Resources for Employers
Resume Collection and Job Postings
If you are not able to come to campus to interview, we provide resume collection services. We will be happy to advertise your firm or agency to our students, and then collect resumes to forward to you. If you prefer, we can also have our students submit their application materials directly to you.
Additionally, we post job announcements for student law clerk opportunities, for entry-level associate positions and for experienced attorney positions. Job announcements are posted upon receipt to our website. Postings expire 60 days from the date received, and are removed from the bulletin at that time unless a renewal request is received. In addition, the student job listings are posted on a bulletin board outside the Career Development Office.
To request that an available job be posted to our web bulletin, you may do so via e-mail to Andrea Mazza Follett at or via fax at 573-882-9625. Please include a brief description of the job, what materials you want to see from applicants (resume, cover letter, transcript, writing sample, etc.), and the contact to whom the materials should be forwarded.
On-Campus Interviews
The Office of Career Development offers a variety of services to employers, including both on-campus and off-campus recruiting assistance. We invite you to send a representative of your firm, agency or organization to our campus to meet with our students. We are currently scheduling interviews for the 2009-10 academic year. Our Early OCI week of interviews for 2Ls and 3Ls will begin Monday, August 17, 2009 and conclude on Friday, August 21, 2009. Fall OCI will begin Monday, August 31, 2009 and continue until Friday, October 30, 2009. We will also host Spring OCI for 1L, 2L, and 3L interviews in February and March 2010. To reserve a date for your on-campus visit, please call (573) 882-6444 or email Andrea Mazza Follett at . In the event that your schedule will not allow you to visit Hulston Hall, we would be happy to collect resumes for your review. Please contact Andrea Mazza Follett for more information.
Off-Campus Programs
Each year, our students participate in a number of job fairs and off-campus recruiting programs, including: the Equal Justice Works Public Interest Law Career Fair in Washington, D.C.; the Patent Law Interview Program at Loyola University-Chicago; the Midwest Public Interest Career Fair, Chicago; the Midwest Regional Minority Recruitment Program in Cleveland; and the Cook County Bar Association Minority Law Students Job Fair in Chicago.
Non-Discrimination Policy
We conduct all programs and permit job postings in accordance with the following Non-Discrimination Policy:
The University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law reaffirms its policy against discriminatory employment practices and requires all employers using our career services to observe it. The School of Law is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its students and graduates, commensurate with their abilities and not limited by invidious discrimination, including discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, status as a Vietnam Era veteran, or any other basis forbidden by applicable law or university regulation. Based on current federal law and regulations, (the Solomon Amendment) the School is compelled to allow the military to recruit our students on campus or risk the loss of federal funding.
We recognize that some attorneys may ask novel or unusual interview questions to gauge a candidate's analytical ability, professional demeanor, legal or academic experience, or other business-related skills. However, we remind all those who interview our students or alumni that such questioning should not be used to elicit information regarding the applicant's race, gender, marital/parental status, age, religion, color, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or veteran status. Students who believe that an employer working through the Office of Career and Professional Development has discriminated against them on any of the aforementioned bases should bring their concerns to the attention of Dean Tracy Gonzalez or Andrea Follett, Coordinator for Professional Development.
The School of Law is a member of the National Association of Legal Career Professionals (NALP) and adheres to its principles and standards. NALP's standards for legal employers are available at www.nalp.org. General guidelines for interviewing are also available at the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations' website, www.dolir.mo.gov.
We encourage legal employers to share this policy with colleagues who may come into contact with students or alumni during the interview process. Please feel free to contact the Office of Professional Development at (573) 882-7386 should you have any questions.
Forms
Below are links to forms (PDF) for your use in requesting services from our office:
- Career Services Request Form
Employers use this form to request career services. - Law Firm Questionnaire
- Corporate Questionnaire
- Government Questionnaire
- Public Interest Organization
- Non-Law Practice Employer Data Sheet
- Small Employer Data Sheet
(Designed especially for employers with 25 or fewer lawyers, the Small Employer Data Sheet is an abbreviated version of the NALP Forms described above.) - Employer's Interview Feedback Form
Employers use this form to report the outcome of interviews to law schools.
About Our Students
The credentials of the law students at MU are among the highest in the Midwest. Statistics for the most recent entering class (the Class of 2008) reveal that their median LSAT score is 158; and a median GPA of 3.51. There were 153 students enrolled in the Class of 2008 at MU Law, and these students were selected from nearly 1,000 applicants. We are proud of our diverse student body, where 14% belong to a minority group, and 37% are women.
The J.D. curriculum does not require students to declare a "major" field of study. MU's balanced curriculum exposes students to the techniques of case analysis, statutory construction and legislative drafting and enables them to achieve success in many different fields of law upon graduation. While students are encouraged to strive for a balanced program of legal education building from a strong foundation of basic courses, students may select from many elective courses during the second and third year to tailor their individual program to their individual interests. MU's broad curriculum and faculty's expertise prepare students for a wide range of career options. Virtually every course is taught by full-time faculty who customarily maintain an open-door policy. Faculty availability for students throughout the week is a strength of the school. Historically, MU graduates have recorded the best bar examination passage rates in the state. Nearly 90% of first-time takers from MU School of Law passed the July 2005 bar exam.
MU also provides its JD students with the opportunity to earn dual degrees with a number of graduate programs. The dual degree programs enable students to earn two degrees concurrently, the Juris Doctor and the Masters or PhD. Traditionally, dual degree students spend their first year in the School of Law, and must fulfill all entrance requirements of both schools, including the graduate school's entrance exam as well as the LSAT.
MU is also the acknowledged leader in the promotion of alternative dispute resolution. We were the first law school to integrate ADR into the first year curriculum and in addition, offers many upper level ADR course electives. MU offers an L.L.M program in Dispute Resolution, which is designed for advocates and neutrals, law-trained court administrators, government agency personnel and attorneys interested in the serious study of and practice in dispute resolution beyond the J.D. degree. The L.L.M program provides practitioners with a comprehensive understanding of theory, policy, program design and ethical issues in alternative dispute resolution.
