Category Archives: Career Services

Working as a GRF

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by Anna Birkenheier, Class of 2013 and recent graduate

annaAnna is a member of the Class of 2013, from Chicago, Illinois and attended to Northwestern University for undergrad.  Here at William & Mary Law School, she is the Managing Editor of the Business Law Review, a member of the OCS Student Advisory Board, and of the Public Service Fund General Board.

The Graduate Research Fellows program at William & Mary offers a great change of pace from homework, and is a great way to learn more about our professors’ research specialties.  In the classroom, students usually only hear brief descriptions of the more in-depth work their professors do outside of the classroom, gleaned from comments they make about research they’re working on.  But as Graduate Research Fellows, students have a unique opportunity to see this work first-hand.  After working with one of the school’s administrative offices during their first year, for their second and third years Graduate Research Fellows are assigned to a professor, and work as a research assistant for that professor throughout the academic year.

During the first year, working in one of the school’s administrative departments helps students learn more about the school’s operations.  I worked with the Office of Career Services during my first year here, and my time in OCS was a great way to learn how the job search works.  Not only did I come away with a lot of useful knowledge on the subject, but I had the chance to get to know everyone in the office really well, and these relationships definitely add a lot to the overall law school experience.

As Graduate Research Fellows for specific professors, students’ assignments can range from locating cases that address particular questions, to more generally researching a particular topic relevant to a professor’s current work.  Regardless of the details of the work, though, this work offers a great change of pace—in the midst of normal coursework, it’s nice to have a chance to really get familiar with a current, highly specific legal issue, especially since classes may not always give us the chance to really delve into every topic related to a particular field of law.  But our professors specialize in that type of research, and the chance to watch them at work, and to gain familiarity with their specialties through the Graduate Research Fellow program, made the program a great addition to my legal education.

Opportunities at W&M to Get Hands-On Experience

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gividenBryan Gividen is a member of the Class of 2013 at William & Mary School of Law. He has a B.S. in Economics from Brigham Young University. Bryan is the Communications Editor for the William & Mary Law Review, a member of the Moot Court team, and former President of the Federalist Society at William & Mary School of Law. 

Over the past few years, a wide range of people and publications have critiqued legal education. Everyone from the New York Times to law professors themselves have rightly pointed out that law schools need to change to emphasize practical experience. William & Mary has led the charge to implement this feedback it into its program. And that is a huge benefit to current and future students.

I am a recent graduate who can speak about it firsthand. During my final year of school, I have participated in both an externship and one of our clinics. Each has been an incredible experience that has given me “rubber meets road” legal experience.
I externed for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. In addition to working directly with Assistant U.S. Attorney’s, I have been responsible for writing memorandum and drafts that have been incorporated into documents submitted to federal district courts. Under the local rules of practice, law students enrolled at William & Mary can even appear in court under the supervision of a practicing attorney. For me, that meant trying misdemeanor cases by questioning witnesses, making closing arguments, and recommending sentences.

Perhaps one of the best testaments to William & Mary’s focus on placing students in practical positions was during a recent trial I was a part of. I sat at the prosecution table, another William & Mary student assisted defense counsel, and a third student sat beside the judge’s bench as one of his externs. William & Mary had students engaged in every aspect of the courtroom experience simultaneously. As Rachel Procopio wrote about, sometimes these externships can lead to full-time positions. But even when they do not, they are excellent opportunities for students to get hands-on experience.

Our clinics provide similar experiences. This year I have participated in the Appellate and Supreme Court Clinic. On a weekly basis, a skilled appellate practitioner from a large firm in Washington, D.C., instruct us on appellate advocacy and strategy. Every pair of students in our clinic was assigned a case to write a brief to submit to a federal court. For example, my partner and I were assigned a First Amendment case to  be submitted to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, a federal court that has been home to Supreme Court Justices like Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, and Justice Ginsburg. The collaborative effort between the students and full-time attorneys has put our weekly sessions into practice. I cannot overstate how valuable the individualized feedback has been to improving my writing and argument skills.

If appellate advocacy is not your thing, William & Mary has other opportunities. Our clinics range from an Innocence Project clinic focused on exonerating wrongfully convicted inmates, to the Veterans’ Benefits Clinic meant to help military veterans with disability claims. A list of our current clinics can be found here.

