"Associate Director for Judicial Clerkships"

Job Description Summary

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is one of the nation's oldest and most distinguished law schools. The Law School offers a unique approach, incorporating cross-disciplinary legal education, a distinctly collaborative environment, and an innovative curriculum to enrich student learning. The small and highly interdisciplinary faculty achieves scholarly excellence while emphasizing a shared effort to advance understanding of the law. The result is an intellectual community that bridges traditional boundaries and disciplines within a renowned internal culture of collegiality, making the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School an extraordinarily supportive academic community for all its members.

Reporting to the Associate Dean for Career Strategy, the Associate Director for Judicial Clerkships creates and implements strategic approaches to preparing students and alumni to succeed in the highly competitive judicial clerkship and academic career marketplaces, oversees the development and delivery of related career education, manages and directs recruitment programs and events, and leads the provision of counseling services to students and alumni. This role requires significant collaboration and strong relationships with the faculty committees for clerkships and academic careers (including the Dean), as well as with colleagues within the Office of Career Strategy, throughout the law school, with judges and their chambers, and with alumni.

Responsibilities Include:

• Lead the strategic vision for judicial clerkship programming and services for Penn Carey Law students and alumni. Develop and implement programs and services and provide career counseling on judicial clerkship career strategy.
• Build and maintain a deep and evolving expertise in judicial clerkship opportunities across judicial forums, including hiring trends and timelines, selection practices, the nature of the work and how it relates to other career goals, and alumni networks.
• Develop and oversee the vision for judicial clerkship and internship career strategy for Penn Carey Law students and alumni, including strategies for identifying and reaching a broad population with potential interest in a judicial clerkship and ensuring Penn Carey Law candidates have access to the resources and support they need to be as competitive as possible for the judicial clerkship opportunities they pursue.
• In collaboration with the faculty committee, lead the design and implementation of judicial clerkship and internship programs, services, and resources to support Penn Carey Law students and alumni in learning about and pursuing careers that include judicial clerkships and/or internships.
• Provide career counseling and job search support to students and alumni pursuing judicial clerkships. Coach and advise students in the development of an application strategy and application materials, networking, and interview preparation, including as may be required for specialized and elite opportunities. Review and provide feedback on application materials, including cover letters and resumes.
• Educate OCS colleagues on clerkship trends to ensure integrated and up to date career advising services.
• Manage the administrative processing of recommendation letters and paper clerkship applications for Penn Carey Law students and alumni. Manage technology resources related to judicial clerkship careers.
• Direct, administer, and organize clerkship application processes and compilation and delivery of application materials, including recommendation letters. Collaborate with law school colleagues (e.g., fellow OCS colleagues, faculty support, and facilities) to ensure effective and efficient processes.
• Format recommendation letters utilizing mail merge and the Microsoft Office suite of programs.
• Manage technology resources relating to judicial clerkship applications, career information, and events, including Canvas courses, LiveWhale, Symplicity, 12Twenty, OSCAR, and Mailchimp.
• Lead the strategic vision for academic careers programming and services for Penn Carey Law students, alumni, and academic fellows. Develop and implement programs and services and provide career counseling on pursuing a career in academia.
• Develop and oversee the vision for academic career strategy. In collaboration with faculty committee, design and implement programs, services, and resources to support students and alumni with interest in learning about or pursuing a career in legal academia.
• Provide career counseling and job search support to students, alumni, and academic fellows exploring careers in academia. In collaboration with faculty partners, create career-related programming for academic fellows as appropriate. Compile application packet for candidates for faculty positions and disseminate to law schools for consideration.
• Educate OCS colleagues on academic careers trends to ensure integrated and up to date career advising services.
• Coordinate with faculty to connect students to faculty research assistantships.
• Reporting and Representation
• Prepare and present reports as requested, including semiannual faculty committee reports to the faculty committees and the Dean.
• Build and maintain relationships with judges by attending events, inviting judges to participate in clerkship and judicial career programs, and interacting with chambers staff. Participate in the Penn Carey Law Inn of Court.
• Develop relationships and presence with industry colleagues by attending conferences, programs, and meetings, including NALP and law school peer groups.
• Facilitate activities of faculty judicial clerkship and academic committees, including tracking student interest, guidance and mentorship, and application support. Keep faculty committee apprised of clerkship-related programs and services, as well as employment outcomes. Incorporate input from these stakeholders into strategic planning.
• Track clerkship outcomes using Microsoft Excel.
• Provide career counseling and support the development and delivery of career education programs across legal sectors
• Provide career counseling and job search support to students and alumni pursuing a variety of career paths, including public interest, government, and private sector careers.
• Review and provide feedback on application materials, including resumes, cover letters, and personal statements. Conduct mock interviews.
• Other duties as assigned

Candidate Qualifications:

The successful candidate will hold an advanced degree, J.D. strongly preferred and have a minimum of five years of legal work experience with increasing responsibility in a legal organization, government agency, law firm, academic institution, business environment or other relevant professional setting. Experience, either as a judicial clerk, or working as a judicial clerkship or academic careers counselor, is highly preferred. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to apply innovative and strategic thinking to design, plan and implement educational programming in career planning. We seek candidates who have established track records as collaborators in the workplace.

A cover letter is required with the application.