Legal Authority is the Most Effective Way to Get Your Next Attorney Position

by A. Harrison Barnes on April 30, 2011

A HISTORY OF FINDING ATTORNEYS POSITIONS AT EVERY LEVEL OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Legal Authority came about because of attorneys’ need for a service that would actually get them the specific types of jobs they want. Being an attorney is among the very most prestigious professions in the United States. The people who choose careers as attorneys are highly intelligent, motivated and capable of great things. The public relies upon attorneys to perform an extremely important service and the work of attorneys has a profound impact on society.

In fact, attorneys are held in such high regard by society that most outsiders simply assume they will always be in the type of job they want. The fact is that every member of the legal profession—from law students, to associates and partners at small AmLaw 100 law firms, to General Counsels of Fortune 100 companies, to public interest and government attorneys–may need access to all of the potential positions matching their interests is something that is virtually ignored by law schools, headhunters and job posting boards.

HOW LEGAL AUTHORITY CAME ABOUT

The founder of Legal Authority is a former law student, practicing attorney, legal recruiter and law professor. It was his understanding gained from these three experiences and the inefficiencies he saw in terms of how most attorneys have traditionally gone about getting legal jobs that led to the founding of Legal Authority.

WHAT THE FORMER LAW STUDENT SAW

As a law student he could not understand why he had to apply to only the firms his career services office told him about. This made absolutely no sense to him. They ran the whole show. He went to a Top 10 law school and saw lots of attorneys who did not have jobs by the time they graduated and others only got offers from firms in areas of the country they did not really want to work, or with firms they knew they would be unhappy working for, or with firms where they would practice in an area of law they flatly did not want to practice in. Other students tried applying to all the firms in the NALP Guide or a few of the better looking ones in Martindale—all to no avail in finding the type of job they wanted.

With so many attorneys practicing throughout the United States, this did not make any sense to him either. He was confident there was the perfect job in the city of the choosing of the attorney. This was something he was sure of. Several years later, he learned that many of the attorneys who had made the wrong choices while in law school were no longer practicing law. This did not surprise him. Some of the law students who did not have jobs when they graduated simply gave up hope of ever being an attorney after graduating from law school. The former law student believed this was an enormous tragedy and did not make a tremendous amount of sense.

WHAT THE LEGAL RECRUITER SAW

In his role as the head of a legal recruiting firm, he saw that too many good attorneys were not getting jobs. During the slowdown in the market for corporate associates virtually no corporate associate with less than 5 years of experience was employable in a major law firm in the United States—regardless of their qualifications. Oftentimes he would invite these stellar attorneys into his offices and assist them in sending unsolicited applications to 300-400 firms in his recruiting firms database (not under the legal recruiting firm’s letterhead).

A funny thing happened. All of these attorneys got jobs. Lot of jobs. Jobs a recruiter could not have gotten them.

Everyday this recruiter would personally review every resume of an attorney who approached his placement firm. Then, after reviewing each resume, he would respond personally to each resume. With several recruiters working for him, he would refer out the best resumes to his recruiters. Then, he would reject several people a day and send them a short note thanking them for contacting his firm. This was something that he believed was very unfortunate. Many of the attorneys would respond to his rejection emails that they were going to simply give up. He knew they were giving up.

With so much effort put into these people becoming attorneys he felt disgruntled. On the weekends he would often invite in the candidates who were most persistent in seeking out the recruiting firms services—regardless of their qualifications. He would help them apply to a couple hundred of law firms on their own (without using a recruiting firm—just the firm’s contacts). Regardless of these attorneys qualifications, the vast, vast majority got positions this way.

WHAT THE FORMER LAW PROFESSOR SAW

One hot Saturday July afternoon, the recruiter received a telephone call from one of his former law students who was getting ready to take the bar exam at the end of July. This law student had been one of his students at the Fourth Tier law school he taught at. This student had graduated second in his class and yet had never received an interview with a firm composed of more than one attorneys in his three years of looking for a job. As a law student, the individual had tried everything his career services office offered, applied to every firm in the NALP Guide and every firm he could find that looked good in Martindale. All to no avail.

Since this individual had been one of the recruiter’s students, he knew that he had to do something to help him because he knew this individual would one day be an outstanding attorney. He spent three full days helping the student prepare and revise letters to send to several hundred firms and this student received several offers. In fact, this student wound up practicing for one of the top firms in the city of his choosing. Incidentally, it was a firm that had not listed itself in any of the so called “traditional sources”.

WHAT THE FORMER ATTORNEY SAW

As an attorney, this individual had known scores of other practicing attorneys who had been searching for the perfect in house or law firm position for years. All to no avail. Many of these individuals had stellar qualifications. One day one of the attorney’s best friends was laid off. In fact, he had been laid off for months by the time he called his friend who was a recruiter. The attorney had just recently purchased a house and had a second child on the way. In addition, he was near the limit on his credit cards. The recruiter felt that he really had to do something and so he took action.

This attorney was interested in both in-house and law firm positions. The attorney had been working with recruiters for months and searching job boards and replying to classified listings. The attorney also had been laid off from a top firm and had outstanding qualifications.

The recruiter took drastic action to help his friend who was interested in a very small section of the United States. He assisted him in applying to every potential in-house and law firm position using a database that he developed with his friend and a staff of 5 temporary workers he hired for this very purpose. The recruiter used his own personal funds. He purchased every source of information he could find and for over a month he worked with his friend and five other people to assist him in gathering contact information for this area of the United States. The information was not complete; however, when the letters were sent out he knew his friend would find a position. In fact, by the time he accepted an offer he had already received over 15 interviews and had six job offers.

LEGAL AUTHORITY WAS BORN

The recruiter realized that attorneys all over the United States could benefit from this type of service. The five individuals were asked to stay on and more people were added. At a cost of over $1,000,000 a database was built. First for law firm positions, then in house positions, then for public interest positions, then for government positions. We worked for over six months building a database before launching Legal Authority. Since that time, the staff has grown to over 40 people gathering contacts and assisting individuals and Legal Authority now assists hundreds of attorneys each month.

JOB BOARDS, RECRUITERS AND CLASSIFIED ADS CANNOT POSSIBLY COMPETE WITH LEGAL AUTHORITY

There are a lot of sources out there which will distract you from your central goal of getting the job you want. Headhunters, job boards and classified ads cannot possibly compete with Legal Authority. Legal Authority actually has all the potential jobs and allows you to (1) apply for positions where there are not hundreds of people competing for the same position, and (2) apply for positions without attaching a $20,000+ fee an employer will have to pay if they hire you. Legal Authority puts you in control of your job search so you can actually get the job you want.

