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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
 THE 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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