|
Attorney
By
Attorney
Career Profiles of the Profession
Who?
Name:
Jill Eckert McCall
careers@abanet.org
Title:
Deputy Director
What?
Primary Practice Area & Subspecialty Fields:
Career Counseling for Attorneys
When?
Years in Practice Area:
Since 2000
Years in the Legal Profession:
Since 2001
Where?
Employer:
American Bar Association, ABA-CLE Career Resource Center
http://www.abanet.org/careercounsel
Size/Sector:
800+/non-profit
City/State:
Chicago, IL
|
Law School:
DePaul University (JD/MBA)
Undergraduate School/Degree:
Ohio University, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Honors
Tutorial College, B.S. in Journalism
Other Post-Graduate Education:
MBA in Leadership and Change Management
|
Why?
Pluses/Challenges of Practice Area:
Consistently upgrading my technology, marketing and public speaking
skills.
Continuing to be a fountain of new ideas.
Core Skills/Key Knowledge Needed in Your Practice Area:
The ability to work with attorneys on a sensitive matter--their
careers. To do so, you must keep current with legal workplace
hot button issues, work to empathize and understand legal professional
wants and needs, stay interested in shaping the legal workplace,
and keep an open mind.
Advice to Lawyers and Law Students Interested in Your Practice
Area:
Enjoy yourself. Ask yourself--who wants me to do or be X? If it's
not you primarily, you should reassess your decision. Do what
makes you happy and what will bring you closer to your personal
goals, not necessarily what is expected of you.
How?
Career Path to Current Position:
Temping since high school really gave me an edge in understanding
what employers want. Studying journalism, I recognized the importance
of taking in all perspectives, and pursued a JD/MBA to build on
that. I learned the ultimate employer's view from my MBA classmates
(up-and-coming clients for lawyers), and the employee view from
my law school colleagues. I also personally sampled solo, small
and medium-sized law firms, in-house, and corporate work environments,
and then took a personality test in one of my MBA classes, which
pointed me toward trying something new: a non-profit. I wanted
to work regularly with professionals who dedicated themselves
to improving the profession and stay well-rounded, weaving in
my legal, business and journalistic skills.
Influences and Mentors:
Carol Marin, Oprah, Sue Tedell (my high school journalism teacher),
and my first boss at the ABA.
Job Search Techniques Used in Finding Your Position(s):
As part of my MBA Life and Career Planning Course, I was assigned
to find position postings that sounded like good personality matches.
I decided to go the extra step and submit a resume for jobs I
found interesting, with this position as my top choice. I found
the position on the ABA human resources page, and emailed my resume
to the general hr mailbox around 4 AM. I received a call a couple
days later to meet with the Director.
Suggested Reading About Your Practice Area:
Read any motivational/inspirational career-related materials you
can get your hands on, and work through your own opinions. A list
for me would start with the Career Resource Publications (ex.
Objection
Overruled... Overcoming Obstacles in the Lawyer Job Search,
Direct
Examination... A Workbook for Lawyer Career Satisfaction,
and Ask
the Career Counselors... Answers for Lawyers on Their Lives and
Life's Work), but it would also include articles about
legal marketplace trends found in places such as law.com, as well
as general career stories in the Wall Street Journal.
Bar Affiliations and Activities:
Bar Affiliations: American Bar Association (ABA), Chicago
Bar Association (CBA), and Chicago Counsel of Lawyers (CCL).
Activities: Career Chair of the DePaul University Young
Alumni Association and Chairperson of the DePaul University Alumni
Arts Network. Alliance of State Bar Associations Associate Judge
Co-Investigator. Ohio University Alumni Association Chicagoland
Chapter Communications Co-Chair and Ohio University Volunteer
Recruiter. First Aid & CPR Instructor. Church Lector.
Recent Professional Publications:
Co-Author of two recent Career Resource Center Publications,
Direct
Examination... A Workbook for Lawyer Career Satisfaction
and Ask
the Career Counselors... Answers for Lawyers on their Lives and
Life's Work.
Also wrote the chapter "Taking Advantage of the Internet"
and related appendix material for the 5th Edition of What
Can You Do with A Law Degree?
Recent Professional Presentations:
American Lawyers Auxiliary, The Art of Living With Lawyers
ABA Section of Business Law, Living the Lawyer Life (Career
Enhancement--Panelist)
ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Answering Interviewing Inquiries:
Insights from Interviewers (Moderator)
Law Bulletin Seminars, Alternative Legal Career Panel (Panelist)
Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO), Alternative/Non-Traditional
Careers
ABA Section of Business Law, Job Search 201 (Panelist)
Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, How to compose
an effective cover letter and resume and handle the law firm interview
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Choosing A Career Path: Finding
the one that’s right for you (Pre-Law Discussion)
ABA Law Student Division, Mission Possible--Making Networking
Work for You
Tressler, Soderstrom, Maloney and Priess, The Marketing Mindset
(Business Development)
Kaplan, Law Day Panel (Pre-Law)
Minnesota Women Lawyers, Setting the Stage: Midwest Regional
Conference on Women in the Law
Illinois State Bar Association, The Lawyer's Workshop (Career
Changes and Burnout); and
George Washington University, Overcoming Job Search Barriers.
Memorable Career Moments:
Shaking hands with Justice Breyer at the ABA Commission on Billable
Hours meeting in the Supreme Court.
Intriguing Interests:
Eating candy.
|