As a memorial to the late Presiding Justice Hollis G. Best, his friends have established a Scholarship to encourage and support outstanding academic achievement and commitment to service by law students.
The Best Scholarship is an annual award presented this year in the amount of $1,000 during th Spring 2009 semester.
Each candidate must be a law student who has successfully completed at least one year of law school.  Strong preference will be given to current residents of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare or Tuolumne Counties.
Primary considerations are academic achievement and the breadth and depth of the applicant’s extracurricular and community activities.
Financial need and demonstrated leadership capabilities are also taken into consideration.

The application can be downloaded at the Financial Aid website.

Completed applications must be received by the Best Scholarship Committee by December 31, 2008.

The Roy A. Gustafson Memorial Scholarship Fund awards of about $2,500 are made each year to law school students who have graduated from a public or private high school in Ventura County, have successfully completed the first year of law school at an accredited college or university in the state of California, and will continue at such a college or university, and who demonstrate financial need. Please refer to the application at the Financial Aid website for full eligibility criteria.

The application must be received at VCCF before 5:00p.m. on January 16, 2009.

Contact: Virginia Weber, Program Officer at (805) 988-0196, Ext. 119 or e-mail to vweber@vccf.org.

Applicants must be presently enrolled in the first, second, third or fourth year of legal study.
Depending on the number of scholarships awarded, the scholarships can vary in amount. Most recently the amounts have varied from $1,000 to $3,000.

Applications must be received on or before January 15, 2009 and mailed to:
Amy Guerra
c/o 2014 Tulare Street
Fresno, CA 93721

Email inquiries to amy.k.guerra@earthlink.net.
Applications and more information available at the Financial Aid Website or larazalaw.com.

The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) is pleased to announce the 2009-2010 Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA) Scholarship Program for Latino law students. The PRBA, founded in New York in 1957 is one of the oldest Latino bar associations in the United States. Today, the PRBA continues its tradition of breaking down barriers to the legal profession with active members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA) Scholarship Award is for $2,000 (may vary).
All Latino students attending law school in the United States (including Puerto Rico) are eligible to apply. PRBA selects applicants based on financial need and academic promise. Scholarship recipients will be contacted directly by the PRBA.

All applicants must be first or second year students in a JD program at an American Bar Association (ABA) approved law school. Students working toward their LL.M. are not eligible for this award.

Postmark deadline to file the PRBA Scholarship application: Saturday, February 28, 2009.

All Scholarship candidates must submit a complete and accurate application along with the required supplemental materials to be considered.

Applications available at the Financial Aid website or PRLDEF’s website.

The Asian American Bar Association (AABA) of the Greater Bay Area is proud to announce its 2009 Law Foundation Scholarships. AABA recognizes the importance of fostering the growth of law students to improve the future development of the Asian Pacific American bar. AABA will award scholarships to deserving law students who are committed to advocating and improving their communities.The AABA Law Foundation is a nonprofit entity dedicated to serving the community and law students through its annual Law Foundation Scholarship awards. This upcoming year, the Foundation is offering the Raymond L. Ocampo Jr. President’s Scholarship; the Joe Morozumi Scholarship; the AABA Law Foundation Scholarship; and the Asian American Judges Scholarship, developed to recognize and honor the past and present API judges of the Bay Area.

To learn more about te AABA scholarship application process, select the Scholarship Application page at www.aaba-bay.com. The deadline to submit the application will be Monday, February 2, 2009 via email to Annette K. Mathai-Jackson at amathai-jackson@hansonbridgett.com.

Finalists will be notified if they are selected for an interview by February 13, 2009. Scholarship recipients will be recognized at the annual AABA Installation dinner.

Private Sector (large firm): December through March

Private Sector (small firms): January through May

Public Interest: December though May (N.B. PI/PS Day takes place in Feb.) -pslawnet.org is an excellent source for identifying public interest opportunities here in CA and around the world.  

