The Office of Career Services

The Office of Career Services

The Office of Career Services (OCS) is located directly across from the main Law School building in Joan Axinn Hall. The staff of seven professionals in OCS is dedicated to providing students and alumni with comprehensive career planning services and up-to-date information and techniques for job searching. OCS’s goal is to offer all the support, advice and resources necessary to ensure that Hofstra Law School’s graduates launch satisfying and challenging legal careers consistent with their interests, skills and values.

The process begins with fundamental training – perfecting the resume and cover letter and mastering career researching, networking and interviewing skills critical to securing satisfying legal employment. Next, we focus on educating students regarding the full range of career alternatives and the exciting variety of legal specialties open to today’s professionals. Finally, through extensive development initiatives, we endeavor to expand the career opportunities available to students and alumni. They can benefit from one-on-one videotaped interview training to help them hone their interviewing skills and techniques.

Using its talented staff of professionals, the Office of Career Services works closely with students every step of the way - from researching a burgeoning area of law practice to developing contacts with attorneys, polishing the resume and cover letter, or providing last-minute advice before a crucial interview. Whether a student is in search of a part-time job, externship for credit, summer employment, a pro bono project or a permanent position following graduation, the resources and facilities of OCS are designed to facilitate the job search process. The Office of Career Services engages in a year-round effort to solicit employment opportunities nationwide for our students and graduates, and to provide ample information and education regarding these job opportunities.

Three computers, a printer, typewriter and telephone are provided exclusively for the use of students in the job search process. Students also have access to a facsimile machine to dispatch and receive employment-related correspondence.

Students have the benefit of the latest technological advances in career researching. They receive special instruction in the use of computerized databases such as Lexis and WestLaw and a roster of relevant Web sites to assist them with the job search and to prepare for interviews. The Office of Career Services maintains a Resource Center that houses an extensive collection of reference books, directories, articles, specialty area bibliographies, newsletters and periodicals concerning career choices for law school graduates. The office also has an extensive audiotape and videotape library available for overnight borrowing by students and alumni.

To keep students apprised of job opportunities, internships, fellowships, job fairs and other special events, the Office of Career Services publishes Career Connections, a weekly newsletter. Announcements of special events are circulated to all students and are continually updated. Bulletin boards provide the latest job searching news and information. OCS regularly communicates with students via e-mail. Students may be alerted to time-sensitive job listings or events by email notification. Numerous booklets and handouts are pre p a red to aid in all aspects of the job search process, and new publications are provided to students throughout the year. A separate guide is provided for students seeking positions in the public sector.

The On-Campus Recruitment Program is one of the most visible services provided by OCS. This program enables many second- and third-year students to interview on the Hofstra Law School campus with representatives of law firms, government agencies, public interest organizations, accounting firms and corporations. Other New York City firms choose to interview Hofstra students in Manhattan, at reserved rooms at the The Princeton Club. Those employers who do not participate in the on-campus or Princeton Club programs often elect to take part in the Resume Referral Program. These employers circulate hiring criteria through OCS. Students’ resumes are collected and forwarded to participating employers, who then arrange to interview students at their offices.

In 1998 OCS initiated a spring on-campus recruitment and resume referral program for small and mid-sized firms. The spring program has steadily expanded and now includes opportunities for first year students seeking summer employment. Hofstra students are also eligible to participate in the Public Interest/Public Service Legal Career Symposium sponsored by New York University Law School each February.

In addition to providing our students with access to the widest possible array of employment opportunities, we endeavor to educate students regarding the variety of career alternatives available to law school graduates. OCS sponsors informational career fairs each academic year that provide students with opportunities to meet informally with alumni and attorneys practicing in a broad spectrum of legal concentrations. In addition to having the opportunity to discuss legal career alternatives with practitioners, students are provided with bibliographies for career researching, relevant Web sites, articles and other helpful information. Throughout the year OCS sponsors numerous panels on diverse areas of practice. A comprehensive Judicial Clerkship Program provides information and assistance to students interested in pursuing this valuable postgraduate work experience.

OCS endeavors to work closely with student groups to provide programming responsive to the needs of all students. Special panels on career issues for women and people of color bring students together with alumni and bar association leaders to discuss critical career issues. Hofstra Law School graduates routinely secure positions with leading private law firms; corporations; federal, state and local government agencies (including prosecutors’ and defenders’ offices and judicial clerkships); academic institutions; and public interest organizations.

Members of the Class of 2003 successfully obtained employment in a wide range of practice settings. Ninety-eight percent of class of 2003 respondents seeking employment* secured positions within nine months of graduation. The employment choices of members of the Class of 2003 reflect current national trends in the career paths of new law graduates:

*The respondent group constituted approximately 96 percent of all members of the class.