Traditional Legal Recruiting Firms Cannot Compare to Our Effectiveness

Put a Price on Hiring You (If You Want)

Legal recruiting firms charge hiring organizations a fee which is generally 25-30% of an attorney’s annual salary if they hire an attorney. Who would you hire if you were a hiring organization???

Candidate A: Cost if hired through a recruiter: $25,000+

Candidate B: Approaches firm because has identified this firm as a place they would like to work. Cost to firm $0.00

Not all hiring organizations are willing to pay these fees and hiring organizations—who are businesses—obviously prefer candidates not coming through recruiting firms.

The Vast Majority of Companies Do Not Use Legal Recruiters

The vast majority of companies do not use legal recruiters. Legal recruiters are used when a company is having an exceedingly difficult time filling a position. However, it is very rare that a corporation has an exceedingly difficult time filling a position. A great number of attorneys dream of going in-house and find these positions by using a service like Legal Authority. The other positions are generally filled by companies drawing in attorneys from their own law firms. Call a legal recruiting firm in any major city and ask them how many in-house opportunities they have for you. Chances are they will be able to list them off on one hand. Does this make much sense to you? There are thousands of companies in most major cities that employ attorneys of different backgrounds.

In addition, the only law firms which are likely to use recruiters to fill positions are those that cannot fill these positions on their own. The best and most prestigious law firms are frequently approached by attorneys on their own and do not need to do a lot of proactive recruiting. In addition, smaller to mid sized law firms often cannot afford the fees legal recruiters charge. Why vastly limit your universe of opportunities when you can use Legal Authority?

Hope (And Pray) Your Legal Recruiter Knows What Is Out There

The amount of work required to learn of all the available positions in a market is profound. Most legal recruiting firms are made up of a few individuals with relationships with a limited number of employers. In addition, it is a little known fact that law firms and corporations often will not do business with recruiters (or ever see their candidates) who are recruiting from their firms or corporations (and firms and corporations do find out). Accordingly, you may be limiting yourself to a very limited number of potential employers.

Other legal recruiters may send your materials to firms they have never even spoken with and then demand set fees. Legal Authority can connect you with every employer that matches what you are seeking to do without a middleman or a fee hanging over an employer’s head.

Job Boards and Classified Ads Cannot Compare to Our Effectiveness
There are literally hundreds of job boards for attorneys and job students. No attorney could possibly find all of the job boards. Even when opportunities are located on job boards, you are simply putting yourself into competition with the thousands of other attorneys that have an email account. In addition, many hiring organizations do not advertise open positions. Accordingly, by using job boards you may be missing a substantial number of positions on an ongoing basis.

In addition, many job boards charge employers $500 or more to post a single classified listing on their site. Many employers do not want to pay these fees either (and that even assumes they are being proactive enough to search out job boards). Another lesser known fact is that many job boards pride themselves on having the most positions. This may sound like a good thing; however, to get all those jobs the job boards may run ads on their sites for 60 days or more (long after the position has even been filled).

ATTORNEYS IN THE KNOW USE LEGAL AUTHORITY

Attorneys in the know use Legal Authority because it works. We have assisted attorneys from virtually every top law school and AmLaw 100 law firm in the United States get their next position. We have also assisted numerous General Counsels of Fortune 500 corporations. Our service is quick, cost effective and works. If there is a suitable attorney position that matches your interests available, the odds are almost certain we can put you in touch with the employer with the position. Many attorneys we have assisted have tried other methods in their job search for months or even years before contacting Legal Authority and successfully landing the position they have been seeking.

LEGAL AUTHORITY IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET A LEGAL POSITION

It has been estimated that over 85% of attorney positions are filled through an attorney’s self-initiated contract with a particular legal employer. Using Legal Authority, you can apply to any type of legal employer that matches what you are seeking to do. Those who use Legal Authority have the satisfaction of knowing that they have reached every single employer that matches what they are seeking to do. Legal Authority is, hands down, the most effective way to get a legal position. In addition, our Attorney Employment Advocates and Attorney Writers will assist you making the best possible impact with your resume and cover letter.

“It has been estimated that over 85% of attorney positions are filled through an attorney’s self-initiated contact with a particular legal employer.”

“IT’S HOW ATTORNEYS GET JOBS”

Compared to job boards, legal recruiters, classified ads, networking, outplacement firms or career services offices, no other means of finding your next legal job even comes close to Legal Authority. At Legal Authority, we assist attorneys and law students apply directly to law firms, corporations, public interest organizations, state and federal clerkships—you name it.

Our database contains more legal hiring contacts than any other source on Earth and we have a staff of over 40 attorneys and researchers working 24 hours a day to drive the careers of our attorney candidates forward. Our service is focused, discrete, confidential and enormously effective when you consider your next legal job is already in our database.

WE ARE THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET YOUR NEXT LEGAL JOB. PERIOD.

Using Legal Authority, hundreds of attorneys each month ensure they (1) are considered for every possible type of job opportunity they are interested in, (2) receive the highest possible compensation, and (3) work in a place they will enjoy working. Legal Authority is the best and most effective way to get a legal job. By assisting you in compiling a list of employers where you are almost certain to be working in your next job,

A HISTORY OF FINDING ATTORNEYS POSITIONS AT EVERY LEVEL OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Legal Authority came about because of attorneys’ need for a service that would actually get them the specific types of jobs they want. Being an attorney is among the very most prestigious professions in the United States. The people who choose careers as attorneys are highly intelligent, motivated and capable of great things. The public relies upon attorneys to perform an extremely important service and the work of attorneys has a profound impact on society.

In fact, attorneys are held in such high regard by society that most outsiders simply assume they will always be in the type of job they want. The fact is that every member of the legal profession—from law students, to associates and partners at small AmLaw 100 law firms, to General Counsels of Fortune 100 companies, to public interest and government attorneys–may need access to all of the potential positions matching their interests is something that is virtually ignored by law schools, headhunters and job posting boards.

HOW LEGAL AUTHORITY CAME ABOUT

The founder of Legal Authority is a former law student, practicing attorney, legal recruiter and law professor. It was his understanding gained from these three experiences and the inefficiencies he saw in terms of how most attorneys have traditionally gone about getting legal jobs that led to the founding of Legal Authority.

WHAT THE FORMER LAW STUDENT SAW

As a law student he could not understand why he had to apply to only the firms his career services office told him about. This made absolutely no sense to him. They ran the whole show. He went to a Top 10 law school and saw lots of attorneys who did not have jobs by the time they graduated and others only got offers from firms in areas of the country they did not really want to work, or with firms they knew they would be unhappy working for, or with firms where they would practice in an area of law they flatly did not want to practice in. Other students tried applying to all the firms in the NALP Guide or a few of the better looking ones in Martindale—all to no avail in finding the type of job they wanted.

