Law

Being a successful lawyer is about having more than just legal skills, says Katharine M. Chen of Fordham University School of Law. She provides some advice for developing other key competencies, including client and people skills, leadership qualities, and work management skills.

Are suicides among big firm lawyers becoming more frequent? Or just more frequently reported? Steven J. Harper, an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, fears it is the former. He notes that everyone -- especially lawyers -- should periodically assess whether a job is a good fit.

The 2011 summer class sizes at large law firms won't reach the go-go levels of 2008 or 2007, but they should represent a major improvement from this summer. Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton plan to recruit more summers for 2011 than they did for this year, according to sources familiar with plans at those firms. The bigger jump comes at Weil, which will double its summer class size from 40 this year to 75 or 80 in the United States a year from now.

Judges are nervously watching Yolo County, Calif., where local leaders are considering whether to stop providing county-funded benefits to Superior Court jurists, potentially making it the first county in the state to rescind judicial benefits since state legislation addressed the issue in 2009. Judges' groups are pleading with county leaders not to trigger a domino effect, and the Alliance of California Judges has warned that eliminating benefits might discourage "lawyers of the highest caliber" from joining the bench.

The legal job market is waking from its doldrums, which may mean more opportunities to transition to new jobs, say consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass. In this article, the first in a new series, the authors discuss the factors to consider when contemplating a move.

Pro bono work is as good for the attorney as it is for the client, writes attorney Frank Slover, and not just from the feeling of satisfaction you get by knowing you're making a contribution. As a corporate attorney, Slover found that pro bono work helped him develop his courtroom skills.

Regulations for the recently enacted financial reform law are months away, but law firms with strong financial services practices are rolling out the welcome mat for client conferences and filling their calendars with client meetings. Clients' initial questions have largely focused on the so-called Volcker rule, which generally bans banking institutions from investing in private equity or hedge funds or engaging in proprietary trading, said Greg Lyons of Debevoise & Plimpton.

As of Feb. 15, New Jersey law school graduates were hired at a rate of 90.6 percent, the fifth-best performance of any state in the U.S., according to a NALP survey. However, New Jersey 2009 graduates earn the fourth-lowest median salary by state of reporting respondents: $46,000 a year.

Brad Newman, a Paul Hastings partner, has found a perfect balance to litigation. He has launched Givelocally.net, which enables people to give donations to pre-screened recipients who need financial help. The idea is to give people a way to help specific people in their communities.

Does prior paralegal experience before law school benefit in any way when you're looking for a litigation associate position?

Do you have a career-related question about working in the law? Want to get advice from other readers who may be facing the same issue or have already found their solution? Submit your question for an upcoming new feature on lawjobs.com Career Center, called "What's Your Advice?"

Check out some of the latest posts on the lawjobs.com blog, The Careerist. Law School News, Including a Suit Over Graduate Employment Data Plus Lost Generation of Lawyers Is Now Forgotten Generation And Rude Enough to Succeed?

[JURIST] China's chengguan, a para-police organization charged with enforcing non-criminal administrative regulations, is abusing its power, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported [text, PDF; press release] Wednesday. The report indicated that although the chengguan are not authorized to arrest citizens or use excessive force, they frequently do both. In addition, HRW reported citizens have had their property illegally confiscated by the officers and journalists have been subject to violence and illegal arrest for reporting chengguan abuses. HRW called on the Chinese government to take action to end the abuse:China's leadership should publicly and unambiguously condemn chengguan assaults on and illegal...

[JURIST] More than 40 Catholic dioceses and other Catholic institutions around the US filed suits on Monday against the Obama administration, alleging that certain employer insurance requirements issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) [official website] violate their right to religious freedom [materials] protected by the first amendment. The mandate in question [HHS press release] was added to the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (PPACA) and requires nearly all health insurance plans to cover all FDA-approved drugs, including contraception, sterilization and Plan-B-type drugs, with a narrow exception for some religious institutions. The exception only applies...