Federal, State and Local Government: December through May

Judicial Externships: timelines vary, but most are December through March - check our Externships Guide (link on the For 1Ls page of the CDO website) for more information about timelines for specific courts.

Research Assistant positions: be proactive and contact professors whom you would like to assist over the winter break

Your focus in your first semester ought to be your studies. It is typical for students to wait until the break to send out cover letters and resumes. The vast majority of opportunities will not have been filled by this time. However, the most competitive employers (in private and non-profit sectors and some federal judges) will start to fill positions in December. If there are certain employers that you are particularly interested in and have reason to believe will be extremely popular among law students, you may want to send your materials soon after the December 1 start date.

Some students choose to do a mass mailing at the beginning of December (when the NALP guidelines permit first year students to send out job applications).  The choice whether to do a mass mailing is yours, but its our experience that the expense and effort are better spent in a smaller number of applications, tailored to a more informed job search.  A generic job application is unlikely to be noticed in the deluge of applications received by employers early in December.

Large firms hire a very small number of first year students, and some large firms do not consider first year students at all. There is no harm in contacting an employer to express your interest, particularly if you possess special qualifications making you a good “fit” with that employer. However, it is unusual to get a job with a big firm in your first summer.  A good source for identifying big firms is the NALP online directory. You can search for firms according to a number of different criteria, including whether or not they have indicated they hire 1Ls for the summer (from the search criteria page, select “1Ls” from the drop down menu next to the line that says “Organizations That Hire”).

Small firms hire on the basis of a short-term assessment of their needs, and while you may want to make an initial contact with small firms in December or January, you should be prepared to hear they have not yet decided on their needs for the summer (or to hear nothing at all). Then, you can follow up with the employers later in the spring (sometimes, the availability of your transcript will provide a good occasion for doing so).  A good source for identifying smaller firms is the Martindale law directory. 

Do not be discouraged if you find that spring has arrived and you have not yet finalized arrangements for the summer: opportunities continue to become available during the spring and even the early summer.

The Law Office of Lawrence A. Organ is looking for a 2L or 3L student intern for the spring semester. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience on a variety of engaging and interesting cases. Ideal candidates will have strong legal research and writing skills.

The office is a small plaintiff-side, civil rights firm in San Anselmo, California that focuses on employment discrimination, whistleblower/retaliation, and sexual harassment. The office consists of experienced solo-practitioner Larry Organ and two associates. For more information, visit www.equalitylawcal.com.

Hours are flexible to accommodate your schedule and any applicable requirements to get academic credit. If interested or for more information, please contact Meghan Corman (Boalt ‘08) at Meghan@equalitylawcal.com.

The following judicial chambers are looking for spring 2009 externs:

Judge William Alsup, U.S. District Court of Northern California, Ninth Circuit, San Francisco, Ca

Judge Jon Tigar, Alameda County Superior Court, Oakland, Ca

For further information, please contact Sue Schechter, Field Placement Director, at sschechter@law.berkeley.edu or 510-643-7387.

The CDO’s 1Ls webpage:  links to a host of information (including a comprehensive list of 1L FAQs) relating to your summer and career options.

Career Counseling: If you would like to discuss your career options and/or job search strategies, schedule an appointment with a CDO attorney-counselor online, call 642-4567, or come by our office - 290 Simon.

Resume and Cover Letter reviews: First-year students interested in receiving advice on resumes and cover letters should read our Resume and Cover Letter Writing Guides, attempt a first draft of a legal resume, and then meet with a CDO attorney-cousnelor to review it. 

NOTE: we have cleared our appointment schedules to conduct quick drop-in resume reviews on the mornings of November 14th, 17th and 18th (9 a.m. to noon) on a first-come, first-served basis.   

The b-Line: a career services application that allows you to do employer research, apply for/bid on interview slots during Spring and Fall On-Campus Interview Programs and, most importantly for this semester, search job listings from employers targeting Boalt students and, for many, submit application materials online.  A quick link to the b-Line can be found on the CDO homepage.

