Career Research: Starting Points

The Career Development Center counsels BLS students and graduates on how to 1) search for jobs and externships, 2) draft resumes and cover letters and 3) achieve career goals.  The Career Development Center's website describes its many resources and programs.  BLSConnect (the BLS portal) > Career provides this Center's manuals and handouts, videos and career skills tutorials.  The calendar on the home page of BLSConnect highlights this Center's upcoming programs. 

Log in to BLSConnect by entering your BLS username and password.

American Bar Association (ABA) law student membership is free. 

• FYI: On 05/27/2023, the ABA membership form stated: "All ABA Law Student Members and ABA Lawyer Members under 36 years old or admitted to practice for ten years or less are automatically enrolled in the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) at no additional charge."

A law student can join five free ABA groups.  ABA groups include:

Law Student Division - Offers articles, videos and podcasts on:

Career Paths I Career Resources I Diversity, Equity and Inclusion I Professional Development

• BLS Library provides Student Lawyer (the Law Student Division's magazine focusing on education and career issues) in HeinOnline database.  Remote access requires implementation of the BLS proxy server instructions for 1 web browser. 
• ABA Law Student Podcast is publicly accessible. 
  • Recent episode: A Career in Cannabis Law with Jerome Crawford
• Mental Health Resources provides information, articles and podcasts on mental health/law students/the legal profession and Substance Use and Mental Health Toolkit for Law School Students and Those Who Care About Them.
• Access to some resources at the Law Student Division's website now requires ABA Law Student Premium Membership ($25/year).

Young Lawyers Division - Offers articles, videos, webinars and the ABA YLD Young Lawyer Rising Podcast.

• BLS Library provides TYL (the Young Lawyer Division's practice-focused publication) in HeinOnline database.  Remote access requires implementation of the BLS proxy server instructions for 1 web browser. 
• After the Bar (Young Lawyer Division's digital publication for new lawyers) is accessible to all ABA members.  American Bar Association (ABA) law student membership is free. 
• ABA YLD Young Lawyer Rising Podcast is publicly accessible.
  • Recent episodes: Building a Career You Love As a Young Lawyer and Seeking a Career in Public Interest and How to Stand Out

Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice

• BLS Library provides Human Rights (this Section's magazine covering many human rights and civil rights topics) in HeinOnline database.  Remote access requires implementation of the BLS proxy server instructions for 1 web browser. 

Practice-focused ABA groups, such as: Business Law Section, Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries, Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division, Litigation Section, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and Section of Intellectual Property Law.

ABA also provides:

ABA Career Center - Includes a publicly accessible job board.

Practice Area Resources for New Lawyers

• Tip: ABA's practice-focused resources might be accessible to ABA members.  For example, ABA states the practice area video: Always In Style: Fashion Law Basics is free for ABA members.  Some ABA practice area resources might require both ABA membership and ABA group registration to access.

Want to learn how to:

• Access Law360 Pulse articles like: Generative AI Is the Hot New Practice at Law Firms
• Access sources at ABA groups' websites like the series: What Is Health Law? 
• Research a judge through tools like:
  • Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges,1789-Present
  • BNA's Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges and Clerks (Bloomberg Law)
  • Litigation Profile Suite & Litigation Analytics (Lexis+)
  • Profiler & Litigation Analytics (Thomson Reuters Westlaw)
• Find a guide in BLS Library like:

BLS librarians can help!

• Chat with us (click: Need Help?) during hours that we provide reference service
• Email us at askthelibrary@brooklaw.edu
• Text us at (718) 734-2432

New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) law student membership is free.  It includes:

• Career resources
• Digital subscriptions to a student e-newsletter (monthly), NYSBA Journal (monthly) and New York State Law Digest 
• Opportunity to join practice-focused NYSBA Sections

NYSBA also provides:

• NYSBA Career Center - Includes a publicly accessible job board.
• How I Practice - Provides attorneys' tips and overviews of multiple legal practice areas at this publicly accessible page.