Temporary Trade Mark Database Clerk.... KEY CHALLENGES: Large volume photocopying and scanning of delicate documents. A high level of attention to detail and diligence is necessary. Education A levels or equivalent ITMA Trade Mark Administrator Course useful but not essential Required Experience IP experience preferably trade mark administration / formalities Database administration At least 2 years experience in an IP department either in-house / private practice Technical skills / abilities / including languages (if applicable) High attention to detail Large volume scanning / photocopying Excellent Microsoft Office / Adobe skills Trade mark record database experience DIAMS experience useful but not essential Personal Skills Personable team player Works well with minimal supervision Dilligent and proactive Qualifications: Temporary Trade Mark Database Clerk.... KEY CHALLENGES: Large volume photocopying and scanning of delicate documents. A high level of attention to detail and diligence is necessary. Education A levels or equivalent ITMA Trade Mark Administrator Course useful but not essential Required Experience IP experience preferably trade mark administration / formalities Database administration At least 2 years experience in an IP department either in-house / private practice Technical skills / abilities / including languages (if applicable) High attention to detail Large volume scanning / photocopying Excellent Microsoft Office / Adobe skills Trade mark record database experience DIAMS experience useful but not essential Personal Skills Personable team player Works well with minimal supervision Dilligent and proactive Keywords: Temporary Trade Mark Database Clerk.... KEY CHALLENGES: Large volume photocopying and scanning of delicate documents. A high level of attention to detail and diligence is necessary. Education A levels or equivalent ITMA Trade Mark Administrator Course useful but not essential Required Experience IP experience preferably trade mark administration / formalities Database administration At least 2 years experience in an IP department either in-house / private practice Technical skills / abilities / including languages (if applicable) High attention to detail Large volume scanning / photocopying Excellent Microsoft Office / Adobe skills Trade mark record database experience DIAMS experience useful but not essential Personal Skills Personable team player Works well with minimal supervision Dilligent and proactive

FQ Electronics Yorkshire One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a fully-qualified Patent Attorney whose discipline is Electronics. This firm actively encourages their staff to have client-facing meetings and recognises those who have entrepreneurial flair, work well as a team but also on their own. Qualifications: FQ Electronics Yorkshire One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a fully-qualified Patent Attorney whose discipline is Electronics. This firm actively encourages their staff to have client-facing meetings and recognises those who have entrepreneurial flair, work well as a team but also on their own. Keywords: FQ Electronics Yorkshire One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a fully-qualified Patent Attorney whose discipline is Electronics. This firm actively encourages their staff to have client-facing meetings and recognises those who have entrepreneurial flair, work well as a team but also on their own.

PQ or FQ Engineering Scotland One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a part or fully-qualified Patent Attorney whose discipline is Engineering. This firm actively encourages their staff to have client-facing meetings and will help them to develop their full potential and, where part-qualified, to achieve qualification. Qualifications: PQ or FQ Engineering Scotland One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a part or fully-qualified Patent Attorney whose discipline is Engineering. This firm actively encourages their staff to have client-facing meetings and will help them to develop their full potential and, where part-qualified, to achieve qualification. Keywords: PQ or FQ Engineering Scotland One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a part or fully-qualified Patent Attorney whose discipline is Engineering. This firm actively encourages their staff to have client-facing meetings and will help them to develop their full potential and, where part-qualified, to achieve qualification.

Senior Associate Life Sciences Yorkshire One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a Senior Patent Attorney Life Sciences. If you are looking for a position in a beautiful city but which offers beautiful countryside within a few miles, this could be the position for you. This firm has a policy of offering early partnership to suitable candidates, particularly where they have shown themselves to have entrepreneurial flair. Qualifications: Senior Associate Life Sciences Yorkshire One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a Senior Patent Attorney Life Sciences. If you are looking for a position in a beautiful city but which offers beautiful countryside within a few miles, this could be the position for you. This firm has a policy of offering early partnership to suitable candidates, particularly where they have shown themselves to have entrepreneurial flair. Keywords: Senior Associate Life Sciences Yorkshire One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a Senior Patent Attorney Life Sciences. If you are looking for a position in a beautiful city but which offers beautiful countryside within a few miles, this could be the position for you. This firm has a policy of offering early partnership to suitable candidates, particularly where they have shown themselves to have entrepreneurial flair.

