A good friend asked me if I would meet with a friend of hers - a young lawyer looking for a job. I said, "Sure," and set up a time to speak with him. In preparing for the call, I reviewed his resume, excited by an Ivy League undergraduate degree and a J.D. from a top 40 law school. But his grades were noticably absent.
On the phone, I learned that his grades were just ok. We talked about his interesting internships and what he learned from his federal clerkship. I'm still not sure what he learned from all of them. He had recently spent a few months as a litigator in a well-known boutique firm, but left without another job.
I asked him what he wanted to do for a living, and he didn't know whether he wanted to be a litigator or a deal lawyer. I realized that no one ever prepared him to answer that question.
Here's a talented young person who two degrees and likely zero marketable skills. With blame spread across the schools, internships, and the student, this young professional is woefully ill-prepared for the legal profession. How do I help him?