- Symplicity
- Job Postings
- Individual Career Counseling
- On-Campus Interview (OCI) & Resume Collection Programs
- Career Fairs
- Career Panels & Presentations
- Reciprocity Requests by Coastal Law Students & Alumni
- Reciprocity Requests by Students & Alumni of Other Law Schools
- Alumni Connections
Symplicity
Symplicity is the CSD’s on-line career center. Through Symplicity, you can search and apply for jobs, access password-protected resources in the Document Library, sign up for CSD programs and events, apply for on-campus interviews, and research career fairs. 1Ls are provided with access to Symplicity once they have completed their CSD 1L Curriculum, “You’re Hired” (see below). For trouble accessing Symplicity, please see our help manual.
Pro Bono information can also be found on Symplicity. Pro Bono opportunities are currently housed on Symplicity. Pro Bono and volunteer hours can be completed and tracked throughout law school using Symplicity.
Job Postings
The CSD maintains current job postings for summer, academic-year, and post-graduate employment opportunities on Symplicity. Additionally, we share post-graduate employment opportunities with over 100 other law schools through the Intercollegiate Job Bank. You may access this site through Symplicity’s Document Library or by using the password found on your Yellow Bookmark, available in our office (Suite 180).
Individual Career Counseling
The CSD provides personal career counseling to prepare students and alumni for the job market and to help them develop a career focus. We strongly encourage you to make an individual appointment via Symplicity with one of our counselors to help you determine your career interests, map out job search strategies, practice interviewing techniques, and further develop the professional skills you need in the legal community.
“You’re Hired” – The CSD’s 1L Curriculum
The CSD’s 1L Curriculum, You’re Hired, is an online, step-by-step career plan that is mandatory viewing for all second semester 1Ls. 1Ls will learn about the Curriculum during 1L Career Services Orientation in November (or April for spring admits). You’re Hired covers everything from what you can do with a law degree to the specific criteria legal employers are looking for when they make hiring decisions.
On-Campus Interview (OCI) & Resume Collection Programs
We offer OCI year-round to accommodate the diverse hiring needs of the many different types of legal employers - from large firms and solo practitioners to public defenders’ offices and various branches of the JAG program. Employers across the nation are invited to come on campus and interview students. Employers participating in our OCI and Resume Collection programs will be posted on Symplicity.
Although all employers are invited to interview on-campus at any time of the year, smaller employers typically choose to post job openings on Symplicity and conduct the interviews in their own offices. Some employers ask the CSD to collect and forward resumes to them, while others prefer that students send their resumes directly.
Career Fairs
Coastal Law is invited annually to participate in a number of career fairs across the country. Many career fairs are geared specifically toward candidates with specialized areas of expertise (e.g. The Patent Law Interview Program) or toward diverse candidates (e.g. The Southeastern Minority Job Fair and the Lavender Law Career Fair). Information about all career fairs to which Coastal Law is invited will be posted on Symplicity's Calendar and emailed to students depending on the circumstance.
Career Panels & Presentations
The CSD presents career and professional development programming throughout the academic year. Please be sure to check Symplicity or the law school’s master calendar for upcoming programming, which includes:
- Panels – the CSD hosts panels of legal practitioners who share information about specific practice areas and provide tips on how to get a job in those areas. Topics vary from year to year and cover everything from Criminal Law to Public Interest Law and In-house/Corporate Counsel to Immigration Law;
- Presentations – the CSD brings speakers to campus throughout the year, including nationally acclaimed authors of legal job search strategy books, nationally recognized hiring partners of international law firms, and regionally recognized etiquette experts;
- Events – the CSD conducts a number of events designed for the different stages of law school, such as the "Starting Line" which introduces 1Ls to the many different types of legal employment;
- Workshops – the CSD hosts informational workshops on areas such as long-distance job search strategies, judicial clerkship applications, resume and cover letter preparation, and effective networking techniques.
Alumni Connections
Speaking with alumni offers students a fantastic opportunity to connect with graduates who practice in the geographic areas in which they are interested. Many graduates of Coastal Law are pleased to speak with current students about their career paths. After you have met with a CSD counselor, our Alumni Office will work directly with you to facilitate connections with the vast network of Coastal Law alumni located throughout the country.
Networking Clubs
Students are strongly encouraged to participate in one of the CSD’s Networking Clubs. These clubs have been developed to teach you networking skills specifically targeting a unique geographic market. This year, we will be conducting Networking Clubs for the following geographic markets: Miami, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, and Washington, D.C.
During club meetings/workshops, you will learn how to schedule and conduct informational meetings, use fellow club members to identify leads, develop relationships with the mandatory and voluntary bars in your market, use on-line resources in a long-distance job search, work a room at a networking function, and develop a follow-up strategy that leads to job opportunities.
During spring semester, the Networking Clubs will then travel to their respective geographic market to attend a function hosted by the CSD in collaboration with a bar association in that market. These receptions provide an incredible opportunity to network and become introduced to the legal community in which you hope to practice.
Reciprocity Requests by Coastal Law Students & Alumni
Reciprocity allows Coastal Law students and alumni to use some of the resources of other law schools’ Career Services Departments. As part of a grant of reciprocity, most law schools allow access to their job postings, though not always to their on-line job postings (i.e. in such instances you must physically travel to their school to view a binder of job postings). Further, most law schools do not grant reciprocity requests during peak fall recruitment months, August through November, and prohibit participation in their on-campus interviewing programs. Students and alumni are only allowed to request reciprocity at one school per state.
Click here for links to the reciprocity policies of ABA accredited law schools. Review the policy of the school from which you would like reciprocity and then complete the Reciprocity Request Form. We will communicate directly with your law school of choice to secure reciprocity for you.
Reciprocity Requests by Students & Alumni of Other Law Schools
To be granted reciprocity with Coastal Law’s CSD, please review our Reciprocity Policy and then contact your law school’s Career Services Department with your request. Your law school will then contact our office directly to secure reciprocity for you.
Marketing & Business Development
The CSD markets the regional and national legal community to find potential jobs for our students/alumni by:
Coffee Wednesdays
In response to suggestions from the CSD Student Advisory Board, we now host Coffee with Career Services every Wednesday afternoon in the Atrium. Please stop by to ask career search questions, pick up resources, make an appointment with a counselor, and grab a coffee to perk you up!