Senior Associate - Chemistry. One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a Senior Patent Attorney Chemistry. This firm has a policy of offering early partnership to suitable candidates, particularly where they have shown themselves to have entrepreneurial flair. For further information on this role, please do not hesitate to contact our Attorney team at Dawn Ellmore Employment. Qualifications: Senior Associate - Chemistry. One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a Senior Patent Attorney Chemistry. This firm has a policy of offering early partnership to suitable candidates, particularly where they have shown themselves to have entrepreneurial flair. For further information on this role, please do not hesitate to contact our Attorney team at Dawn Ellmore Employment. Keywords: Senior Associate - Chemistry. One of the UKs fastest growing IP firms has a vacancy for a Senior Patent Attorney Chemistry. This firm has a policy of offering early partnership to suitable candidates, particularly where they have shown themselves to have entrepreneurial flair. For further information on this role, please do not hesitate to contact our Attorney team at Dawn Ellmore Employment.

Patent Records Assistant - Reporting directly to the Records Manager and Deputy Records Manager Records Diary List Chasing up Filing Receipts, Office Actions, Notices of Publication and Certificates of Grant from various IPOs when receipt those documents appear to be overdue. This involves checking the internal electronic files to make sure that the documents have not been missed, sending standard enquiry faxes or e-mails out to the IPOs and monitoring for responses. Priority Documents Ordering certified copies of priority documents in good time and filing them at the IPOs. Sending out reminders to clients in advance of deadlines for requesting substantive examination and also instructing foreign associates to request substantive examination at the appropriate time. Acceptance and Grant Reporting notices of acceptance to the client, monitoring deadlines for payment of grant and issue fees, instructing foreign associates, handling and reporting Grant Certificates and expiry of opposition periods after gran As new cases are created on InProtech, workspaces need to be created to allow for the filing away of all types of documents and correspondence. Person specification: The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following: previous work experience in an IP Practice (essential) basic knowledge of IP (essential) working knowledge of Inprotech (desirable) good IT skills as our systems are bespoke (essential) ability to carry out routine tasks and maintain attention to detail (essential) good organisational skills (essential) team player (essential) confidence to liaise directly with Fee Earners (essential) Qualifications: Patent Records Assistant - Reporting directly to the Records Manager and Deputy Records Manager Records Diary List Chasing up Filing Receipts, Office Actions, Notices of Publication and Certificates of Grant from various IPOs when receipt those documents appear to be overdue. This involves checking the internal electronic files to make sure that the documents have not been missed, sending standard enquiry faxes or e-mails out to the IPOs and monitoring for responses. Priority Documents Ordering certified copies of priority documents in good time and filing them at the IPOs. Sending out reminders to clients in advance of deadlines for requesting substantive examination and also instructing foreign associates to request substantive examination at the appropriate time. Acceptance and Grant Reporting notices of acceptance to the client, monitoring deadlines for payment of grant and issue fees, instructing foreign associates, handling and reporting Grant Certificates and expiry of opposition periods after gran As new cases are created on InProtech, workspaces need to be created to allow for the filing away of all types of documents and correspondence. Person specification: The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following: previous work experience in an IP Practice (essential) basic knowledge of IP (essential) working knowledge of Inprotech (desirable) good IT skills as our systems are bespoke (essential) ability to carry out routine tasks and maintain attention to detail (essential) good organisational skills (essential) team player (essential) confidence to liaise directly with Fee Earners (essential) Keywords: Patent Records Assistant - Reporting directly to the Records Manager and Deputy Records Manager Records Diary List Chasing up Filing Receipts, Office Actions, Notices of Publication and Certificates of Grant from various IPOs when receipt those documents appear to be overdue. This involves checking the internal electronic files to make sure that the documents have not been missed, sending standard enquiry faxes or e-mails out to the IPOs and monitoring for responses. Priority Documents Ordering certified copies of priority documents in good time and filing them at the IPOs. Sending out reminders to clients in advance of deadlines for requesting substantive examination and also instructing foreign associates to request substantive examination at the appropriate time. Acceptance and Grant Reporting notices of acceptance to the client, monitoring deadlines for payment of grant and issue fees, instructing foreign associates, handling and reporting Grant Certificates and expiry of opposition periods after gran As new cases are created on InProtech, workspaces need to be created to allow for the filing away of all types of documents and correspondence. Person specification: The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following: previous work experience in an IP Practice (essential) basic knowledge of IP (essential) working knowledge of Inprotech (desirable) good IT skills as our systems are bespoke (essential) ability to carry out routine tasks and maintain attention to detail (essential) good organisational skills (essential) team player (essential) confidence to liaise directly with Fee Earners (essential)