Prof. Jeff Lipshaw from Suffolk law school offers some advice about choosing between transactional and litigation work over at the Legal Profession Blog.
Employers Using Social Networks For Background Checks
Two employment lawyers writing in the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) Journal talk about the increasing number of employers who use online social networks (like Facebook) to perform background checks on their potential employees. The article is entitled: “MySpace or Yours? How Can a Web Site Cost Someone a Job?” and you can read it here. Among other things, they conclude that, unlike screening information they obtain from outside companies, the information gleaned from these sites need not be disclosed to the prospective employee under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
PSLAWNET gets an Upgrade
Those of you exploring public interest or government work may already be familiar with PSLAWNET, a public interest employer and jobs database containing information from over 10,000 law-related public service organizations and offices around the world and a running balance of about 2,500 job opportunities. Berkeley Law subscribes to it, so it is free for students and alums (though you have to register the first time you use it).
If you have visited PSLAWNET before, you will notice some big improvements the next time you go out there. Job seekers can now upload their resumes and submit them directly to employers. Also, you can flag and store individual job postings and organization profiles, along with entire search results, using the new “my favorites” tool.
There is also a brand new “Career Central” section containing lots of career search resources and useful links. Check it out here.
BIGLAW Recruiter: Splitting a Summer is Not a Good Idea
An experienced recruiter recently posted a commentary on the American Legal Media’s law.com website. She thinks splitting can hurt your job prospects at both firms and concludes that “in this economy [firms] don’t have to accept splits and the problems that come with them.” See more of her reasoning and read the whole piece here.