Online Resources for Law Students

GPDP Mini-Guide: Job Search

Other online resources

Symplicity is the database that Fordham Law School uses for its Job Bank. Symplicity eliminates the need for students to submit print versions of their application materials, as everything is submitted online.

Access Symplicity
Martindale-Hubbell ("Martindale") is an effective tool for researching law firms and attorneys. Advanced searches can be limited by location, law school or university, specific practice areas, and firm size. Foreign-trained attorneys may find Martindale especially useful for finding other attorneys in the U.S. who attended the same foreign university or law school. You may also wish to search the names of other large universities from your home country to try to locate attorneys from your home country who have successfully relocated to the U.S.
Fordham Law School has purchased access for all students to the entire Vault Library of guides and resources.

Access Vault/Career Insider
The NALP Directory of Legal Employers (the "NALP Directory" or "DLE"), published by the Association for Legal Career Professionals, is a very useful tool for researching the hiring practices and employment policies of employers who are members of NALP, including the majority of large law firms, as well as many large government and public interest employers.

The NALP Directory sets forth information on member employers throughout the U.S. and Canada, including brief employer descriptions, contact information, salary information, hiring practices, practice areas, and demographics details.

One of the most useful features for LLM students is the ability to sort employers based on those that hire LLM students. On the NALP Directory homepage, from the drop-down menu titled "Organizations that Hire," select either domestic or foreign LLM students, as applicable. You may wish to narrow your search by employer type and geographic location as well. After running the search, a list of employers will appear. You can then select an employer to view its NALP profile.
Chambers and Partners provides comprehensive information regarding law firms worldwide, primarily geared toward business people and potential clients. This resource ranks law firms based on feedback provided by their clients. The site is free and requires no login or user account. Rankings are based on legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities valued by clients.

Searches can be conducted by practice area, by law firm, or by individual lawyer. Chambers and Partners also publishes guides that provide information about law firms around the world, including Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Latin America. There is also a Student Guide for legal careers in the U.K. market.
Chambers Associate is intended for use by law students and law firm associates who wish to research large U.S. law firms. It is a free resource that requires no password.

For each of the law firms included, the site discusses the firm's practice strengths (based on information from Chambers USA), statistics about the firm as reported by the firm itself, and the results of telephone surveys conducted with the firm's associates. Visitors to the site may search for firms by name, state, or practice area.
PSJD is a comprehensive resource that is invaluable to anyone looking for a job in the public sector, providing an extensive database of job listings as well as resources to aid you in formulating your job search strategy. The service is free; however, if you are accessing the site for the first time, you may need to register on the PSJD website.

PSJD contains a job bank listing summer and permanent opportunities with public interest organizations, domestic and international government organizations, and some private organizations specializing in public service work. Note that many of the organizations that list here do not list with individual law schools, so if you are interested in a career in the public sector, you should check this job bank frequently.

Students should also refer to the numerous professional development resources available via the PSJD website, including in particular the documents available on the Resource Center, containing numerous downloadable guides on topics related to various public interest opportunities.
Idealist is an online database which contains profile and contact information for over 80,000 non-profit and community organizations in 165 countries. It maintains a job bank that lists both legal and non-legal paid positions and volunteer opportunities. When searching the Idealist job bank, students are able to search by area of focus (e.g., children's rights, consumer protection), location, and type of job, among other things.
USAJOBS is the official job site of the U.S. federal government and provides a one-stop source for federal jobs and employment information.

Note: Whether a foreign-trained attorney will be considered for a federal government position in the U.S. depends on several factors and is generally limited to very specific circumstances. Often when a government organization lists a position, they will specify whether citizenship is required, but not always. Before attending interviews, students should be certain they fulfill all requirements.
Government:
- Avue Digital Services (Federal Government Jobs)
- New York State Defenders Association Job Listings
Select New York Metro Area Government Agencies:
Other Public Interest:
- Public Service Job Search Guide (published by Fordham Law's Public Interest Resource Center)
- Finding and Funding International Public Service Opportunities (published by PSJD)
- Post-Graduate International Fellowships Guide (published by PSJD)
- Federal Legal Employment Opportunities Guide (published by PSJD)
- The Public Policy Handbook (published by the University of Arizona)
- The Government Honors and Internship Handbook (published by the University of Arizona)
- Guide on International Development: Public Service Careers and
  Opportunities (published by Harvard Law School)
- Landing a Job at the United Nations (published by PSJD)