NOTE: The b-Line also contains a searchable database of summer employment evaluations from prior classes.  A quicklink to Summer Evaluations appears on the b-Line homepage.

Summer Public Interest Fellowships webpage:  a resources page that will help you figure out how to fund summer voluntary internship work with government or public interest employers.   

NB:  NALP guidelines indicate that first-year students and employers should not initiate contact with each other before December 1.

Spring 2009 WOA TA Positions

We are now soliciting applications for Teaching Assistants for the 1L Written and Oral Advocacy Class, Spring 2009.

Information about the position can be found outside the office of Roxanne Livingston, 1L Skills Program Assistant, Room 461 Boalt.

Applications are due by Wednesday, November 12, 2008.

IMPORTANT FOR 1Ls: Are you looking for summer 2009 employment? Need advice on where to start looking for a summer job? Would you find it helpful to have an attorney adviser at one of the top IP firms? If yes, participate in the 1L Law & Technology Mentor Program.

You will be matched with an attorney from a top IP firm in the Bay Area and you can email or phone this mentor and ask questions from “Is your firm hiring 1Ls?” to “What should I wear to a reception?” We have a bunch of firms who want to meet Boalt students and help you. If you are interested, please email Louise at llee@law.berkeley.edu and provide the following information:
* Name
* Email Address
* Undergraduate School
* Graduate School and Major
* Technology Interest

This seminar is a workshop for students who have written (or are in the process of writing) a course paper or independent study project on some topic related to social justice and wish to develop it into a paper of publishable quality in a supportive group environment. Students will read and comment on one another’s papers, and have the opportunity to reflect on both substantive social justice issues and the academic writing and research process. Enrollment will be by permission of Professor Harris only, and grading will be on a pass/fail basis. Successful completion of the workshop will satisfy the Boalt writing requirement.

This workshop may be of special interest to those interested in a career in academia, although it is not limited to such students. There are no course prerequisites, but students who have already completed or who are in the midst of completing another faculty-sponsored writing workshop, such as that offered by Professor Kathryn Abrams in fall 2008-spring 2009, are not eligible to apply.

To apply for this workshop, please send an email to Professor Harris by Tuesday, November 11, 2008 that includes the following information:

! Name
! Program (J.D. or Ph.D.) and year in program
! A short description of your paper (no more than three paragraphs, please)
! What course you are writing the paper for, or the name of your independent study adviser

Please include in the subject matter heading of your email “Social Justice Writing Workshop.” If you have a draft of the paper itself, or even an outline or a bibliography, please attach it to your email. (Rough drafts welcome!)

3 BR 2 BA house for rent in Richmond View/El Cerrito area. 1 year lease. $1850/mo. easy freeway access. frig, washer and drier. quiet neighborhood. no pets.
510 758-7750
b.khalil@comcast.net

We had a great turnout at last week’s program with Dean Edley and Maria Echaveste on how to land a job in the next administration. 

Click here for a recent article on the transition process. 

We also wanted to provide you with links to information on both the White House Fellows Program (Feb 9th deadline for 3L students) and the White House Summer Internship Program.  (The deadline for the Summer 2009 program has not yet been established; however, the deadline for the 2008 summer internship program was Feb. 26th). 

Please feel free to contact Eric Stern in our office for questions on careers in government, public policy and advocacy organizations.

In case you weren’t able to make it to the program with Dean Edley and Maria Echaveste, a webcast is available on the CDO’s Guides and Webcasts page (click on “Other Resources” then “Guides and Webcasts” — it’s entitled, appropriately enough, “How To Get A Job in the Next Administration.”)   

Please swing by the JHO Bake Sale Wednesday, October 22, and buy some sweet goodies! All the proceeds from the sale will go towards buying Halloween snacks for our students detained at San Leandro Juvenile Justice Center.