The National Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) recently published Employer Outreach Best Practices Guide, co-edited by S. Christian Smith, Assistant Dean for Career Services at Elon University School of Law.
The publication was produced by the NALP Career Services Office Employer Outreach Section. Smith will serve as Chair of the section in 2012-’13.
“As the legal recruiting market continues to shift, employer outreach has become increasingly vital to law school career services offices,” the introduction to the publication states. “(Employer) relationships will lead to more formal and informal recruiting and will also create a network of professionals that can help students navigate law school and the career development process.”
The publication covers topics such as assessing a law school’s strengths from an employer perspective, identifying current and prospective employer relationships, and engaging employers at multiple levels. Click here to read the publication in full.
In the 2011-’12 academic year, the Career Services Office at Elon Law, under Smith’s leadership, launched a student professional networking program to assist law students with the development and implementation of networking strategies in their career planning efforts.
In June, Smith completed the Management Development Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He holds a doctoral degree in Counseling and Counselor Education and a master of science degree in Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as a bachelor of arts degree in Communication Studies from the University of Minnesota.
Co-editing the NALP publication with Smith was Jill Backer, Associate Director for Employer Relations at Brooklyn Law School. Contributing authors to the publication were: Denise Corin, Associate Director of Career and Professional Development, Nova Southeastern University Law Center; Vicki Huebner, Assistant Dean, Law Career Services, Santa Clara Law; Vicki Ryan, Director of Career Services, Ave Maria School of Law; and Samantha Williams, Director of Employer Relations, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU.