So I'm in the market for a law clerk. No, not a virtual one - and no, I don't want your resume, unless you think you are extremely qualified and want to work for an extremely low wage (insert sarcasm, sort of). Since I hope you are all looking for law clerks this time of year (they are a great way to leverage resources - they aren't that expensive and if you teach them well they can provide a great benefit) I thought I'd tell you about my process for finding a great law clerk.
I've got to worn you, I haven't completed the process yet, so it could be a bust, but the concept seems pretty good. So here we go.
First things first, I do criminal defense, so I want to try to get a law clerk that is interested in criminal defense. At the end of the day I may hire this person on as an associate - this should work out as an extended tryout if I do it right. Because of that I want to make it clear that the benefits of this job are closely related to the practice of criminal defense, and not other places.
Second things second (I'll stop doing that going forward, I promise), I want to make sure this person is at least minimally qualified for the job. The minimum qualifications include not being dumb, being in law school, being able to write a coherent sentence, and being able to follow simple directions. Because those things are important to me, I turned the process of submitting the application materials into the the first test. These are the things I've asked for: (1) cover letter; (2) resume; (3) writing sample. But it doesn't stop there.
Within the cover letter I've asked them to tell me three things, in addition to what a great person they are: (1) what their favorite sports team is; (2) what their favorite Seattle summertime activity is; and (3) why they are interested in criminal defense. I don't really necessarily care what the answers are (though if you yell me you like the Missouri Tigers or K-State Wildcats as your favorite sports team you better have outstanding credentials), what's most important to me is that they took the time to read and follow the directions. In case you didn't know reading the fine print in the practice of law is kind of a big deal.
If you don't follow those directions, no matter how much I like you, you get cut.
Third, once the first cut is made, I'm giving them a mini-assignment. I'm asking them to research a question (not a hard one) and write me a memo answering the question (2 pages or less). I'm actually doing this for two reasons. First, it's another chance to see if they can follow directions. Second, it's an opportunity to see how badly they want the job. Put a little time and effort into this thing and it will show. Throw something together and I'll know it.
Fourth comes the interview. I think I'll probably structure it like I did with my assistant search - the same questions for everyone. Just makes it easier. What I really want to see at the interview is that they've got some social skills and we can work together. My new office is big but it's not that big. If I get to pick who I work with I might as well like them.
Fifth, and finally, I'll probably do a final happy hour to top it all off. I mean, let's be honest, everything's better with a happy hour right?
We are just about to wrap up phase one - the application submission process. I'll let you know how it turns out and who I pick when I get to that stage.
What else? Oh yeah, set up payroll this week. Once that's all done I'll talk about it a little bit and give you some information on who you might want to talk to if you're interested in setting it up yourself (I need it for my assistant and the new law clerk - there's a program where the state will reimburse you for a portion of your law clerks wages, but you've got to have payroll set up).
As always, your comments and questions are welcome. See you next week.
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