Whatever your interest is, William & Mary is willing to help you find a way to get practical experience. Whether it’s in a clinic or externship, the school is eager to help students get the skills necessary to hit the ground running after graduation.

Perspective on the Job Search Process

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by Jillian Jacobs, Class of 2013 and recent graduate

jill jacobsJill is from from Rochester, New York and received her B.A. in Policy Studies and Economics from Syracuse University. Jill was an Articles Editor for the Bill of Rights Journal, Chair of the Community Service Committee for the George Wythe Society, and a Graduate Research Fellow. 

Prior to my first year of law school, I was nervous about a lot of things. I wondered whether I would make friends, how I would handle an embarrassing cold call, and if I could keep up with the demanding work schedule. My greatest fear, however, was that I would not be able to find a job.

I came to law school straight from undergrad, and I had very little experience with the job search process. I had worked at a retail store, at a restaurant, and at a small local firm during school breaks, but I had never formally searched for a legal job. I was overwhelmed at the thought of reworking my resume, writing cover letters, identifying potential internships, and interviewing with respected attorneys.

Soon, I realized that I was not alone – majority of my classmates viewed the job search process as daunting and confusing. Fortunately, the Office of Career Services (OCS) annually holds informational sessions for first-year students in early October. At the sessions, the OCS Deans talk about the job search process. Additionally, OCS gives students a binder containing information such as sample resumes and cover letters, recommendations for interview attire, and other interview tips. When I walked out of the session, I felt a wave of relief. I knew that the job search process would not be easy, but I found comfort in knowing that OCS would help me in any way possible

In November of my first year of law school, I met with my assigned dean, Ramona Sein, to discuss my internship search. She suggested that I continue networking and that I consider a variety of internships for the summer after my first year of law school. In a stroke a pure luck, I met an alumnus of the law school who helped me secure an internship with a federal judge in Houston, Texas. The internship was educational and an overall great experience.

I finished my internship in Houston at the end of June, and I immediately started preparing to apply for second-year internships. My goal was to work at a large firm in New York City, but I applied to firms in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. as well because I was worried about the legal market. A contact helped me to obtain interviews in Philadelphia, and firms in New York City offered me interviews after receiving my resume through a William & Mary interview program.

In order to prepare for my interviews, I frequently called Dean Sein and Dean Knowles to ask questions. I think that some of my questions may have been trivial, but I appreciated that every dean in OCS was willing to listen to my concerns and was able to answer my questions. Finally, after two months of interviewing for summer associate positions, I accepted an offer from Dechert LLP in New York City. I loved my internship with Dechert, and I am so excited to return as a first-year associate. I am incredibly thankful to OCS for helping me to find this position.

Experiences and Opportunities in Election Law

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shanaShanna Reulbach is a 3L from Rochester, New York.  She double majored in political science and history at the State University of New York at Geneseo, graduating in 2010.  Shanna is a Graduate Research Fellow and the senior articles editor of the Law Review.

I am a 3L at William & Mary, and I have had the wonderful experience of being a Graduate Research Fellow (GRF) for all three years.  As a college student, I majored in political science and history and ran an organization dedicated to campaign finance reform.  I was interested in elections, and William & Mary stood out to me during the law school application process because it sponsored election law fellows through its GRF program.  I applied for the Election Law Fellowship and had the great fortune of becoming one of two GRFs to the Election Law Program.

The Election Law GRF position afforded me incredible research opportunities in the field I was passionate about starting on my first day as a 1L.  Professor Rebecca Green, co-director of the Election Law Program, had me maintain a blog page on campaign finance on the Election Law Society’s website, assist in researching one of her academic articles, and participate in the planning of election-related moot court events that gained national attention.  All of these projects were very interesting and enjoyable, and they helped me develop research and writing skills early on in my law school career.  Furthermore, the skills and subject-matter expertise I developed have helped prepare me for job interviews and summer internships.

Another great benefit of GRFing is that it enables students to form a relationship with a professor outside of the classroom.  Professor Green has been a fantastic mentor during my three years and provided invaluable help in securing both of my summer internships—at the Brennan Center for Justice and the Virginia State Board of Elections.  Being familiar with my personality and work product, she was able to make phone calls and write recommendation letters for these positions and for clerkships.  And when opportunities for extracurricular projects have come up, Professor Green has generously offered to allow me to participate.  Through her efforts, I am currently researching and drafting a report on election delays for the American Bar Association and providing research support to the recently created Presidential Commission on Election Administration.  These are tasks I never dreamed law students would be tackling when I came to William & Mary, but I am so grateful that the GRF program is in place to enable students to learn beyond the classroom.

