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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    December 01, 2001

    Wisconsin Lawyer December 2001: Inside the Bar

    Legal Career Center Debuts


    On Nov. 1 the State Bar launched an online legal career center on WisBar.


    by George C. Brown,
    State Bar executive director

    George BrownTHE STATE BAR HOSTS RECEPTIONS FOR NEWLY sworn-in lawyers and their families. Most of the new State Bar members are young, recent graduates of the U.W. or Marquette University law schools. A few of the new members are older - either returning students or experienced lawyers from other states who have recently passed the Wisconsin bar exam.

    These Admissions Receptions are joyous times. New lawyers are looking toward a bright, prosperous future in their chosen profession; parents can once again save for retirement.

    Whenever I participate in these receptions, small talk inevitably turns to the question of the new lawyers' employment. Lately, however, I've stopped asking that question. Too frequently, the response has been, "I'm still looking," followed by an awkward silence.

    A few months ago, State Bar President Gerry Mowris, I, and several State Bar staff met with the leadership of WALA - the Wisconsin Association of Legal Administrators. We meet annually to review how best our organizations can work together to benefit our members. Every member of the WALA leadership expressed concern over the difficulty in hiring qualified staff, particularly legal secretaries. The paucity of qualified legal secretaries, or support staff who could be trained as legal secretaries, is a tremendous challenge in many law offices, whether in private, government, or corporate practice.

    In these situations, the question that occurs to every association executive is, "How can we help to bring employers and job seekers together?" A decade or so ago the State Bar closed down a little-used job bank program that had not functioned properly for years. It didn't seem wise to try to recreate that same limited system, even if it included other legal professionals, such as paralegals or legal secretaries. Enter Legalstaff.com.

    Legal Career Center. On Nov. 1, the State Bar launched an online Legal Career Center on WisBar, the State Bar Web site, in partnership with Legalstaff.com, the largest national legal-only job and resume site. The site lists nearly 3,500 job openings for lawyers, paralegals, legal administrators, and legal secretaries. Employers and agencies can post job openings for a fee, but job seekers can confidentially search the local or national database for free. Employment-related resources also are available on the site, including sample contracts, letters, resumes, and interviewing tips. Applicants can even post their confidential resume online for employers to review.


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