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. 

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

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

• How to Tackle Your First Big Legal Assignment: Seeking and Responding to Feedback (Apr. 29, 2025 video sponsored by ABA Young Lawyers Division & ABA Career Center) - panelists "offer[ed] firsthand advice on how they successfully tackled their early career challenges, built resilience, and developed essential skills for success."

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

• ABA states: "Law students can join the ABA for free" and membership provides "basic access to Student Lawyer" (the Law Student Division's magazine focusing on education and career issues).  BLS Library also provides Student Lawyer in HeinOnline database, but the two most recent issues are not accessible.  Remote access to HeinOnline requires implementation of the BLS proxy server instructions for 1 web browser. 
• ABA Law Student Podcast is publicly accessible. 
  • Feb. 24, 2025 episode: How to Build Your Legal Brand with Honor Williams
• 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: Solo and Social: Building Your Law Firm's Brand from Scratch; Environmental Law: An Exciting, Dynamic Field for New Lawyers; Making a Difference Through a Career in Civil Rights Law, Insights from a Transactional Tax Attorney on a Career in Tax Law, and Immigration Law: From Corporate Visas to Pro Bono.

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.

New Lawyer Practice Area Resource Library

• Tip: Some ABA practice area resources might require both ABA membership and ABA group registration to access.

Want to learn how to:

• Access Law360 Pulse surveys and articles like: 2025 Associate Salary and 2024 Bonus Tracker and The 2025 Summer Associates Survey
• Access sources at ABA groups' websites like the resource page: Health Law for Law Students
• Research a judge through tools like:
  • ALM Judicial Profiles (Bloomberg Law)
  • Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges,1789-Present (free)
  • 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, such as these free webinars:
  • Occurred on April 15, 2025 @ 3 pm: Opening Your Own Practice: Advice for Law Students and Young Lawyers
  • Occurred on April 24, 2025 @ 2 pm: Life After Law School: What to Expect 
• 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.
• Under NYSBA for Law Students > tab: Articles: "Ten Tips for Practicing in ..." Series - This publicly accessible NYSBA page provides attorneys' tips for practicing in: antitrust law, commercial/federal litigation, dispute resolution, family law, general practice, health law, real property law, and tort/insurance/compensation law.