GRF was a big part of why I decided to come to William & Mary, and now I also view it as one of my most rewarding law school experiences.  The tuition reduction and living stipend made law school more affordable, and I do not think I could have gotten such in-depth familiarity with the field of election law at any other institution.  I have enjoyed my time as a GRF and believe that what I have learned, and the relationships I have established with the GRF community, will continue to be of value years beyond graduation.

Externship Leads to Career!

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rachelRachel Procopio is a third-year student at William & Mary Law School.  She graduated from Susquehanna University in 2010 with her Bachelors of Science in Biology.  Rachel is a Graduate Research Fellow, the Senior Articles Editor of the William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, and the co-chair of the law school’s Bone Marrow Drive Committee.

I did not know it at the time, but deciding to apply for an externship at Rawls McNelis + Mitchell for the spring of my 2L year was the best career decision I have ever made.  When I walked into my interview with Mr. Ed McNelis in the end of November 2011, I was unaware that the twenty-minute interview would lead to my first full-time position as an attorney.

The summer after my 1L year, I worked in-house for a healthcare system in Pennsylvania.  Because I wanted to work at a firm doing civil litigation, I began interviewing for various summer associate positions during my 2L fall.  I knew that pursuing an externship with a law firm would compliment the skills I had gained during my summer experience at the hospital.  In pursuing an externship, I hoped to tweak my abilities and set myself apart in the search for a job in the private sector after graduation.

The externship opportunity with Rawls McNelis + Mitchell immediately caught my eye when it was posted on the Office of Career Services job website.  The firm is a healthcare boutique in Richmond, specializing in medical malpractice defense.  Medical malpractice was an area of law that I was especially interested in working in, and I thought that my experience in healthcare would set me apart from others applying.   My assumption was correct, and I was chosen for the externship.

Working as an extern at Rawls McNelis + Mitchell was a great learning experience.  I traveled to Richmond every Friday during the spring, and I was able to work on a variety of projects for several different attorneys.  I helped attorneys draft motions, I wrote memos, and I researched.  I was also lucky enough to be able to witness the firm’s attorneys in action by attending depositions and sitting in on conference calls with clients.  I worked as hard as I could as an extern, and took on many assignments even when I was not in the office.  About six weeks into my externship, I received an offer to return to the firm as a summer associate.  I returned for the summer in May, and I have not stopped working for the firm since.

On July 27, 2012, the last day of my summer position, I accepted an offer to work at Rawls McNelis + Mitchell after graduation.  I am ecstatic to be joining the firm in August, and very happy that I decided to pursue the externship that led to this incredible opportunity.

Research in Family Law

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by Liz Smith, Class of 2014

liz smith

Liz Smith is from South Florida and earned a degree in Psychology at the University of Florida before moving to Virginia to begin law school at William & Mary. She is a Graduate Research Fellow and a member of the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal.

When I was considering the move from sunny South Florida to Virginia, where I did not know anyone, the atmosphere I experienced at William and Mary during Admitted Students Weekend made the decision easy. The second most convincing reason for choosing William and Mary for law school was the offer of a Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF). While some may view a research fellowship as a trade off, I see it as a win-win. Not only do I get a break on tuition and a monetary stipend, but I have the opportunity to work directly with faculty, staff, and professors.

Once Graduate Research Fellows have a chance to develop an interest in a specific type of law, they are matched up with a professor with experience in that field. I have developed an interest in family law and was consequently lucky enough to work with Professor James Dwyer for almost a year now. Professor Dwyer has a significant amount of experience in family law, domestic violence, and youth law. I have been afforded the opportunity to work on a variety of research assignments for him, each of which is more interesting than the last. Some of the topics that I have researched include the current mail-order bride laws in the Philippines, the various requirements states have for distribution of unique marital property such as law degrees, and a wide range of domestic violence issues and specific local domestic violence cases.

During every job interview that I have had, I have been asked about my Graduate Research Fellowship. Employers were impressed with the honor, as well as interested in the research skills and professional relationships I was able to develop through the work. I honestly believe that my graduate research fellowship contributed to the success of my 2L summer job search.

