RESOURCE MATERIALS FOR LAW SCHOOL AND BEYOND

Law students, students considering pursuing a legal education, lawyers, and non-lawyers can find below a wealth of information regarding law school and issues related to the practice of law.

GETTING INTO LAW SCHOOL

FINDING A LEGAL JOB IN LAW SCHOOL

LATERAL and ENTRY LEVEL JOB SEARCH

SPECIALTY AND MINORITY BAR ASSOCIATIONS

BOOKS, STUDIES AND LANDMARK LEGAL DECISIONS

ARTICLES RELATING TO DIVERSITY IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

GETTING INTO LAW SCHOOL

The Roadmap to Law School:

If you are interested in applying to law school, the tools you will need to successfully navigate your way through the application process are outlined in this comprehensive Law School Admissision Council link.  Here you will find information about the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT); the Law School Data Assembly  Service (LSDAS); Financial Aid; ABA-Approved Law Schools; and information which will be of special interest to persons of diverse groups, including information regarding  minority legal organizations.

Programs That Prepare Students (Including College Students) for Law School

• University of Washington Street Law program
  
• Law and Diversity Program at Western Washington University (it also has a link for high school students)
  
• Pre-Law at WSU
  
• South Puget Sound Community College (webpage that links into each major college in Washington and whether it has a law school or pre-law program)
• Washington State Bar Association Law Week 
  
• For People of Color 
  
• LSAC website "Getting Started" 
  
• KCBA Future of the Law Institute 
  
• WSBA Young Lawyers Aspiring Youth Program
  
• kidLAW®
  
• YMCA Mock Trial Competition
  
• Youth Court
  
• WSBA Young Lawyers Pre-law Student Leadership Conference
  

Scholarships/Financial Aid

• Law School Admission Council 
  
• University of Washington School of Law – Financial Aid Office
  
• Seattle University Law School – Financial Aid Office
  
• Gonzaga Law School – Financial Aid Office

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FINDING A LEGAL JOB IN LAW SCHOOL

• On-Campus Interviewing [OCI]: Getting a job with medium to large private firms often requires securing a summer associate position after your second year of law school.  Interviews for the summer associate positions occur during the fall of the second year of law school.
• University of Washington Law School  -- Career Services
• Read about the importance of fall recruiting by clicking on the "Fall recruiting" on the left hand side bar.
• Seattle University School of Law – Career Services
  
• Gonzaga Law School – Career Services
  
• Northwest Minority Job Fair

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LATERAL AND ENTRY LEVEL JOB SEARCH

General Job Listings

• Washington State Bar Association of Washington
  Many law firms advertise on the Washington State Bar Association's website and county bar association newsletters. 
• eattorney
  (requires registration and password)
• Law Crossing
  (requires registration and password)
• Law Jobs 
• Vault
  

Government Positions

• Job Site of the United States federal government
  
• Job site for Washington Attorney General's Office
  

Judicial Clerkships

• National Association of Law Placement information related to judicial clerkships
  
• Information related to federal judicial clerkships
  

Law Firms

• Martindale: Provides profiles of law firms. Information supplied by law firms.
• NALP: Provides a searchable database of legal employers
• NALP: contains NALP's diversity resources
• NALP: contains GLBT resources
• Information on the Washington DC legal market
• Information about law firms
• Public interest information related to public interest jobs
• NALP for public interest jobs, fellowships, etc
• National Legal Aid and Defender Association

In House Counsel

• Minority Corporate Counsel Association

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LINKS TO SPECIALTY AND MINORITY BAR ASSOCIATIONS

National

• National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA)
• Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)
  
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
  
• National Bar Association (NBA)
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund
  
• Native American Rights Fund (NARF)
  
• ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession
  
• National Native American Law Students Association
  
• Iranian-American Bar Association
  
• Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) 
  
• National Lesbian and Gay Law Association
  
• American Indian Law Center
  Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) 
  
• Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
  
• National Latina/o Law Student Association
  
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) 
  
• National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice 
  
• National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) 
  
• National Women's Law Center
  
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund 
  
• Native American Rights Fund (NARF)
  
• Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF)
  
• Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
  
• National Center for Lesbian Rights 
• Transgender Law and Policy 
• Servicemembers Legal Defense Network 

