Prospective Students
10 Questions to Ask About the Career Services Department
- Does the institution have a national or regional reputation?
- What services are available for 1Ls?
- How does the on-campus interview process work?
- Has Career Services placed students in the locations and/or with the firms or in the types of positions where you’d like to work?
- How does Career Services prepare students for on-campus and other interview situations?
- Does the same counselor work with you throughout law school?
- Does Vanderbilt have a program for students interested in pursuing judicial clerkships?
- Do students who need it receive coaching in business or personal etiquette? How is that handled?
- Are there formal mentoring programs available?
- Do Vanderbilt students have opportunities to gain practical legal experience?
1. Does the institution have a national or regional reputation?
Vanderbilt Law School’s national reputation means that you can go literally anywhere after graduation. Vanderbilt’s far-flung alumni network encompassing every state in the U.S. except North Dakota and several foreign countries. Distinguished alumni include:
- Texas State Attorney General Greg Abbott
- Securities & Exchange Commissioner Paul Atkins
- Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark
- Judges Martha Craig Daughtrey and Gilbert S. Merritt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Pauline LaFon Gore , mother of former vice president Albert Gore Jr.
- Robert Hays Jr., managing partner of King & Spalding
- Noted defense attorney and Watergate prosecutor Jim Neal, also a former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee
- Paul C. Ney Jr., Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Department of the Navy
- Congressman Ric Keller (R-FL)Judges John T. Nixon and Thomas A. Wiseman, both senior judges on United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell
- Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN), and actor on the television drama Law & Order
- Judge Aleta Trauger, United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
- Jody Wagner -- Secretary of Finance, Commonwealth of Virginia.
2. What services are available for 1Ls?
Career Services support begins early in your first year.
- In fall you will learn from second and third year students about summer opportunities with private firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations.
- You will attend Resumania, where you will learn how to develop a resume that showcases your strengths. You will learn about interviewing techniques and will have a practice interview with an experienced attorney. You will receive coaching about the purpose of business lunches and dinners, along with practical tips and a manners refresher course.
- Throughout the year, beginning December 1, you will receive weekly notices of employment opportunities for first year students around the country. In addition, Vanderbilt Law School brings employers to campus to interview 1Ls for summer positions.
3. How does the on-campus interview process work?
- Career Services works with you to develop your resume and insure that your package includes all of the information required for the interview process, including transcripts.
- Students “bid” for interviews with specific firms or for specific positions.
- The interview schedule is calculated according to your bid rank and employer preference. Employers choose half of their schedules for first year interviews and one-third of their schedules for the second and third years.
- If more students bid for interviews with a specific employer than slots are available, students are placed on a waiting list.
- Career Services develops and posts the interview schedule.
- Students have an opportunity to fill remaining interview slots or slots vacated due to cancellations.
4. Has Career Services placed students in the locations and/or with the firms or in the types of positions where you’d like to work?
If you have been accepted to Vanderbilt Law School, we invite you to contact us to discuss your specific career goals. We’ll be happy to provide information about our placements in your area of interest, whether you’re interested in working with a law firm, in government or public services, in a judicial clerkship, or in other opportunities in the legal field.
5. How does Career Services prepare students for on-campus and other interview situations?
Career Services prepares students for On Campus Interviews by reviewing resumes, helping students identify employers who are a good match with their career goals, one-on-one coaching with interviewing skills, coaching regarding ways to gain experiences that will build a strong resume, and providing an array of information resources to students.
6. Does the same counselor work with you throughout law school?
You are assigned to a specific counselor in your first year, who works with you to identify your career goals and strategies to achieve them. As specific questions arise, the counselors work together as a team to give you the best advice, and you might even speak with additional counselors who can provide expertise in your areas of interest.
7. Does Vanderbilt have a program for students interested in pursuing judicial clerkships?
Yes. Typically, 10% to 20% of our students obtain judicial clerkships each year. Over the past eight years, Vanderbilt has placed students in all but one of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, three Vanderbilt graduates have also clerked for Supreme Court justices, and a 2005 graduate was just named a Bristow Fellow.
Our faculty takes an active leadership role in our judicial clerkship program, working closely with students interested in clerkships. Vanderbilt Law School’s clerkship program is currently directed by Michael Bressman, a member of our clinical faculty. Professor Bressman and other faculty members are committed to working with interested students to identify and secure clerkships that will further their career goals.
8. Do students who need it receive coaching in business or personal etiquette? How is that handled?
In addition to special activities for 1Ls, such as the annual “Business Etiquette Dinner,” your Career Services counselor provides one-on-one coaching and delivers feedback from prospective employers.
9. Are there formal mentoring programs available?
Vanderbilt Law School’s open-door policy is specifically designed to support mentoring relationships with faculty members. In addition, alumni are encouraged to participate in one-on-one mentoring programs. Alumni who visit the law school to speak, and who are members of the adjunct faculty, also work informally with students as mentors.
10. Do Vanderbilt students have opportunities to gain practical legal experience?
Vanderbilt’s Clinical Legal Education Program offers students opportunities to represent clients under close supervision by members of the clinical faculty – and to explore the role of attorneys in shaping public policy. Students may choose from several practice areas, including civil, criminal, international, juvenile, domestic violence, business law, and community and economic development. By participating in clinics, students learn basic lawyering skills, such as interviewing, negotiation and case preparation. They also become familiar with the way the legal system works and the various participants in the legal system; and their professional responsibilities as attorneys. Vanderbilt’s International Practice Lab allows students to complete two substantive legal research projects that support high-profile clients with pressing needs.
Vanderbilt Law School’s Externship Program provides opportunities for students to work under the supervision of faculty mentors and site supervisors in legal venues in Nashville and elsewhere in the U.S., at the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague, and in other public sectors. Students receive credit for working in judicial chambers, public defenders' and prosecutors' offices, and in other governmental and not-for-profit programs. These experiences allow students to develop their legal skills while gaining an understanding of the work of judges, attorneys and diplomats. Externship programs run throughout the calendar year.
