Career Services Offer?
CAREER PLANNING SERVICES AND RESOURCES
The Office of Career Services offers a wide variety of services and resources to students and alumni/ae. The Office of Career Services brings jobs to students throughout the year in the form of job listings seeking law clerks during the school year and summer, and fall and spring On-Campus Interview programs for summer and permanent jobs. Individual counseling and group workshops provide assistance to students and graduates who are preparing for and engaging in the job search. Workshops on resume preparation, job search and interviewing skills are held throughout the year along with many other career related programs. Services and resources include a career planning library, access to selected on-line databases, a career planning handbook, and handouts and brochures on many areas (such as non-traditional careers, judicial clerkships, government careers, small firm job search, etc.).
ONGOING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
A full slate of programs and events providing information from the perspectives of students and experienced practitioners (including alumni), is offered throughout the academic year. Programs provide information on career planning and job search, legal career options, and the legal job market. More specialized programs, such as joint efforts with student organizations and bar associations address specific concerns or areas of interest, such as international law programs, programs for law students of color, intellectual property, etc.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Special programs include those jointly sponsored with other Southern California ABA law schools, such as: Government Careers Information Day at Loyola; Public Interest Career Day (with a large interview component) at UCLA and Entertainment Law Careers Day at Southwestern University Law School.
When should I start thinking about career planning and begin to use the resources and services offered?
November of your first year. Workshops for first year students are scheduled the first week in November. They give first-year Day and second-year Evening students a broad overview of career planning for law students and general information on the legal job market. They also prepare students for their first legal job search, which can commence over winter break and continue during Spring OCI and other career days held in the Spring.
Where do Loyola students and graduates obtain jobs?
EMPLOYMENT SETTINGS
Loyola students and graduates work at every level of private practice, the judiciary, in-house (corporations), government, public interest, and in teaching and non-traditional careers. See Loyola's current Employment Report for a breakdown of employment settings for Loyola's graduating class.
LOCATION
California continues to be the top choice for graduates. However, more graduates each year opt for employment in other areas, like New York, Washington, D.C., Arizona and Nevada. National and international law firms are well represented among those who recruit Loyola students and graduates and may also seek to hire for branch offices in out-of-state locations.
How are job opportunities found?
Loyola's Office of Career Services vigorously pursues new employment opportunities for students and graduates, working with them throughout their law school careers and beyond. Alumni play an important role in these efforts and offer continuing support through their participation in recruitment activities and through their involvement in Career Services programs. And, of course, the Internet plays an increasingly prominent role in the job search.
Fall and Spring On-Campus Interview programs and off-site interview programs provide many interviewing opportunities. In addition, students and graduates find full-time or part-time employment year-round through job listings received by the Office daily. The information may be accessed by students through the job listing binders which are located in OCS and on-line.
What kinds of salaries can I expect?
Student law clerk compensation varies and depends on the employment setting and, for private practice, on the size of the law firm. Law clerk salaries in the Los Angeles area typically range from $15.00 to $20.00 per hour or more and sometimes reach 25.00 per hour or more. Salary is often negotiable depending on class year and previous experience. Medium and large law firms with structured summer programs set weekly salary figures for summer associates; this information is typically available on employer NALP forms (available on-line through NALP and LEXIS® or in print form in the Office of Career Services).
Government and public interest organizations often do not have the budget to pay law clerks and depend on externs and volunteer law clerks or instruct students to investigate other sources of funding (such as workstudy or other grants).
See the final Employment Report for Loyola Law School for more details on graduate, entry-level salaries. See the NALP report on Jobs and J.D.s. and the NALP Associate Salary Survey for national figures (available in the Office of Career Services).
What about opportunities in public interest law?
The Career Services Library contains a number of publications on public interest law careers. The Equal Justice Works web site provides students with a wealth of information. Loyola's longstanding commitment to public interest is evidenced through its student Summer Public Interest Employment program (the largest of its kind in the nation) and through its graduate Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program. Contact the Public Interest Law Department for details on these programs as well as for other fellowship and funding opportunities.
How do employers view Evening Division students?
Overwhelmingly, employers report that they are favorably impressed with the maturity, credentials and experience of evening students. In fact, many employers specifically seek students who have these qualities.
As an Evening Division student with a full-time job, I'm not available to work during summers; what are my chances of working for a big firm?
Although large and mid-size law firms typically attempt to meet their hiring needs for permanent, entry level positions from their summer associate pools, annual hiring needs do vary, and employers sometimes seek to increase entry level hiring by interviewing graduating students who did not work for them during the previous summer.
For smaller firms, and for most government and public interest organizations, this summer "look" is not viewed as a prerequisite for permanent, post-graduate employment.
Will I have to take a salary cut?
In some cases, evening students may be earning more in their present positions than they would as entry level attorneys. However, their long-term earnings potential as attorneys may offset the initial opportunity cost of starting over as a lawyer. Some evening students explore possible opportunities for legal work or other advancement with their current employers; others choose non-traditional careers that will combine the use of the J.D. with some pre-existing expertise. Keep in mind that the largest salaries for entry level associates are paid by large law firms which prefer to hire out of their summer programs.
I'm older. Don't employers want to hire younger people?
Obviously, age is an issue that cannot be legally considered in the hiring process. Nevertheless, it may enter into the subjective decisions which employers make about candidates, even if subconsciously. The Office of Career Services can assist by talking with students about how to handle the issue of age in an interview or other situation, and by educating employers about the value that older students bring to the workplace. We also routinely "remind" employers to only engage in fair and lawful interview practices.
What if I don't get any legal experience by the time I graduate?
Every Loyola student should get some legal experience simply by completing the mandatory pro bono requirement. The Pro Bono program staff is working to increase the number of placement opportunities that are available to Evening students.
Some evening students obtain their employers' consent to use vacation time in order to accept a summer position. Other students negotiate for part of a summer off, or for a flex schedule that allows a day or more off each week. In some cases, if the student has specialized experience or credentials, or high class standing, previous legal experience will be less important to employers. Nevertheless, all students are strongly encouraged to acquire legal experience before graduating; ideally in one's chosen field of practice.
What if I don't have a job lined up by the time I graduate?
Typically, more than half of Loyola graduates obtain post-graduate employment prior to graduation. The balance of the class usually delays further job search until after the summer Bar Exam. For seven months after the Bar exam (August through January), one of Loyola's assistant directors of career services works exclusively and intensively with those members of the most recent graduating class who are still seeking employment. By the end of that seven-month period, the great majority of these job seekers have also found employment.