PSJD's Steve Grumm Comes to NCCULAW With Encouragment for Public Service Law Students

Steve Grumm, is the Director of Public Service Initiatives at NALP – National Association for Law Placement. In this capacity, Steve concentrates on the employment market for law students and lawyers who pursue public interest careers. He focuses closely on the funding trends for nonprofit and government law offices, and on efforts to boost public interest lawyer salaries.

 

Steve was kind enough to pay us a visit at North Carolina University School of Law in Durham, N.C., on November 8, 2012. He encouraged students seeking employment in the area of Public Service Law to be realistic, but hopeful in the face of the current job market. He reminded students that times may be tough but there are jobs out there:

 

  “Remember what you see in print is always the bad news, you never read about the lawyers that were recently hired in an organization.”  

 

  He suggested that law students show passion and a record of past public service work of any kind to seek work with an employer.

 

  Mr. Grumm suggested that students should “follow the money” (my words not his)  and remember that “jobs follow funding.”  (his words, not mine).  He indicated that the currently public service areas that were receiving funding included Housing and Healthcare  law. Moreover, as we look down the road into the future,  Elder Care Law, Consumer Law (as it applies to Elder Care in the area of frauds and senior “scamming”), and Healthcare (the “Boomer” Generation will add these opportunities).

 

 Steve reaffirmed what all law students should know by this time. . Networking is the name of the game when it comes to looking for a job either during, or post-law school. He never enjoyed networking, but he told the students that “passive networking” is what got him his initial job as a Legal Aid attorney. 

 

  He reminded the students that networking included what he termed“Passive Networking?” . . . where a student or lawyer is actually being “networked.”  . . Huh? . . One of the professionals in Steve’s network actually called a prospective employer to suggest that he needed to consider Steve for the job! Steve wasn’t even aware that this had taken place. The point here is that, had not he been networking, the job opportunity – passive or otherwise – would not have been available.  Students need to shake off whatever trepidations that they may have when it comes to networking and enter the fray (see, on a related topic, a past blog entry, if you have not already done so –“Don’t Be Shy at a Law School Related Networking Event” http://lawschoolsuccessandcareers.blogspot.com/2012/10/dont-be-shy-at-law-school-related.html)

 

  Finally, and most importantly in my view, Steve suggested that all law students seeking jobs in the area of public service incorporate the PSJD website where tons of jobs and resources are listed:

 

  http://www.psjd.org/resource_center

 

Make it a habit to look on at least once a week and to setup job related searches that will send emails to you when specific jobs are listed.

 

 Be aggressive, be passionate and be undaunted as you look for a public service job!