Career Development Overview

Every student is assigned a career advisor in the fall semester of their 1L year.

Career advisors are available for:

• One-on-one counseling sessions to discuss career options and job search strategies.
• Assistanting with job application material preparation
• Conducting mock interviews
• Providing networking guidance

On-Campus Interviewing is the process by which law students can secure summer internships and post-graduate employment.

Through the OCPD's fall and spring OCI, students may choose to apply to a number of the hundreds of internship and job opportunities, then employers select whom they would like to interview from the applications they receive.

OCI attracts:

• Law firms
• Government agencies
• Corporations
• Public interest employers both locally and nationwide

As is the case for first-year students at most ABA-accredited law schools, first-year students at Miami Law cannot participate in fall OCI. However, they are eligible to participate in spring OCI for post-1L summer internships, and are strongly encouraged to do so and the OCPD assists them with the process.

The OCPD maintains and regularly updates an online searchable database of current legal employment opportunities for students and alumni.

The OCPD hosts student programming and workshops throughout the academic year on various topics:

• Perfecting resumes and cover letters
• Conducting job searches
• Preparing for interviews
• Obtaining judicial internships and clerkships
• Networking

Often, local attorneys participate in the OCPD’s programming to provide a practical perspective.

The OCPD invites attorneys from firms, government agencies, public interest organizations, the judiciary, and corporations to speak with students about their legal careers as part of informational career fairs.

During the fairs, students have the opportunity to ask the attorneys questions about their career choices, areas of practice, and the life of a practicing attorney.

As a result, students get a feel for what it is like to practice law in different practice areas and with different types of employers.

Each semester, students participate in mock interview sessions with local attorneys. This program helps prepare students for interviews during fall and spring OCI.

The Office of Career and Professional Development helps students with one of the most difficult questions they face in law school, i.e., what constitutes a good practice area/practice type/lifestyle for each student.

Therefore, the definition of a "good" job after law school can be very different for each student. Through individual counseling sessions and comprehensive career programming, the OCPD exposes students to a multitude of practice areas and practitioners and helps students identify their own skills, interests, and values.

The legal market is always competitive, and it is not unusual for law graduates to change jobs several times within five years of graduation.

The OCPD ensures students have the job search and job readiness skills to land a first job and take charge of their future career management.

Salaries vary enormously depending on the practice area and practice type. For example, law firms in the private sector pay more than government and public interest positions, and larger law firms usually pay more than smaller law firms.

Starting salaries of recent Miami Law grads ranged from $50,000 to $205,000. Salaries of Miami Law grads are comparable to the national average salaries calculated by the National Association of Law Placement.

The University of Miami School of Law has a strong national reputation and assists graduates in securing jobs across the country and the world. Over 12,000 (approximately 48%) of Miami Law’s alumni practice outside of Florida and across 85 countries.

The OCPD facilitates networking with alumni and helps identify potential summer clerkships and internships in cities outside Miami. The CDO encourages students to participate in national and regional job fairs as well.

The office continuously markets the quality of Miami Law’s student body to employers across the country. Not surprisingly, however, many graduates fall in love with South Florida and decide to remain in the area, even though they have opportunities elsewhere.

The OCPD is dedicated to assisting students who desire to practice law in the public interest. Several of our OCPD advisors come from careers in the public sector and are well-versed in the public interest opportunities that are available. They assist public interest-oriented students every step of the way, from crafting a public interest resume to drafting a grant proposal.

Miami Law students are successful in securing post-graduate public interest employment and work in public interest agencies and organizations throughout the country. Our students have been awarded many prestigious post-graduate fellowships, allowing them to craft their own jobs doing what is most important to them.

Most entering law students are not sure what type of law they want to practice - or even if they want to practice at all. For that reason, the OCPD offers extensive educational programming on different areas of law and practice types and career exploration opportunities.

In the first year alone, students are invited to attend receptions at local law firms and meet attorneys on campus to hear firsthand what different areas of the law entail. Over the course of a law student’s three years, the OCPD helps students focus and define their career interests, whatever they may be.