Columbia Law School was recently highlighted by the National Law Journal for having placed the largest number of students in the top 50 firms in the United States. Moreover, more than two-thirds of the students in a recent class reported that they were working for their "first-choice" employer. Columbia students are chosen because of the school's premier reputation in business law and because of the outstanding preparation they receive from the Office of Career Services. These factors go a long way toward ensuring that lawyers-in-training follow the optimal paths to careers that take best advantage of their interests, skills, and talents.
"We have an amazing student body. It is extremely diverse, both internationally and domestically, and we bring the strengths that corporate firms with complex projects and issues all over the world find very attractive." -Ellen Wayne Dean of Career Services
Under the direction of Dean Ellen Wayne, the nine-member Office of Career Services offers continuous, individualized career counseling as well as a year-round roster of panels and workshops to help students organize the many choices they face. The office conducts sessions on career assessment and decision making that cover the interview process, résumé writing, cover-letter editing, assessment of potential employers, and advice about summer and associate experiences. (The office also counsels alumni, especially at the point when they are considering making significant changes in their careers.) The reputation of the Law School's business law curriculum attracts numerous law firms to campus during the year to market themselves to students. The firms sponsor some 10 luncheons a year, for example, in corporate international practice, as well as upward of 50 cocktail receptions and dinners. "Students are also taking advantage of the web to investigate potential employers, and they are swayed by how businesses and corporations present themselves, and the personal attention they offer," says Dean Wayne.
Summer Programs
Summer law-firm internships offer critical on-the-job training and a taste of the responsibility students will assume after graduation. Nearly 85 percent of second-year students (2Ls) are summer associates, while about 35 percent of first-year students (1Ls) work for large law firms as summer associates. Internships provide the opportunity to observe and learn from experienced partners, and it is not unusual for Columbia students to accompany partners on deals, sit in on court sessions, or even follow cases to Europe as part of their immersion in the firm's work. Some firms offer students the option of working in an area of their choice, while others rotate summer associates through various types of litigation and corporate work. Summer experiences also provide opportunities to socialize and bond with firm associates and partners, ensuring that students will feel comfortable accepting the job offers that come their way. In addition, students can spend the summers working for major corporations, which have included Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, the New York Mets, TIAA-CREF, and the Miami Dolphins. Students have also augmented their summer work by volunteering for judges.
School-Year Internships
Law firms, solo practitioners, Columbia Law School faculty, other universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations offer internships to law students during the year. Moreover, third-year students (3Ls) who have accepted job offers from their summer firms may continue working for those firms on a part-time basis throughout the year.
Interview Program for J.D.s
Each August, more than 600 Columbia 2Ls and 3Ls participate in 14,000 interviews at a Manhattan hotel during a five-day job fair, one of the largest of its kind in the world. The firms bring not only their top recruiting staff but also practicing associates to speak with students about careers. It is a chance for students to evaluate various firms that are courting them. To ensure that students don't miss a thing, the concentrated interview program is scheduled so as to not interfere with classes. The Office of Career Services prepares students with a practice-interview program. Held three times each year, the sessions bring to campus some 25 alumni who conduct practice interviews and provide a critique of students' résumés and interviewing tactics. A special practice-interview program is also held for international LL.M. candidates. The Law School hosts two additional law-firm interview programs during the year. They include a smaller version of the August program, which takes place in the fall and features mostly firms from outside of New York and government regulatory agencies, and a spring fair on campus for 1Ls.
Panels and Workshops Another facet of student preparation includes panels held throughout the year. They include topics such as: Success in a Large Law Firm: What You Need to Know Careers in International European Commercial Law Practice Interview Tips: Best Practices Practicing Law in a Boutique Law Firm Careers in Asia Law Practice U.S. Legal Practice and Latin America: Developments and Perspectives Careers in Alternative Dispute Resolution Career Search Resources Online: Presented by Westlaw and Lexis Alternative Careers Panel: Consulting, Investment Banking, and Corporate Management
Publications
The Office of Career Services provides additional assistance through an e-newsletter for students seeking part-time positions. Students may work up to 20 hours per week while attending the Law School. Alumni are also invited to subscribe to a weekly e-newsletter, which lists jobs in many legal and general business settings located all over the world.
Library
The Office of Career Services offers a resource library containing both print directories and publications supporting student and alumni job-search needs. An extensive library of online career resource materials is also available to job seekers. The online library can be, and often is, accessed from anywhere in the world.
Columbia's curriculum in business law allows students to go on to a variety of careers—whether they ultimately become law firm partners, general counsel to corporations, or CEOs, or whether they use their business acumen to start their own companies. The Office of Career Services is available to advise Columbia Law School students and assist them in finding and assessing career opportunities throughout their working lives. "Students at Columbia Law School have many choices and options as to how they begin and to develop their career in corporate law practice," says Dean Wayne. "They are provided with the counseling and resources to make those choices through career panels and individual counseling sessions, business-law curricular offerings, and summer-internship experiences at law firms and corporations. These supports are all augmented by a strong, vibrant, and successful alumni population practicing all aspects of business law."
Columbia Law School was recently highlighted by the National Law Journal for having placed the largest number of students in the top 50 firms in the United States. Moreover, more than two-thirds of the students in a recent class reported that they were working for their "first-choice" employer. Columbia students are chosen because of the school's premier reputation in business law and because of the outstanding preparation they receive from the Office of Career Services. These factors go a long way toward ensuring that lawyers-in-training follow the optimal paths to careers that take best advantage of their interests, skills, and talents. 
Summer law-firm internships offer critical on-the-job training and a taste of the responsibility students will assume after graduation. Nearly 85 percent of second-year students (2Ls) are summer associates, while about 35 percent of first-year students (1Ls) work for large law firms as summer associates. Internships provide the opportunity to observe and learn from experienced partners, and it is not unusual for Columbia students to accompany partners on deals, sit in on court sessions, or even follow cases to Europe as part of their immersion in the firm's work. Some firms offer students the option of working in an area of their choice, while others rotate summer associates through various types of litigation and corporate work. Summer experiences also provide opportunities to socialize and bond with firm associates and partners, ensuring that students will feel comfortable accepting the job offers that come their way. In addition, students can spend the summers working for major corporations, which have included Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, the New York Mets, TIAA-CREF, and the Miami Dolphins. Students have also augmented their summer work by volunteering for judges. 
Each August, more than 600 Columbia 2Ls and 3Ls participate in 14,000 interviews at a Manhattan hotel during a five-day job fair, one of the largest of its kind in the world. The firms bring not only their top recruiting staff but also practicing associates to speak with students about careers. It is a chance for students to evaluate various firms that are courting them. To ensure that students don't miss a thing, the concentrated interview program is scheduled so as to not interfere with classes. The Office of Career Services prepares students with a practice-interview program. Held three times each year, the sessions bring to campus some 25 alumni who conduct practice interviews and provide a critique of students' résumés and interviewing tactics. A special practice-interview program is also held for international LL.M. candidates. The Law School hosts two additional law-firm interview programs during the year. They include a smaller version of the August program, which takes place in the fall and features mostly firms from outside of New York and government regulatory agencies, and a spring fair on campus for 1Ls.
The Office of Career Services offers a resource library containing both print directories and publications supporting student and alumni job-search needs. An extensive library of online career resource materials is also available to job seekers. The online library can be, and often is, accessed from anywhere in the world.