Externship Fair, On Campus Interviews Go Virtual
The Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) and the Externship Office adapted their important annual events earlier this year to help AUWCL students secure summer positions. Complicating matters, On-Campus Interviewing (OCI) moved to January, the same week as the law school’s signature Annual Externship Fair, and both were being held virtually.
“The OCPD and Externship teams went all out to create opportunities for our students to shine, even in a virtual world,” said Daniela Kraiem, interim senior director of the Office of Career and Professional Development. “In January, over 600 students participated in an OCPD/WCL community career activity. That number is mind-boggling under the best of circumstances—and a remarkable testament to how our community has pulled together in our less-than-ideal reality.”
1,400+ Conversations
AUWCL hosts its annual Spring Externship Fair connecting our law students with 140 employers seeking students for internships and externships. Many of the organizations that regularly attend are represented by AUWCL alumni looking to hire students from their alma mater. With COVID-19 still a major concern, this year’s Externship Fair needed to move online.
Students spoke with employer representatives directly in one-on-one video chats or attended group video chats. Over 1,400 virtual conversations took place between AUWCL students and about 140 externship employers.
“Many WCL students obtain their internships and externships each year from our annual fair,” said Avis Sanders, director of the Externship Program. “In today’s virtual environment, it is an especially useful way for students to meet attorneys working in a wide variety of fields and learn about their practice areas.”
The Externship Fair featured employers from a variety of legal practice areas including government, civil rights, corporate counsel, intellectual property, criminal justice, health law and policy, and immigration.
Virtual OCI, Job Fairs, and More
OCPD organized an entirely virtual, off-cycle, OCI program at a moment when the legal market is in flux. Nearly all law schools pushed OCI from August to January due to the pandemic. Despite the change, 77 firms and public sector employers interviewed 232 students from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5.
More than 380 AUWCL students attended a virtual regional Public Interest/Public Service job fair Jan. 29 that drew local government, judicial, and non-profit employers from the area. OCPD counselors staffed drop-in Zoom rooms to provide support for the students, many of whom were interviewing via Zoom for the first time.
Earlier in January, AUWCL specialty programs rallied to prepare 1Ls for the Externship Fair, as well as a multitude of diversity pipeline fellowships. Programs in the areas of health law, human rights, international law, environmental and energy law, intellectual property, business law, women and the law, and more organized alumni, faculty, and staff to provide reviews and advice to over 200 first-year students. “We could not have done this without the generosity of our alumni, who gave their time to support our students as they begin their legal careers,” said Kraiem.