With so many attorneys practicing throughout the United States, this did not make any sense to him either. He was confident there was the perfect job in the city of the choosing of the attorney. This was something he was sure of. Several years later, he learned that many of the attorneys who had made the wrong choices while in law school were no longer practicing law. This did not surprise him. Some of the law students who did not have jobs when they graduated simply gave up hope of ever being an attorney after graduating from law school. The former law student believed this was an enormous tragedy and did not make a tremendous amount of sense.

WHAT THE LEGAL RECRUITER SAW

In his role as the head of a legal recruiting firm, he saw that too many good attorneys were not getting jobs. During the slowdown in the market for corporate associates virtually no corporate associate with less than 5 years of experience was employable in a major law firm in the United States—regardless of their qualifications. Oftentimes he would invite these stellar attorneys into his offices and assist them in sending unsolicited applications to 300-400 firms in his recruiting firms database (not under the legal recruiting firm’s letterhead).

A funny thing happened. All of these attorneys got jobs. Lot of jobs. Jobs a recruiter could not have gotten them.

Everyday this recruiter would personally review every resume of an attorney who approached his placement firm. Then, after reviewing each resume, he would respond personally to each resume. With several recruiters working for him, he would refer out the best resumes to his recruiters. Then, he would reject several people a day and send them a short note thanking them for contacting his firm. This was something that he believed was very unfortunate. Many of the attorneys would respond to his rejection emails that they were going to simply give up. He knew they were giving up.

With so much effort put into these people becoming attorneys he felt disgruntled. On the weekends he would often invite in the candidates who were most persistent in seeking out the recruiting firms services—regardless of their qualifications. He would help them apply to a couple hundred of law firms on their own (without using a recruiting firm—just the firm’s contacts). Regardless of these attorneys qualifications, the vast, vast majority got positions this way.

WHAT THE FORMER LAW PROFESSOR SAW

One hot Saturday July afternoon, the recruiter received a telephone call from one of his former law students who was getting ready to take the bar exam at the end of July. This law student had been one of his students at the Fourth Tier law school he taught at. This student had graduated second in his class and yet had never received an interview with a firm composed of more than one attorneys in his three years of looking for a job. As a law student, the individual had tried everything his career services office offered, applied to every firm in the NALP Guide and every firm he could find that looked good in Martindale. All to no avail.

Since this individual had been one of the recruiter’s students, he knew that he had to do something to help him because he knew this individual would one day be an outstanding attorney. He spent three full days helping the student prepare and revise letters to send to several hundred firms and this student received several offers. In fact, this student wound up practicing for one of the top firms in the city of his choosing. Incidentally, it was a firm that had not listed itself in any of the so called “traditional sources”.

WHAT THE FORMER ATTORNEY SAW

As an attorney, this individual had known scores of other practicing attorneys who had been searching for the perfect in house or law firm position for years. All to no avail. Many of these individuals had stellar qualifications. One day one of the attorney’s best friends was laid off. In fact, he had been laid off for months by the time he called his friend who was a recruiter. The attorney had just recently purchased a house and had a second child on the way. In addition, he was near the limit on his credit cards. The recruiter felt that he really had to do something and so he took action.

This attorney was interested in both in-house and law firm positions. The attorney had been working with recruiters for months and searching job boards and replying to classified listings. The attorney also had been laid off from a top firm and had outstanding qualifications.

The recruiter took drastic action to help his friend who was interested in a very small section of the United States. He assisted him in applying to every potential in-house and law firm position using a database that he developed with his friend and a staff of 5 temporary workers he hired for this very purpose. The recruiter used his own personal funds. He purchased every source of information he could find and for over a month he worked with his friend and five other people to assist him in gathering contact information for this area of the United States. The information was not complete; however, when the letters were sent out he knew his friend would find a position. In fact, by the time he accepted an offer he had already received over 15 interviews and had six job offers.

LEGAL AUTHORITY WAS BORN

The recruiter realized that attorneys all over the United States could benefit from this type of service. The five individuals were asked to stay on and more people were added. At a cost of over $1,000,000 a database was built. First for law firm positions, then in house positions, then for public interest positions, then for government positions. We worked for over six months building a database before launching Legal Authority. Since that time, the staff has grown to over 40 people gathering contacts and assisting individuals and Legal Authority now assists hundreds of attorneys each month.

JOB BOARDS, RECRUITERS AND CLASSIFIED ADS CANNOT POSSIBLY COMPETE WITH LEGAL AUTHORITY

There are a lot of sources out there which will distract you from your central goal of getting the job you want. Headhunters, job boards and classified ads cannot possibly compete with Legal Authority. Legal Authority actually has all the potential jobs and allows you to (1) apply for positions where there are not hundreds of people competing for the same position, and (2) apply for positions without attaching a $20,000+ fee an employer will have to pay if they hire you. Legal Authority puts you in control of your job search so you can actually get the job you want.

Traditional Legal Recruiting Firms Cannot Compare to Our Effectiveness

Put a Price on Hiring You (If You Want)

Legal recruiting firms charge hiring organizations a fee which is generally 25-30% of an attorney’s annual salary if they hire an attorney. Who would you hire if you were a hiring organization???

Candidate A: Cost if hired through a recruiter: $25,000+

Candidate B: Approaches firm because has identified this firm as a place they would like to work. Cost to firm $0.00

Not all hiring organizations are willing to pay these fees and hiring organizations—who are businesses—obviously prefer candidates not coming through recruiting firms.

The Vast Majority of Companies Do Not Use Legal Recruiters

The vast majority of companies do not use legal recruiters. Legal recruiters are used when a company is having an exceedingly difficult time filling a position. However, it is very rare that a corporation has an exceedingly difficult time filling a position. A great number of attorneys dream of going in-house and find these positions by using a service like Legal Authority. The other positions are generally filled by companies drawing in attorneys from their own law firms. Call a legal recruiting firm in any major city and ask them how many in-house opportunities they have for you. Chances are they will be able to list them off on one hand. Does this make much sense to you? There are thousands of companies in most major cities that employ attorneys of different backgrounds.

In addition, the only law firms which are likely to use recruiters to fill positions are those that cannot fill these positions on their own. The best and most prestigious law firms are frequently approached by attorneys on their own and do not need to do a lot of proactive recruiting. In addition, smaller to mid sized law firms often cannot afford the fees legal recruiters charge. Why vastly limit your universe of opportunities when you can use Legal Authority?

Hope (And Pray) Your Legal Recruiter Knows What Is Out There

The amount of work required to learn of all the available positions in a market is profound. Most legal recruiting firms are made up of a few individuals with relationships with a limited number of employers. In addition, it is a little known fact that law firms and corporations often will not do business with recruiters (or ever see their candidates) who are recruiting from their firms or corporations (and firms and corporations do find out). Accordingly, you may be limiting yourself to a very limited number of potential employers.