Washington State

• Asian Bar Association of Washington 
  
• Korean American Bar Association of Washington
  
• Latina/o Bar Association of Washington
  
• Loren Miller Bar Association
  
• Northwest Indian Bar Association
  
• Washington Women Lawyers
  • King County Washington Women Lawyers 
    
• Northwest Women's Law Center
  
• QLaw: the GLBT Bar Association of Washington 
  
• Vietnamese American Bar Association  
  
• Pierce County Minority Bar Association
  
• South Asian Bar Association – (website coming soon)

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BOOKS, STUDIES AND LANDMARK LEGAL DECISIONS

• Landmark Decisions: A Century of Change (1856-1955). The Century of Change witnessed a dramatic transformation in American society and in the nation's high court. Track the Supreme Court decisions that reflected American's changing attitudes towards race in Landmark Decisions.
• Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1856)
• Strauder v. West Virginia
• Plessy v. Ferguson
• The Civil Rights Cases
• Shelley v. Kraemer
• Brown v. Board of Education I
• Brown v. Board of Education II
• Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)
• Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986)
• Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996)
• Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S.558 (2003)
• Same Sex-Marriage: A History of the Law
  A look at the legal landscape of same-sex marriages
• Korematsu v. United States, 584 F.Supp. 1406 (N.D. Ca. 1984)
• Hirabayashi v. United States, 828 F.2d 591 (9th Cir. 1987)
  

BOOKS RELATED TO DIVERSITY AND LAW SCHOOL

• Law School Admission Council
  
• Books Listed by Debora Harron

REPORTS/ STUDIES RELATED TO DIVERSITY

• Diversity in Law Firms 2003
  United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Glass Ceiling Task Force study -- Final Report of the 2001 Self-Audit for Gender and Racial Equity (a survey of Washington State law firms), conducted by the Washington Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission: Glass Ceiling Task Force. 
• Washington State Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission's Bench Guide on sexual orientation

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ARTICLES RELATING TO DIVERSITY IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

WSBA Bar News

• Proud to be a Lawyer: Hispanic-American Lawyers: Benito Juarez and the Legal Tradition in Latin America by Zulema Hinojos-Fall, December 2002 (pdf link)
• Overcoming Obstacles --- and Involvement in the Community: The Story of Latino Lawyers in Washington State by Maria Chavez, Ph.D., August 2003 (pdf link)
• Unfaltering Resolve—the great trial lawyer, Abraham Lincoln by Dick Manning, January 2003 (pdf link)
• Why Diversity Matters—Reflecting the Public We Serve by David Savage, January 2004  (pdf link)
• Listening to Diversity Concerns by David Savage, April 2004  (pdf link)
• History in the Making: Ron Ward: 114th President of the Washington State Bar Association, First President of Color, by Kathy Henning, October 2004 (pdf link)
• WSBA Leadership Institute: Growing Lawyer Leadership for the Future, by Ron Ward, December 2004 (pdf link)
• Leadership with Style: The WSBA Leadership Institute by Joslyn K. Donlin, April 2005 (pdf link)
• Why Diversity? Rendering the Service of Reflecting the Persons we Serve, Leveling the Profession's Economic Playing Field, and Achieving True American Community by Ron Ward, April 2005 (pdf link)

WSTLA's Trial News

• Reflections on Diversity and the Law for Black History Month by Thaddeus Martin.  March 2004  (pdf link)
• Secrets of Successful Cross-Cultural Client Interviews by Elizabeth Miu-Lan Young. March 2004 (pdf link)
• Diversity and Outreach Committee Takes Affirmative Steps by Moni Law. March 2004 (pdf link)
• Carl Maxey, a Fitting Role Model for WSLTA's Trailblazer by Moni Law, April 2005 (pdf link)

KCBA Bar Bulletin

• Profile: Dean W.H. (Joe) Knight Jr., African-American Dean of University of Washington law school by Joan Leah Middleton, January 2004 (pdf link)

Washington's Law and Politics

• Gaining and Retaining Diversity: How well do law firms keep their promise of a diverse environment? By Paul Freeman, June/July 2003. (pdf link)
• Angels of the Bar: In spite of intense pressure to succeed, the attorneys in this diverse young group give lavishly of their time to worthy causes by Irene Svete, June/ July 2004 (pdf link)
• Power Surge: In law firms and courtrooms across Washington State, women are making their presence known.  June/July 2005 (pdf link)

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