My Graduate Research Fellowship has also been a great networking opportunity. Through research, I was able to locate and reach out to a William and Mary alum that was a GRF for Professor Dwyer as well. Partly because of our common experience, this alum was more than willing to meet with me and give great career advice as well as discuss her experiences during and after law school. Accepting my Graduate Research Fellowship has already contributed to the advancement of my career and the formation of professional relationships, and I still have another year!

Mock Interviews

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by Elizabeth Cavallari

The annual Mock Interview Program took place on Friday, January 25, 2013.  18 alumni interviewers and 2 friends of the Law School, working for 18 different firms or companies, volunteered with this event.  Of the 194 in the 1L class, 117 1L students participated in a mock interview.

This was a great opportunity for our students to network with alumni as well as honing their interview skills!

Class of 2015

Class of 2015

Being a Graduate Research Fellow

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by Erin Barrett, Class of 2014

erin barrettErin Barrett is a second-year student at William & Mary Law. Erin grew up in Connecticut and went to the College of the Holy Cross for her undergraduate degree. After college, Erin worked for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and volunteered in Baltimore, MD for a year. At William & Mary, Erin is a member of Law Review and the Moot Court Team. She is also a Writing & Practice Fellow in the Legal Practice Program and a Graduate Research Fellow.

There is no denying that one of the most attractive features of William & Mary is the price. Frankly, it is hard to find a school that is a better deal: you get all the prestige of a top-ranked school without all of the corresponding debt. In deciding where I was going to go to law school price was a major factor, and it was what ultimately led me to choose W&M over more highly ranked, but also much more expensive, schools.

Part of my financial aid package was a Graduate Research Fellowship. This Fellowship, affectionately given the nickname GRF, is a work-study type program in which a non-Virginia resident student works around eight hours a week for the school in exchange for in-state tuition and a monetary stipend. The work given to a GRF varies, but for most first-year students, one’s work is split evenly between working in the library and in an administrative capacity for a school department like Admissions or Alumni Affairs. In my case, my first year I worked in the library and the Office in Career Services (OCS), and this year I am a Writing & Practice Fellow (teaching assistant) for W&M’s Legal Practice program.

As someone who has now been a GRF for a year and a half, I can easily say that the benefits of the position outweigh any inconveniences. For starters, receiving in-state tuition and the stipend go a long way in decreasing the amount of loans you have to take out. The increased financial stability I have received from the GRF allowed me much more flexibility in my summer internship searches because I was less money motivated and more concerned with finding jobs that interested me.

My GRF also gave me an extra leg up in the job search in two other ways. First, being a GRF is listed as an honor on one’s resume, which is always an attractive thing to employers. Also the work I have done as a GRF, especially in my time as a Writing & Practice Fellow, has given me great legal writing experience that I can refer to in job interviews. Second, the connections I made working in OCS allowed me to form great relationships with all the OCS Assistant Deans. Those relationships have come in handy throughout my time at W&M in that I always feel even morecomfortable seeking out the Assistant Deans to solicit career advice.

Aside from the perks in the job search, my time as a GRF has afforded me a great chance to meet fellow students, administrators, and alumni. For instance, when I worked with OCS on the Mock Interview Program I was able to meet W&M alumni from around the country and hear about their experiences out in the real world. Also, as a Fellow, I am assigned a “firm” of 13 first-year students whom I get to mentor and teach, but also get to know more so than if I were not a GRF.

My advice to prospective students who have been offered Graduate Fellowships is to really consider accepting those offers. I have found my time as a GRF a great way to make connections with administrators at W&M, meet other students whom are fellow GRFs, and save money. Plus getting to work in the library means you will be one of the few students in the school who can actually find books with relative ease. Talk about impressing future employers!

My Experiences with Public Service

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By Janet Sully, Class of 2014

930769127Janet is a 2L at William & Mary Law School. She has a B.A. in Education from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and has previously worked as an educator with Reaching Our Goals, Upward Bound, and Covenant House. After law school, Janet hopes to provide legal representation for youth in foster care.