Other legal recruiters may send your materials to firms they have never even spoken with and then demand set fees. Legal Authority can connect you with every employer that matches what you are seeking to do without a middleman or a fee hanging over an employer’s head.

Job Boards and Classified Ads Cannot Compare to Our Effectiveness
There are literally hundreds of job boards for attorneys and job students. No attorney could possibly find all of the job boards. Even when opportunities are located on job boards, you are simply putting yourself into competition with the thousands of other attorneys that have an email account. In addition, many hiring organizations do not advertise open positions. Accordingly, by using job boards you may be missing a substantial number of positions on an ongoing basis.

In addition, many job boards charge employers $500 or more to post a single classified listing on their site. Many employers do not want to pay these fees either (and that even assumes they are being proactive enough to search out job boards). Another lesser known fact is that many job boards pride themselves on having the most positions. This may sound like a good thing; however, to get all those jobs the job boards may run ads on their sites for 60 days or more (long after the position has even been filled).

ATTORNEYS IN THE KNOW USE LEGAL AUTHORITY

Attorneys in the know use Legal Authority because it works. We have assisted attorneys from virtually every top law school and AmLaw 100 law firm in the United States get their next position. We have also assisted numerous General Counsels of Fortune 500 corporations. Our service is quick, cost effective and works. If there is a suitable attorney position that matches your interests available, the odds are almost certain we can put you in touch with the employer with the position. Many attorneys we have assisted have tried other methods in their job search for months or even years before contacting Legal Authority and successfully landing the position they have been seeking.

LEGAL AUTHORITY IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET A LEGAL POSITION

It has been estimated that over 85% of attorney positions are filled through an attorney’s self-initiated contract with a particular legal employer. Using Legal Authority, you can apply to any type of legal employer that matches what you are seeking to do. Those who use Legal Authority have the satisfaction of knowing that they have reached every single employer that matches what they are seeking to do. Legal Authority is, hands down, the most effective way to get a legal position. In addition, our Attorney Employment Advocates and Attorney Writers will assist you making the best possible impact with your resume and cover letter.

“It has been estimated that over 85% of attorney positions are filled through an attorney’s self-initiated contact with a particular legal employer.”

IF YOU USE LEGAL AUTHORITY

If you use Legal Authority you can rest assured that you are taking the most focused action possible in your job search. On an average week, we put in over 1,200 hours worth of work into our database. The cost of modifying our database runs well into the seven figures on an annual basis. There are literally over 50 sources we are using on an ongoing basis to update and modify our database. In terms of legal hiring contacts, there is no organization on Earth with more contacts. This is what we do and we are the absolute best in the business we are in.

Our Employment Advocates who assist you in compiling your list of employers are all seasoned legal professionals. With only one exception, each of our Employment Advocates are attorneys. In addition, our profession writers have the type of experience to help you create a resume and cover letter that has the best possible impact on employers. Out of the hundreds of attorneys we assist on a monthly basis, there are very few instances in recent memory when an attorney had a complaint that we did not provide the most effective job search for them possible. It is exceedingly rare that an attorney has ever contacted us and told us that our service did not work. In fact, this has occurred in less than 1 in 1000 attorneys we have ever assisted.

TAKE YOUR FUTURE INTO YOUR HANDS
Legal Authority allows you to choose the direction and expansiveness of your job search. Once you make the decision to work with Legal Authority, we will do our absolute best to ensure you find the position you are seeking—whether it is in a law firm, corporation, public interest organization, law school or government office. We are proud to make that promise to each of the attorneys we work with. All of our candidates and clients know that we mean business and take our jobs

“Legal Authority is, quite simply, the most effective way for attorneys to get the type of legal job they are seeking.”

THERE ARE CHEAPER ALTERNATIVES TO FINDING A LEGAL JOB THAN USING LEGAL AUTHORITY

True. There are also ways to ensure you get a legal job and ways that may ensure you do not. You can search job boards and hope that the perfect position comes along. You can also try and find a recruiter with the job you want. You could also subscribe to over 50 legal directories and publications and hire 40 people to update this information for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The later is what we do at Legal Authority. Because thousands of attorneys use our service, the cost is generally far cheaper than were you to do the work yourself.

In most instances, the cost of using Legal Authority is less than $2.00 per employer we help you contact and our search can be as expansive or narrow as you choose. In addition, we verify the information we have before providing it to you, rewrite your resume and cover letter, print it addressed to the specific employers you choose and ship this to you. We speak with attorneys on a daily basis who believe they can do all of the work themselves. If your time is worth less than $7.00 an hour (assuming it takes you 15 minutes to find each hiring contact, enter this information into a letter, proof each letter and then print each resume and letter) and a staff of 40 people, access to over 50 legal directories and $1,000,000 to just build a database, then you can do it yourself. A lot of attorneys think they are smarter than us or somehow have this figured out. If you are one of those attorneys, then go we cannot help you.

ABOUT US

Legal Authority is made up of attorneys, writers and researchers who bring a high degree of understanding, competence and a proven track record of achievement to your job search. Our team has attorneys supervising and working with the attorneys who use our service at every level of the search process.

“With hundreds of attorneys served each month, Legal Authority may very well get more attorneys jobs than any other single organization in the United States. By eliminating recruiters and job boards from the search criterion, Legal Authority empowers attorneys to take charge of their careers.”

OUR MISSION
Our mission is simple: To get attorneys jobs and be the very best at what we do. Anywhere. To that extent, we have developed the largest database of legal employers on Earth and a team of Attorney Employment Advocates who connect attorneys with the jobs which match their interest.

In the Year 2002, Legal Authority looks forward to counseling and enthusiastically represent attorneys and making meaningful differences in the quality of their lives and advancing thousands of more careers.

At Legal Authority, we firmly believe we are the most effective

means anywhere for attorneys and law students to locate their perfect legal position. We have assisted thousands of attorneys and Legal Authority can help you too: We maintain a staff of over 40 attorneys, researchers and writers and have the largest database of legal hiring contacts on Earth. Virtually every day of the week attorneys and law students get multiple legal positions using Legal Authority. No job board, placement firm or any other source can make this claim. What we do for attorneys works.

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Job Searching during the Holidays

by A. Harrison Barnes on April 25, 2011

Are you among the many job seekers who are contemplating whether you should waste time job searching during the holiday season? If you are, I advise you to start job searching. If you’ve already started job searching, then continue to job search. Contrary to what many job seekers believe, hiring does not come to a halt during the holidays. Hiring may slow down a little, but it still goes on. Employers still have needs for their businesses, and they must continue to fill those needs.

