Vol. 77, No. 7, July
2004
Career Options ... What Are They?
On Aug. 17 in Milwaukee the State Bar will sponsor a free conference
for all members who are interested in improving their own careers or
gaining information to help a colleague make career decisions.
by George C. Brown,
State Bar executive director
Thinking about changing law firms or moving from private
practice to government service or in-house counsel or the reverse?
Looking for flexibility in your legal career and heard about contract or
project attorney work, but need more information? Does contacting a
career coach make sense?
If you recently have asked yourself these questions, or if you
recently graduated from law school and are still looking for a position,
the State Bar of Wisconsin's Career Development Conference could provide
you with both answers and networking opportunities.
The Career Development Conference will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 17,
from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Milwaukee Hilton. It is free to all members. You
must sign up ahead of time through the Career Development Conference
button on the State Bar Web site at www.wisbar.org.
When you sign up, you have the opportunity to help sculpt the
conference by selecting from the proposed topics of interest that best
suit your needs. There are six topics to choose from, but time permits
only four topics to be covered during the conference. The most popular
choices will become the topics for the presentations. The six include:
making a lateral move; understanding and benefiting from
contract/project legal work; marketing yourself to firms, corporations,
and government; breaking into government work; using placement agencies;
and learning about career and practice coaching services. In addition,
there is an open category to suggest other topics that might be
addressed. The selected topics will be presented through open panel
discussions, presentations, and various on-site sponsor booths.
We all know lawyers who want something different in their careers;
they want more clients, better clients, a more flexible schedule, or
predictability in their practice. So even if you are comfortable with
your current practice and are not immediately looking, the Career
Development Conference may still be for you because you are almost sure
to find topics that will help you grow your practice, help an associate
improve his or her practice, or help a friend make a better career
decision.
Plan to attend. And tell a friend.
In the meantime, check out the State Bar of Wisconsin's online Legal Career Center. The center offers 24/7
access to the legal profession's most comprehensive job and resumé
site. In addition to job postings, you'll find employment-related
articles and resources including sample resumés, cover letter
rules, and interviewing tips and techniques.
Wisconsin
Lawyer