Hello Black Law Students Association,

We are the National Co-Chairs of Diversity and Inclusion at DLA Piper. In this role, we oversee the implementation of the firm's Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which includes the recruitment of diverse candidates.

Members of our firm will soon be at your school for the recruitment of summer associates for the firm’s 2013 Summer Program through On-Campus Interviewing (OCI), and we hope to see members of your affinity group in the pool of candidates. However, we realize that due to systems in place at many of the law schools, all of those who apply for OCI slots with our firm may not get selected, so we want to be sure that you are aware that we welcome direct applications to the firm. Please let your affinity group members know that if they have an interest in DLA Piper they are welcome to submit their materials directly to us at:

http://www.dlapiperlegalcareers.us/lawstudents/howtoapply/

Our applicant criteria can be found on our NALP form, which is available at www.nalp.org. We would appreciate the opportunity to review their credentials as we consider all candidates for our Summer 2013 program.

Thank you for sharing this information with the members of your affinity group, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Frederick H. L. McClure
Partner
DLA Piper LLP (US)
100 North Tampa Street
Suite 2200
Tampa, FL 33602-5809

Jackie Kim Park
Partner
DLA Piper LLP (US)
550 South Hope Street
Suite 2300
Los Angeles, CA 90071-2678

From the MABLSA Blog:


Department of Justice: Applying for Paid Positions for Law Students & Entry-Level Attorneys
 
Dear NBLSA member,
 
I would like to share with you some information about the U.S. Department of Justice’s Summer Law Internship Program (SLIP) and the Attorney General’s Honors Program (HP).  A primary purpose of this email is to make you and your members aware of these programs and the applicable deadlines, which are early.
 
The Attorney General’s Honors Program (HP) is Justice's recruitment program for entry-level attorneys.  It is the only way Justice hires graduating law students.  Judicial law clerks, full-time graduate law program (LLM) students, and law school graduates in qualifying full-time legal fellowships are also eligible.  The first opportunity for law students to apply for HP is the summer before their third year of law school.  This year, the on-line centralized electronic application opens July 31, 2012, and closes September 4, 2012.  Participating Justice offices and components will be listed at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/entry-participants.html.
 
The Summer Law Intern Program (SLIP) is Justice's competitive recruitment program for compensatedsummer internships.  Law students who have completed at least one full semester of law school by the application deadline are eligible to apply; however, the majority of SLIPs are second-year law students who work at Justice the summer between their second and third years of law school.  But the SLIP is also open to recent graduates between graduation and the start of a judicial clerkship or full-time qualifying legal fellowship.  This year, the on-line centralized electronicapplication opens July 31, 2012, and closes September 4, 2012.  Thus, current 1Ls (i.e., rising 2Ls) who are interested in a paid internship for Summer 2013 should apply by September 4, 2012.  Participating Justice offices and components will be listed at: http://www.justice.gov/careers/legal/slip-participants.html.  
 
Please share this information with your classmates and the general NBLSA membership.  I hope that you will encourage them to consider applying for these great opportunities, and also point out to them that both our HP and SLIP programs have early application deadlines.
 
More information about Justice’s hiring programs, including volunteer internship opportunities across the county, may be found at the Department’s legal careers website: http://www.justice.gov/legalcareers.
 
Warm regards,
Richard Parker

Greetings,

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP will host a Pre-OCI Cocktail Reception on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, from 6:30-8:30pm, at Blue Cow Kitchen & Bar in downtown Los Angeles.  Several of our attorneys will be present to discuss careers at our firm and to answer any questions.

We at Munger, Tolles & Olson would greatly appreciate it if you would forward this invitation to your student group.  Please feel free to contact me at kenneth.jamison@mto.com or at (213) 683-9206 if you have any questions.

Dear Black Law Students Association:

I am writing to you on behalf of the African American associates at Covington & Burling LLP. As you may know, Covington will soon be at The University of Virginia School of Law to interview candidates for its 2013 summer associate class. We write to encourage you and your colleagues to interview with us.

We were once in your position, faced with the task of finding an outstanding firm that not only provides an opportunity to practice in engaging and stimulating areas of law, but also fosters a nurturing and supportive environment for professional development as an attorney. We welcome the chance to show you that Covington offers that rare combination of extraordinary professional opportunity and institutional humanity that makes it an exceptionally attractive home for young lawyers who are seeking a challenging and exciting practice. The American Lawyer magazine has ranked Covington’s pro bono practice among the top three firms for 15 of the past 19 years. Covington is also one of a handful of law firms ranked as one of the top 100 employers by Working Mother magazine. In addition, the firm boasts seven black equity partners, five of whom started their careers at the firm and all of whom work in different substantive areas of the firm’s practice.

Covington has a distinguished record of hiring and promoting African American attorneys. Covington helped found and still coordinates the D.C. Road show, an annual recruiting event aimed at encouraging African American law students to practice in large D.C. law firms. In 2008, The National Law Journal recognized one of our current partners, Tom Williamson, and a former partner, currently the Attorney General of the United States, as two of “The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America.” Our alumni include the first African American Attorney General of the United States, a former Secretary of Veterans Affairs, an award-winning author, a federal district court judge, and an associate judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals. Our African American partners have held or currently serve in key leadership roles at the firm, including membership on the firm’s seven-member Management Committee in the recent past and current leadership of several of the firm’s practice groups (e.g., Employment, Media and Communications and London Technology.) African American partners andBlack Law Students Association April 12, 2012 Page 2

associates also serve on the following firm-wide committees: Evaluation, Summer Associate Program, Budget, Business, Associate Advisory, Diversity, and Retirement Plan.

In addition to our fee-paying practice, Covington eagerly and systematically seeks opportunities to handle pro bono cases that protect the legally underserved and impact the larger community. The firm has successfully challenged discrimination by entities ranging from the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The firm has received numerous awards for its longstanding commitment to pro bono work from organizations such as the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the Mississippi Center for Justice, and the Southern Center for Human Rights. At the same time Covington remains dedicated to the local community by sponsoring pro bono legal services rotations for C&B lawyers who work at public interest firms in D.C. that serve the poor and a partnership program with an inner city public high school in Washington, D.C.

If you begin your career at Covington, regardless of whether you are interested in litigation, corporate or regulatory practice, you will work with and be mentored by practitioners recognized as among the best in their fields. We urge you to sign up and consider Covington as you plan your interviews for this fall. In the event of a scheduling conflict, please send your resume and transcript to me or to the Recruiting Department; I will make sure that it gets in the right person’s hand for consideration.

Sincerely,

Keir Gumbs Washington, D.C.

Cyril Djoukeng Washington, D.C.