Additionally, there are great benefits to job searching during the holidays. These benefits include that:

  • There is reduced competition among job seekers. Since most job seekers put their job searches on hold, there is less competition for jobs. Since there is less competition, this increases your chances at landing a job.
  • More executives and hiring persons are in good spirits during the holidays. Their good spirits make them more open to networking and interviewing.
  • The holiday season is a great time for networking. There are many parties and events during the holiday season. Take advantage of this and mention your job search. You never know who may be able to help you in your job search.
  • Professionals tend to change jobs, retire, and earn promotions more during the months of November and December. Therefore, hiring persons will be looking to replace these professionals.

Remember, even during the holidays, the is no holiday for job searching.

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Using Legal Authority for Law Student Jobs

by A. Harrison Barnes on April 20, 2011

I am writing to tell you a secret you may not know. Thousands of law students just like you use Legal Authority to find positions each year. In fact, at some law schools, over 20% of the class uses Legal Authority to find positions. Your friends may not tell you about Legal Authority simply because law students are competitive by nature. Career services offices often do not talk about us that much either. If every law student used Legal Authority, then many career services offices would have very little to do.

The reason Legal Authority is so successful is simple. First, we will assist you in identifying every single employer that meets your specific interests in the area(s) of the United States you want to work in. Our database contains over 98% of all legal employers in the United States — over 750,000 legal employers. We employ over 25 people who do nothing but identify legal employers and hiring contacts inside these employers. They then classify this information based on type, size, and geographic location. Developed at a cost of several million dollars, no law school or other organization has a database that comes close.

Second, we will assist you in crafting a perfect resume and cover letter for the type(s) of summer or permanent positions you are seeking. We employ extremely skilled and trained professional resume writers who will spend the time to work with you personally to create for you a resume that makes you stand out. A good resume can make a tremendous difference in your job search. We craft more law student resumes than anyone in the world.

Third, we will provide you with complete printed and customized application materials to apply to the employers you select. All you will need to do is sign and stamp your application materials. The result of using Legal Authority is that your job search is as thorough, professional, and focused as it can be. There is nothing that can compare with our effectiveness. Some law students who have tried other job search methods without success and then used Legal Authority have gotten in excess of 20 interviews.

Legal Authority is the top means in the United States for law students like you to get jobs. If you use Legal Authority, you could be interviewing within the next few weeks.

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It’s All About Who You Know (And Who Knows You)

by A. Harrison Barnes on April 11, 2011

You are in line to enter a club, and the group ahead of you gets a hearty welcome from the maître d’ and is seated at a table in the front by the stage. When your turn arrives, you are greeted indifferently and seated in the back by the bathrooms. Your companion turns to you and says, “They must know someone.” You hear about a former colleague who just has taken a fantastic job with a great title and even better pay. Your former colleague is now light years ahead of you on the career path. You think, “She must know someone.”

In both scenarios, you are right! It is all about who you know (and who knows you).

The idea of networking is as scary as public speaking to most people. But a network is nothing more than a circle of friends.

Family and Friends

We all have a personal network of family and friends. Some of our friends we consider really close, practically family. Some of our friends are merely acquaintances whom we see maybe once a year, and some are colleagues with whom we have lunch. Our family members are similar in that we may be very close to some and less close to others.

Your family and friends are the people you call to:

  • get advice from
  • complain to
  • confirm your thought processes
  • ask for referrals
  • just chat

Your personal network gives you access to the people known to the people you know AND to the people they know AND then to the people they know AND then to–you get the idea. If you need a recommendation for a caterer for your parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, your Aunt Barbara may have a friend who just threw a party for her parents (which was soooo beautiful, according to Aunt Barbara); and she can recommend her caterer. You may now get special treatment because you were referred to that business by Aunt Barbara’s friend.

Your personal network need not be limited to your family and friends. Just think about all the other people you come in contact with in your daily life. Your dentist, your doctor, are all part of your network and can give you referrals.

It works the same way in the world of work. While you may have access to some great work advice and maybe even some business contacts through your personal family/friends network, you still need a business/career network.

Business and Career Colleagues

The building of your career network should start no later than college; for many, it starts in high school or earlier. People are the lifeblood of your network. The more people you know, the more information you have; and the more people and information you have access to over time, the more successful your network.

All of these people can and should be part of your network:

  • people you went to school with
  • people you work with
  • people you meet at conferences or seminars
  • people you meet at social gatherings
  • people who support the same organizations that you do

Are you getting the idea that it can be anyone and everyone you meet? You’re right.

Just as your friendships move along the spectrum from casual to “I wish we were sisters,” your business/career network relationships will also range from non-essential to vital. And, just as with friends, people may drop in and out of your network.

Maintaining Your Network

Just as you have to develop and maintain your family and friends’ network over the life of those relationships, the same is true of your career/business network. Your family and friends expect a certain level of communication on your part in order to maintain the connection. Some of this will be in-person visits. Some will be by phone or the annual holiday newsletter. However you do it, there is an ongoing communication between you and your family and friends. You have to let them get to know you.

You need to do the same for your business/career network. Keep in touch with people from school that you like and respect. Keep them current on your career changes, and keep yourself current on their career changes.

As you meet people throughout your working life, maintain a detailed contacts database with information you gather over time about their careers, families, interests, and anything else that gives you a connection to them.

People maintain their networks in a variety of ways, such as:

  • sending birthday cards/gifts
  • sending articles of interest
  • meeting for lunch, dinner, and/or drinks
  • attending sporting or arts events
  • calling occasionally to chat

For some people in your network, you may do all of these things and more! For others, it may be a once-a-year holiday card and phone call. Remember two things: First, your contact should always be sincere and well thought out in terms of who this person is and your relationship to him/her; and second, the idea is to keep the lines of communications open so when you really need to talk to that person, your call will be taken.

Other Peoples’ Networks

You’ve started your network and have been maintaining it, and one day someone calls you to see if you have any information about a job at your company. It is now time for you to realize that in creating your network, you have become part of the networks of the people in your network. It is important that you provide some “value” to the person calling you because you will expect the same if you call that person. Depending on who the person is and how important he/she is to you within your own network and career goals, you may provide different information. This is okay. If the person is a fairly casual member of your network whom you do not know very well, you may refer him/her to the human resources department and give him/her the name of the person to call and permission to mention your name. If the person is very important to your network, you may ask for his/her resume and personally deliver it to the person making the hiring decisions and give your personal recommendation.

Remember, you will also be ranked within the networks of others and may get different levels of assistance. This is why it is so important to devote time and energy to building and maintaining your networks. What you get out of your network is only as good as what you put into your network.