As an educator, when searching for the right law school, I hoped to find a place where I could develop the ability to use my current skills and knowledge in a legal capacity to better serve my clients. Although I expected my classes and volunteer work to provide me with appropriate experiences, I have been pleasantly surprised by the unique opportunities provided through my Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) at William & Mary Law School.

One of the most exciting research projects in which I have participated through my GRF involved the design of teleconferencing rooms for remote Social Security Administration (SSA) hearings. Throughout the project, I worked with classmates whose backgrounds included everything from statistics to filmmaking, and teleconferencing to room design. My background as a teacher allowed me to effectively contribute to the research project by focusing on the disability accommodations required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as teleconferencing logistics that can impact various aspects of communication between the appellant and the administrative law judge at SSA hearings.

Through my work on this research project, I also had the opportunity to work closely with faculty, benefitting from their knowledge and guidance in completing the research and in writing up the final proposal. In fact, one professor with whom I worked on the project has continued to act as a mentor throughout my law school experience, and I have recently begun a separate research project in collaboration with him regarding accessible language and the legal code of Virginia.

Although I enjoyed the larger process of completing my GRF research on teleconferencing, the project truly came full circle for me during the summer of my 1L year during my internship at Bay Area Legal Aid. There, I spent part of my summer successfully representing one of my clients at an SSA appellate hearing. When the administrative law judge issued a bench decision in favor of my client, the client grabbed my hand and began to cry. As a summer law clerk, I was incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work successfully with such an amazing client. As a Graduate Research Fellow at William & Mary, I was similarly fortunate to have had the chance to participate in the conversation to make SSA hearings like this more accessible to individuals all over the country.

A Summer in China

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by Alexzandria Poole, Class of 2013

Alexzandria Poole, Class of 2013

Alexzandria Poole, Class of 2013

When I tell people that I spent my second year summer abroad in China, people always say, “Oh wow really? How was it? How did you like it?” and I never quite know how to respond. It’s not because I don’t have anything to say; rather, it’s because I have so much to say and I don’t know where to start. That’s how I feel now as I write this blog. But bear with me. Thankfully, things happen on a daily basis that remind me of something I experienced in Beijing, and then that’s when I’ll explain a funny story, a revelation, or something I miss about living there. But here, I guess I’ll start from the beginning.

Because of my background in working with children in the educational system, my strong interest in juvenile law and legal reform, my preliminary knowledge of Chinese language and culture, and my commitment to public interest law generally, interning at Beijing Zhicheng Public Interest Law (ZPIL) was one of the best decisions I could have made. ZPIL was a pioneering place that encouraged the protection of minority interests and the pursuing of a more just legal system within the framework of, but also in spite of, an adverse political regime.

While I had exposure to different divisions within the firm such as migrant workers rights law, rural area rule of law, and criminal law generally, I was matched with the Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center because of my background. While conducting a comparative summer research project on juvenile justice systems as a means to influence legislative reform, each day I had the opportunity to talk with Chinese lawyers in Mandarin (if it was about casual everyday things) and English (if it was law-specific) and often learned how to say Chinese legal terms through conversations and attendance at center staff meetings and presentations—something I likely would not have been able to do in the States.  I had office mates who invited me over for dinner, accompanied me to famous Beijing sites, and gave me advice on a variety of topics.  Any questions I had, they were happy to answer. We exchanged ideas and formed relationships over large meals in the center’s dining hall and outside of work at office parties. In addition to the work aspect, I also lived alongside the other interns at a very inexpensive hotel just minutes away from our office where we had access to all of the necessities: grocery store, transportation, and of course, KTV (karaoke!). With them, there was always a feeling of home.

With coworkers at Beijing Zhicheng Public Interest Law.

With coworkers at Beijing Zhicheng Public Interest Law.

(Sidenote: I’ve already mentioned food several times in just one paragraph. FOOD was a major part of my experience abroad and I learned much of my Chinese professional etiquette through experiences over food and drink: what’s acceptable, what’s not, being able to connect with people across the table, how it influences international dealings, and so on.) For anyone interested in doing international law, I feel that it is essential to have lived and worked in a foreign culture even if only to learn the social niceties that accompany the hard legal skills you can learn anywhere. Even if you’re not interested in international law, I think that working abroad not only will aid you in being able to articulate another perspective, but it will also give you a reality check in seeing how the knowledge you’re obtaining plays an ever important role in an expanding global arena—and in ways you can’t even imagine.