Re: Employer Research Guide for Penn Law Students

EMPLOYERS

The place to begin researching an employer is the employer’s website. From the website, you may want to look for information on the organization’s mission and philosophy, history and background, management style, attorneys, areas of specialization, size and growth pattern, personnel policies, and clients. Often, this information may be contained in an Annual Report.

Note: If you are unable to locate information from the website, you may want to directly contact the organization’s human resources department.

OFFICE OF CAREER PLANNING & PLACEMENT

For resources and information on programs for planning and meeting your career goals, visit the Career Planning & Placement Office, or the CP&P Office website at http://www.law.upenn.edu/cpp/. One notable title available in the CP&P Office is The Insider’s Guide to Law Firms.

The CP&P Office produces a comprehensive Career Manual, which, under Section 8, provides instruction on learning about organizations; review the Table of Contents at http://www.law.upenn.edu/cpp/prospective/resources/cppmanualtoc.pdf.

PRINT & ONLINE RESOURCES

Law Firms

The American Bar Association website includes information on employers at http://www.abanet.org/careercounsel/.

The Findlaw website includes listings of lawyers, firms by practice area and state, and other directories at http://www.findlaw.com/.

The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory provides access to a wide range of biographical information on private, corporate and government lawyers; the site also provides information about law firms and government organizations at http://www.martindale.com/.

The NALP Directory allows students to search for information on firms associated with the National Association of Law Placement at http://www.nalpdirectory.com/.

The Vault website provides information on various opportunities in law and other businesses at http://www.vault.com/index.jsp.

Westlaw provides access to an extensive collection of legal resources, news, business, and public records information. After logging onto Westlaw, you may access the Career Resources web page through http://lawschool.westlaw.com/.

Nonprofits

The Idealist.org website provides information on nonprofit organizations around the world at http://www.idealist.org/.

The Trial Lawyers for Public Justice website contains a searchable database of public interest organizations across the country at http://www.tlpj.org/.

Government

FirstGov is the official website of the United States government, and provides links to every federal government agency at http://www.usa.gov/.

The U.S. Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html.

The National State Attorney General Program is a portal established by the Columbia University School of Law that provides useful information about state attorneys general at http://www.law.columbia.edu/center_program/ag/Links.

FURTHER RESEARCH

Professional Organizations: If you are interested in a particular area of specialization, look for information on related professional organizations (e.g., The American Immigration Lawyers Association at http://www.aila.org/).

Trade Publications & Journals: If you are interested in a particular field or organization, you may find useful information by looking at relevant trade publications and journals.

Articles: Magazine and newspaper articles are a great source of information on an organization. Articles may be located in a variety of ways; for example, you may conduct a general search using Google or a more refined search using the LexisNexis News & Business tab.

Legal Directories: There are several varieties of national, state, and local legal directories which provide information on law firms, lawyers, and local government agencies. The most prominent example is Martindale-Hubbell. However, there is usually a directory for every jurisdiction and area of practice; for example, the Philadelphia Bar Association publishes a legal directory, and LexisNexis maintains a searchable Directory on Corporate Counsel.

Associates: Remember that alumni and classmates are often a good source for providing anecdotal information on an organization. To find the names of potential sources, contact the CP&P Office.