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Why Legal Authority Works: Myth versus Reality

by A. Harrison Barnes on April 6, 2011

The most common means of obtaining a job was a letter or other “self-initiated contact” with the employer …”

-National Association of Law Placement

If you contact all of the employers in a given city that match your interests—if there is a job for you, you will find it. It is as simple as that. No job boards, classified sections, legal recruiters, on campus interviewing program or job fair has all of the jobs and many employers DO NOT HAVE JOBS until they are presented with a candidate that is attractive to them. It is as simple as that.

LEGAL MYTH: This is just mass mailing, which is one of the most ineffective ways to find a job.

LEGAL AUTHORITY: You’re right, mass mailing is an ineffective way to find a job. However, targeted mailing is NOT mass mailing! Mass mailings are generic letters that make a blanket statement to firms of all sizes, locations, and disciplines. You can expect one or two letters out of every hundred to solicit any response. On the other hand, targeted mailings are letters to a carefully compiled list of employers, distinctive as a group for their geographical location, type and size of firm, and areas of practice. With targeted mailings, you can expect a much greater return.

The National Association for Legal Placement, a non-profit legal research organization, has determined that targeted, self-initiated mailing was the most successful job hunt tactic used by graduates and experienced attorneys, beating both on-campus interview programs and online resume posting.

LEGAL MYTH: I’ll just post my resume on Monster.com, and wait for the fruit baskets to come rolling in.

LEGAL AUTHORITY: Monster.com is effective for companies that are comfortable with online job hunting and recruiting. As a rule, law firms remain most comfortable with “snail mail” – cover letters and resumes they receive from the post office, not from the Internet. Writing professional cover letters, on good stationery that show you have taken the time to contact the firm by writing a letter, addressing an envelope, stamping it and putting it in the mailbox is far more effective than simply hitting the “send” button on your email program.

With the number of attorneys seeking jobs, hiring partners and recruiting coordinators have the luxury of waiting for the resumes to come in the door. Unless they are doing proactive recruiting with legal search firms or law schools, there is little “resume searching” that is done.

LEGAL MYTH: I can’t trust my future career prospects to your firm – I need to do it all myself.

LEGAL AUTHORITY: With Legal Authority you are doing it all yourself! Who better to trust your future with than a firm that spends 100% of its time creating and revising resumes and cover letters for attorneys? We will help you save time, improve your resume, and create a cover letter that will garner attention. With your input, we will select the firms that meet your standards, and you will have approval every step of the way. You—and not us—will be sending out the final cover letters and resumes. Why spend valuable time researching firms when we have one of the most sophisticated databases in the industry that will guarantee accuracy and precision?

LEGAL MYTH: I already have a headhunter – I don’t need to do any more work to find a job.

LEGAL AUTHORITY: The truth is, many legal recruiters have a distinct disadvantage over self-initiated targeted mailing. For in-house hiring, clerkships, and of counsel positions, you have a much greater chance of receiving a positive response if you do not use a recruiter. For many law firm positions, recruiters will limit your exposure to a small amount of firms, normally less than 20 firms! Targeted mailing can be done for more firms, and we can help you send resumes and cover letters to as many hundreds of firms as you desire!

LEGAL MYTH: I don’t have the time to prepare 200 cover letters and resumes.

LEGAL AUTHORITY: All it takes is filling out our Firm Profiler, spending a short amount on the phone with us discussing your options, and signing your cover letters. That’s all the time you’ll spend in your job search. Legal Authority is committed to helping you, the busy attorney, in your job search. Click here to see how the process works.

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The Art of Networking

by A. Harrison Barnes on March 31, 2011

In almost every facet of one’s life, networking plays an important role in attaining one’s goals; sharpening this skill can be vital in your job search. Networking is what you make of it-there are no boundaries, no limits and no short-cuts. Networking has the ability to create opportunity, especially where one would not think to look. Developing these skills is definitely a recommended approach in landing your ideal position.

With the growing number of legal positions becoming harder to identify via the standard means of job searching, using the tool of networking can allow you to uncover positions that one would not ordinarily find advertised or accessible to the mass public. The ability to sell yourself through your resume is just one step in this process; moreover, the way you approach your job search is equally important as well.

This is where Legal Authority and its services may prove to be the well-needed addition through this long journey. It’s time to cross over to those new boundaries and explore every avenue; by doing so, you will allow yourself the satisfaction of knowing you have done everything in your power to reach the next level.

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Legal Authority Core Values

by A. Harrison Barnes on March 28, 2011

CORE VALUE 1: WE MUST GET ATTORNEYS JOBS
Core Observation: The reason our jobs exist is to get attorneys jobs.We are in the business of preserving and improving human life. All of our actions must be measured by the success in achieving this goal.

-Merck & Company, Internal Management Guide

I want to … express the principles upon which we in company have endeavored to live up to … Here is how it sums up: We try to remember that medicine is for the patient. We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear. The better we have remembered it, the larger they have been.

-George Merck II

Imagine that all of us were suddenly transported to the year 2091. Much [of our strategy and methods] would have been changed by developments we cannot anticipate. But no matter what changed might have occurred in the Company, I know we would find one thing remained the same—and that thing matters most: the … spirit of Merck people … A century from now, I believe we would fee the same esprit de corps. … I believe this, above all, because Merck’s dedication to fighting disease, relieving suffering and helping people is a righteous cause—one that inspires people to dream of doing great things. It is a timeless cause, and it will lead Merck people to great achievements during the next hundred years.

