Digital Commons @ Georgia Law Other Law School Publications Archives 7-1-1976 The Georgia Advocate Placement Edition University of Georgia School of Law Repository Citation University of Georgia School of Law, "The Georgia Advocate Placement Edition" (1976). Other Law School Publications. 86. https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/lectures_pre_arch_archives_other/86 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Archives at Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Other Law School Publications by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. Please share how you have benefited from this access For more information, please contact [email protected]. Placement Procedures and Policies The Placement Office serves as an clearinghouse where employment inquiries directed to the Law School may be distributed to student applicants. This office makes a careful effort to establish contact between employers and students whose interests are com- patible with the type of work and job location each oppor- tunity affords. Employers may utilize placement services either by con- ducting interview sessions at the Law School or through re- cruitment by mail leading to interviews at the employer's office. The Law School is open for interview appointments Monday through Friday between the hours of 9: 00 a.m. and 5 :00 p.m. The calendar on page 5 outlines the aca- demic schedule for 1976-77. Unless otherwise requested, interviews are scheduled in twenty-minute periods. When an employer lists a job opening with the Law School, information on the position is posted with access to all students. The notice usually states the title of the position, whether it is a permanent job or a summer clerk- ship, the location of the job, description of the duties, salary range and applicant specifications appropriate to the work. Interested candidates will sign listings in the Placement Office which authorize their resumes to be sent to the prospective employer. These resumes are assembled and sent to the employer for review several days before an on-campus interview session, or for consideration by an employer who plans to invite applicants to the firm or agency office. For those who visit the campus for an interview session, conference rooms are provided in the law building. Appoint- The placement office will not attempt to screen appli- ment times are designated for each student and this schedule cants for a specific job request. The obligation of this office is is available to the interviewer upon arrival. Parking permits to provide a procedure whereby interested applicants may and maps of the campus are sent in each advance packet. identify themselves to an employer. Students are encouraged, For those interviewers who require overnight accommoda- through their resumes, to provide as much information about tions a list of Athens motels is also available. themselves as possible. It is the information provided by If an employer is unable to come to Athens for personal the student which should serve as guidelines for judgment by interviews, he or she may request resumes to be sent from the employer pursuant to an interview. the Law School or seek direct application from the student. As a courtesy to the job applicant and as a means of Please direct inquiries to: Director of Placement, School maintaining current and accurate job listings, each employer of Law; University of Georgia; Athens, Georgia 30602; tele- is asked to notify the Placement Office when a position phone: area code 404-542-7541. which it advertised has been filled. On. March 24, ~~72, Public Law #92-261 was passed II. Minority Opportunities in Law extendmg the prOVISIOnsof Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1.964 to cov~r st~te supported law school place- There are more than 325,000 lawyers in the United ment offIces. As UnIversIty of Georgia policy is in con- States. Only one percent of this group is black. With a formity with this law, all placement services provided nationwide black population percentage of 11.2, it is by the University are to be administered in a manner clear that a significant minority group is underrepresented whi~h 'p~ovides equal opportunities for the employment in the legal profession. of mdlvlduals who are entitled to use such services One of the major steps taken to increase the number Therefo~e, Law Placement Office files and listings ar~ of black lawyers has been the active recruitment of black not avaIlable to any organization which discriminates applicants to law schools. In the 1960's the organized bar against any person because of race, creed, sex, religion, and the law schools formed The Council on Legal Educa- or national origin. tion Opportunity (CLEO) to raise funds for recruitment While the policy of equal opportunity has been in and scholarship aid for black law students. Under an effect several years, the manner in which it is to be Office of Equal Opportunity grant the Council sponsored carried out has never been fully explained to potential summer training institutes for minority students who de- legal employers using placement services. For this reason sired to go to law school but were not admissible under the following information guideline was drafted for your standard academic criteria. Another grant from the Ford use in determining what constitutes hiring discrimination. Foundation provided scholarships for students attending these institutes. I. Women and the Legal Profession At the University of Georgia School of Law, special recruitment programs have resulted in increased black en- Special concern has been focused on the lot of the rollment during the 1970's. The employment pattern of female law graduate who is seeking a place in the legal these graduates is: profession. In the past, job opportunities for women have not been as broad as those for men. This is due a. Private law practice 4 in part to the fact that a small number of women have b. Established own firm 1 traditionally chosen to seek legal careers. But the facts c. Government agencies 4 of the situation in the last five years prove two points: d. Indigent legal services 3 1) there are now a substantial number of women stu- e. Public interest law 1 dents who are enrolled in law school with serious inten- f. Corporate legal department 3 tions of pursuing a life-long career. 2) Women law.8tu- g. Job status unknown 2 dents have demonstrated excellence in academic perform- 18 ance as well as leadership in student journals, moot court, and clinical program activity. III. Hiring Discrimination: Attitudes and Illustrations For University of Georgia School of Law graduates, In order to provide prospective employers with some this employment pattern has predominated: insight into the problems women and minority group applicants encounter in interviewing and hiring situations, Employment categories, 1965-1975 female graduates: the following examples are presented which attempt to a. Private law practice 11 give some definition to discrimination practices. b. Established own firm 1 1. Actions based on perceptions of sterotyped roles: c. Government agencies 4 a. reluctance to hire women and blacks because d. Indigent legal services 5 of the supposed prejudices of clients or other e. Law teaching 3 lawyers in the firm. b. requiring higher standards in hiring or promot- f. Public interest law 1 ing minority applicants than are applied to g. Corporate legal department 4 other candidates. h. Prosecutorial work 2 c. offering lower salaries to minority candidates i. Legal research 2 than to others in comparable positions. j. Judicial clerk 2 d. assigning women lawyers only to certain de- partments or responsibilities traditionally con- k. Military law 1 sidered suitable for women, such as probate or 1. Job status unknown 5 domestic relations work. Likewise, utilizing 41 black associates exclusively for legal aid or government contract work. Employment categories, 1976 graduates: 2. The interview a. Private law practice 13 During the past few years the Law School has re- b. Government agencies 6 ceived some complaints relating to remarks em- c. Judicial clerk 3 ployer representatives have made to interviewees d. Graduate studies in law 2 during campus visits. Some remarks may be con- sidered discriminatory per se, others may create e. Non-law related work 1 a strong presumption of intent to discriminate; f. Job status unknown 6 and still other remarks mayor may not be dis- g. Job seeking 3 criminatory depending on the context in which 34 they are used. 3 Examples: of the "shock" question-the question designed to put To a female applicant: the interviewee under pressure in order to observe and 1. "Those are impressive grades, considering the fact gauge how he or she may react if placed in a pressure that you are competing with men." situation with a client. The shock question certainly has 2. "I don't believe you would be interested in the work its place, but the essence of the question should not be our firm does. It requires long hours and you would related to sex or race. Other topics could be chosen for be getting home late in the evenings." the test question. 3. ''I'm afraid there would be a problem with the secre- The central criteria for interview questions should taries if you came to work with our firm. They would follow this guide: Is the question one that I would direct be jealous of a woman lawyer." to all applicants for associate positions? In other words, 4. "How long do you plan to practice law before you if you feel it inappropriate to ask a male applicant about have a family and stay at home?" family planning, then it is an equally inappropriate ques- 5.