-Roy Vagelos
Points to Ponder:
  • Success at Legal Authority depends on embracing the Core Value of getting attorneys jobs-Whether or not we realize it, the people who succeed and do not succeed here are people who embrace and understand this value. Present and future (long term) success has its symptoms:
    1. quality of advice,
    2. work ethic,
    3. ability to identify with others,
    4. how closely you are willing to look at the job market,
    5. how selfless you are,
    6. long term commitment,
    7. work product,
    8. contribution on multiple levels—aside from just being on phone,
    9. results.
  • Understanding the importance of work-Work is the most important component of life—it takes the most of our time and determines the quality of our existence. Helping others to work is among the most important tasks there is. We better the lives and futures of others.
  • Because the most important part of our jobs is to get attorneys jobs, every action we take should be calculated towards this-It is inappropriate to look at our jobs as serving only our self interest. As Employment Advocates, we should be adding a tremendous amount of value to the process of getting an attorney a job. The value we add:
    1. Having done research to assist attorneys find jobs,
    2. Having the persuasive power to get attorneys to apply for certain jobs,
    3. Having the ability to construct persuasive presentations to law firms,
    4. Understanding the nuances of the job search process and counseling candidates of the appropriate steps to take each step of the way,
    5. Closing deals on both sides and making action occur.
CORE VALUE 2: WE MUST DOMINATE THE MARKET
Core Value Observation: In order to dominate the market, we must be the best branded business in our field.To my imagination it is far more satisfactory to look at [well-adapted] specifies not as specially endowed or created instincts, but as small consequences of one general law leading to the advancement of all organic beings—namely, multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.
-Charles Darwin, Origin of Species
Points to Ponder:
  • Market dominators are well branded-Consider the recent success of Yahoo!, Starbucks and Kinko’s. Each of these businesses pursued a relentless branding strategy.If you ask 100 people what their preferred choice of a search engine is, a large proportion of them are likely to say Yahoo! This result came in the market despite the fact that many other search engines such as AltaVista, Northern Light and others were consistently rated better.Yahoo!’s entire business strategy was based on branding. For years, Yahoo! lost millions of dollars, much of it simply getting its name out. It published Yahoo! Magazine and ensured that bookstores and newsstands displayed it—effectively creating billboards. The company ran millions of dollars of television commercials each year that delivered a simple, brand-driven message: “Do You Yahoo!”And we do.
  • Distinction between products and services-The typical product possesses one trait: it is tangible. As a result, we buy products because of their inherent qualities and their symbolic ones—the Coach briefcase, Hermes scarf, Volvo automobile. People buy these because of how they perform and also because of what they say about their owner.Products are made; services are delivered.Products are used; services are experienced.Services are invisible to everyone. We do not try and keep up with the Jones’ choice of an orthodontist, Internet service provider or therapist. (Indeed, our relationship with therapists, doctors, lawyers and others are protected from public scrutiny by rules of evidence and laws.)Services differ from products in one important way: control. You own the product you buy. You control it. Your services, however, are most apt to control you. The doctor or dentist determines what you need and when and how you will receive it. If you seek advice from a service, you find yourself at the provider’s mercy.We crave control, but feel a lack of it with services, so we feel less comfortable in or relationship with services. We need their reassurance that they will use their control intelligently, and in our best interest. With few exceptions—our choice of amusement parks, comedy clubs, and some restaurants, for example—we need to know the service is serious, experienced, consistent and reliable.
  • Why Legal Authority must be the best branded attorney outplacement business and dominate the market:
    1. People need to find us;
    2. Consumers will choose the most familiar business;
    3. People who work here will be proud of company;
    4. Company needs to survive;
    5. Will enable us to influence more people;
    6. Will make us an authority in our field;
    7. Will make people believe we are reliable;
    8. Will make people believe we are serious;
    9. Will make people believe we are experienced;
    10. Economic rewards.
  • Key Legal Authority brand component questions:
    1. Uniqueness-Is our brand unique?
    2. Vividness-Is our brand vivid?
    3. Simple-Is our brand simple?
    4. Does it communicate a clear and powerful message, in the way we most want and need to communicate?
    5. Is it inviting?
  • We must connect with people-consumers buy more than things; they purchase connections. (The remarkably named businesswoman Silver Rose described this perfectly. “I think adults invented work,” she observed, “so that they could play together all day.”)Our lives seem increasingly disconnected. Our drive for connection grows more intense. Making genuine, human connections becomes more important everywhere—not the least of all in our businesses every day.
    ·Advertising ·Content ·Being viewed as experts ·Being the only logical choice for attorneys ·Being in multiple places at once (law school, unqualified attorneys) ·Having access to the most attorneys ·Continually growing
CORE VALUE 3: WE CONSTANTLY CHANGE THE RULES OF THE GAME
Core Observation: Consumers tend to jump on the bandwagons leading up, and jump off those leading down. A band with positive direction attracts buyers; one with negative direction repels them.You can’t just keep doing what works one time, because everything around you is always changing. To succeed, you have to stay our in front of that change.
-Sam WaltonWe’re proud of our successes. And we celebrate them. But the real excitement comes in figuring out how we can do even better in the future. It’s a never ending process of seeing how far we can go. There’s no ultimate finish line when we can say “we’ve arrived.” I never want us to be satisfied with our success, for that’s when we’ll begin to decline.
-Hewlett-Packard Marketing ManagerSir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts. He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don’t understand that Hillary had to grow into this success. You see, in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members. Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform. He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. He said in a loud voice, “Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I’ll beat you the next time because you’ve grown all you are going to grow… but I’m still growing!Consider for a moment all the goods and services you buy from companies that are no more than a generation old—airline tickets from Southwest Airlines, furniture from IKEA, computers from Dell, collectibles from eBay, video games from Nintendo, books from Amazon and so forth. The world is hospitable from unorthodox newcomers.

An almost stupefying pace of change ensures that any business concept, no matter how brilliant, will over time, lose its economic efficiency. Starbucks rapidly became America’s premier coffee brand. The average Starbuck’s customer visits the store 18 times per month. Picture all the brand managers sitting in Switzerland, less than a decade ago, running Nescafe’, the world’ best selling coffee. Do you think they ever thought they could entice throngs of students and bus drivers to line up to pay three dollars for a cup of coffee. While they were worrying about things like market share, Proctor & Gamble and what color cans to put on supermarket shelves they were losing market share.

Industry leaders exploit the protective urge, any hesitancy on the part of the oligarcy.
Points to Ponder:
  • We must understand the weaknesses of our competition and exploit this-We are defined by what we are as much as we are defined by what we are not. The weaknesses of our competition are:
    1. Complacency;
    2. Lack of investment in infrastructure;
    3. Protectionist thinking;
    4. A lack of a core value that demands getting attorneys jobs;
    5. A desire for money over doing their work well;
    6. The inability to get enthusiastic about their candidates;
    7. The lack of a realization that the profession of recruiting is something that is just as important—if not a more important profession—than the practice of law;
    8. The inability to continue improving at all times;
    9. The inability or lack of desire to continually improve;
    10. getting people on board who are committed with doing the absolute most exceptional job possible in the recruiting arena;
    11. getting rid of people not committed to doing the best possible job in the recruiting arena;
    12. adequately branding their business;
    13. The inability to constantly question what a recruiting firm should be;
    14. The inability to do things as they should be done all the time.
We Should Be
Moving Away From Being
-Procedural
-Reductionist
-Extraopolative
-Elist
-Easy		 And Being …-Creative
-Expansive
-Inventive
-Inclusive
-Demanding
CORE VALUE 4: WE MUST CONSTANTLY USE TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE INNOVATION
Observation: If it were possible to establish conditions where persons could become united with a firm spirt of teamwork and exercise to their heart’s desire their technological capacity … then such an organization could bring untold pleasures and untold benefits … Those of like minds have naturally come together to embark on these ideals.
-Masaro Ibuka (founder of Sony in his business plan)Sony is a pioneer and never intends to follow others. Through progress, Sony wants to serve the whole world. It shall be always a seeker of the unknown … Sony has a principal of respecting and encouraging one’s ability … and always tries to bring out the best in a person. This is the vital force of Sony.
-Akia Morita (Chairman of Sony, 1976)
Points to Ponder:
  • We respect technology at Legal Authority and realize its value to who we are as a group-One of the first things that happened with the founding of this company was the investment in technology. This investment continues to this day.
  • The database is one of the most significant ways in which we communicate and assist with community building-Use the database to your advantage and realize its benefits.
  • Constant awareness in the need to invest in products and ideas will drive us forward.
CORE VALUE 5: WE MUST CONSTANTLY BE A TEAM
Observation: We are all a team with the objective of getting attorneys jobs. If you’re not willing to do your absolute best to get attorneys jobs—to write an exceptional cover letter, to go the extra mile at all times and work with other recruiters to make this happen—then you just don’t belong here, period. No one here is going to tell you to be a recruiting hero; it’s expected.IBM’s profile in the 1985 edition of The 100 Best Companies to Work For described IBM as a company that has institutionalized its beliefs the way a church does … The result is a company filled with ardent believes. (If you’re not ardent, you may not be comfortable.) … Some have compared joining IBM with joining a religious order or going into the military … If you understand the Marines, you understand IBM … you must be willing to give up some of your individual identity to survive.IBM begins imbuing its employees with its … philosophy even before they’re hired, at the very first interview. To some, the work “imbuing” connotes brainwashing, but I don’t think there’s anything negative … in what is done. Basically, anyone who wants to work for IBM is told: “Look this is how we do business … We have some very specific ideas about what that means—and if you work for us we’ll teach you how to treat customers. If our attitude about customers and service is incompatible with yours, we’ll part ways—the quicker the better.
-The IBM Way
Points to Ponder:
  • In order to succeed here in a meaningful way, you must have a fervent belief that you and your peers are here to get attorneys jobs-Our team is dedicated to getting attorneys jobs.
  • In order to succeed here in a meaningful way, you must have a fervent belief if doing your job as well as it can be done-Our team is dedicated to doing our jobs as well as possibly can be done.
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How Do You Work With Employer Data at Legal Authority?

by A. Harrison Barnes on March 21, 2011

The process of working on client files at Legal Authority is quite complicated and works like this:

First, our clients generally sign up on our web site or call in. Once a client calls in or signs up on our web site, we call to schedule an appointment with them and they are assigned an Employment Advocate who will be their contact person throughout their search. With only one exception, all of our Employment Advocates are attorneys. Our Employment Advocates work with our clients through each step of the process.

Second, once an appointment is scheduled, a client speaks with one of our Employment Advocates about their job search and what they are seeking to do. During the phone call, a list of employers is generated which matches precisely what the client is seeking to do. The Employment Advocate will generally counsel the client about what they believe is the most appropriate steps for the candidate to follow in their job search. Employment Advocates are sort of like recruiters because their ultimate objective is to get you a job. The difference between an Employment Advocate and a traditional legal recruiter, however, is that Employment Advocates work with you.

In the third step of the process, the list of employers that the client and Employment Advocate agree upon is sent to our data review center and the resume is sent to our resume and cover letter department.

Our resume and cover letter department is also populated almost exclusively by attorneys. Two of our resume and cover letter personnel have worked in major New York law firms. Another holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania. In our resume and cover letter department, with the input from what you are seeking to do gained from their discussions with you and your Employment Advocate a resume fitting exactly what you are seeking to do is crafted.

Our data center is extremely sophisticated, operates 24 hours a day seven days a week and is staffed by over twenty researchers. Our data center is populating our database with contact information every day of the week. Many of our candidates often ask us where we get our data and the answer is we get it from numerous sources. The least challenging aspect of our work is getting the data from printed sources. The problem with printed sources, however, is that a large percentage of law firms, corporations and other legal hiring organizations do not even list themselves in printed sources. A listing in Martindale Hubble, for example, costs firms several hundreds of dollars. At a cost exceeding $50,000 a month, our data center pulls information from other data sources making use of U.S. Government issued Standard Industry Classifications (SIC Codes) which classify businesses based upon the type of industry they are in. This information is constantly being double checked, reclassified and loaded into our database.

Once the candidate file is sent to the data center, the data center reviews the list of contacts put together by the Employment Advocate. Since each search is personal to everyone who uses our service, our list of contacts inside each legal hiring organization is never perfect. For example, we try to use contacts that are less than four months old. If a contact is less than four months old we do not use it and reinvestigate who the contact is. In addition, we very rarely have a full list of contacts within each hiring organization because each search our candidates performs is unique. Accordingly, the data center identifies which contacts on the Employment Advocates list either (1) need to be found, or (2) need to be updated and sends them to a researcher within the data center. This process of updating the information often takes less than a day. In some cases it has taken our data center over two weeks. Once the data center is happy with its information, it is sent to a data analyst.

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8 Things Not to Include on Your Resume

by A. Harrison Barnes on March 15, 2011

When it comes to your job search, your resume is very important.  Here are 8 things you should not include:

  1. Personal Information: Employers should never know from your resume if you are married or single.
  2. Religious affiliations: This information can work against you, no matter how great your credentials are.
  3. Political affiliations: The same logic applies here.
  4. Photographs: Some employers are not legally able to consider a photo in determining whether to grant an interview, so often those employers will not even consider a resume that is submitted with a picture.
  5. Information about high school education: If you have graduated college, employers will assume you have graduated high school.
  6. Negative information: Remember, the purpose of your resume is to market yourself to potential employers.
  7. Low GPA: The same logic applies here – if the information makes your application less attractive, leave it out.
  8. Use of personal pronouns:  A resume should be written in third person. It is marketing material, not a personal letter.
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New Addition to Legal Authority

by A. Harrison Barnes on March 8, 2011

Hello out there to all those that might be interested in Legal Authority services. I wanted to introduce myself because I’m one of the new members to the Legal Authority team. My name is Kathy Robbins and I am the new customer service manager. A lot of my career experience has been in the manufacturing industry; more specifically packaging-shrink films and flexible film packaging. Legal Authority is not too much different in this aspect because in a way we are a manufacturer as well. We produce fine cover letters and resumes to send to your purchased contacts so that you can land a fantastic career in the legal field. Most of my experience is customer service with a little bit of sales thrown in for good measure so I’m really looking forward to helping you all with any customer service issues. In some cases, if you have trouble reaching your employment advocate it is because we schedule them with a lot of appointments so if you ever have a need or question you need addressed right away, feel free to contact us at 800-283-3860 and we’ll see if we can help. If it is something that needs to be addressed with your advocate, we will make sure to get a message to them and have them return your call as soon as possible.

I look forward to helping you and cannot wait to hear from you. Thank you all Legal Authority clients for your business!!

Kathy Robbins

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