One Day, One Job » law

Center for Court Innovation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:49:00 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been well enough behaved during the course of my life to avoid any appearances in court. I did have to serve on jury duty for a day a few years ago, but most of knowledge about court rooms comes from tv and movies. Despite my limited knowledge of the legal process, I don’t find it hard to imagine that there’s room for innovation in our courts. Center for Court Innovation is a New York City based non-profit organization that is doing just that. They act “as the court system’s independent research and development arm, creating demonstration projects that test new ideas.” Some of their projects include community courts, drug courts, reentry courts, domestic violence courts, and mental health courts.

Innovation in Search of Justice

It may seem strange to have specific courts tailored to specific issues, but I think it makes sense. Different problems require different solutions, and some times a one-size-fits-all approach just isn’t very effective. A lot of what Center for Court Innovation does seems to be related to court segmentation, but their works goes well beyond that too. They’re really about taking great ideas in court reform and putting them to the test. And if the ideas work, then Center for Court Innovation make the move to bring them into wider adoption within the New York court system. If Center for Court Innovation gets your ears perked up, then you should check out their Jobs page. They have a number of positions that might be suitable for new grads including Clinical Social Worker, Task Force Coordinator, Research Coordinator, Case Developer/Newark Youth Court, and Resource Coordinator. The application instructions vary, so be sure to look closely at the individual postings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever been to court?

The Constitution Project

Willy Franzen — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:06:57 +0000

Who doesn’t love the Constitution? Not only is it an extremely cool historical document, but it also happens to ensure our most sacred rights. You would think that such a document would be written with extreme clarity, but you probably know that ambiguity and interpretation come hand in hand with the Constitution. We’ve seen plenty of fractious debates end up in front of the Supreme Court and get settled with 5-4 decisions. The Constitution Project is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that aims to build consensus on Constitutional issues.

Come to a Career Consensus

Now, don’t misunderstand The Constitution Project’s mission. They’re far from anti-debate; in fact, they’re very much in favor of debate on Constitutional law. They just think it’s important to build some level of consensus on our most controversial legal issues. They do this “through constructive dialogue across ideological and partisan lines, and through scholarship, activism, and public education efforts.” If this sounds like an exciting project to you, then you should check out Jobs at The Constitution Project. They only have one position available right now—Development Associate—and it requires some prior experience, but it’s worth checking out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about The Constitution Project?

RightsFlow

Willy Franzen — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:28:52 +0000

Copyrights aren’t what they used to be. It’s not that they’re any less valuable, it’s just that it’s so easy to rip someone off these days. Every day my posts are automatically scraped by bots and republished on sites that slap ads on my content to make pennies. The photos that you posted online might end up in a multi-million dollar ad campaign without your permission. And then there’s the world of music. Piracy and infringement has completely changed the face of the industry. New York City’s RightsFlow is an employee-owned company that “specializes in intellectual property licensing and copyright management” in the music industry. Their core areas of service are Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, Music Licensing Services, and Digital Music and Media Strategies. Put simply, they help artists and labels ensure that they are fairly compensated for the work that they produce.

Are You Right for RightsFlow?

RightsFlow’s website uses a lot of buzzwords that I’m not quite familiar with, but it’s pretty clear to me that their combination of industry expertise and technological aptitude enables them to push innovation in an industry that is unwilling to accept that the game has changed. Through “FLOW”, their “proprietary royalty and licensing system “they’re able “to provide labels, distributors, and online music services with a turnkey solution for licensing, accounting, and royalty payment administration including mechanical, DPD, physical, ringtone, interactive streams, and limited downloads, as well as subscription and ad-supported models.” RightsFlow has put together an extremely impressive clients list, and they seem to be growing at a great rate. That’s why it’s no big surprise that they’re hiring. If you check out their Jobs page, you’ll see that they’re looking for a Database Engineer and a Copyright Coordinator. Both jobs appear to be suitable for new grads, and you can apply by sending a resume and cover letter to info@rightsflow.com. You should also use the information on RightsFlow’s Contact page (like the CEO’s e-mail address) to your advantage.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about what RightsFlow does?

STATS

Willy Franzen — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:41:20 +0000

I love statistics—especially when applied to sports—so it should be no big surprise that some of my favorite blogs include The Wage of Wins Journal, Sabernomics, and FanGraphs. Surprisingly, the statistical knowledge found on the best blogs these days is often far ahead of what you will find in the front offices of many major sports teams. The reason for the recent advancement in statistical sports knowledge of laypeople has a lot to do with how easy the Internet and computers have made it to collect and analyze in-depth data. A big reason that sports data is available is because of Northbrook, IL based STATS. Their story is pretty cool. They were founded in 1981 and “began as a grass roots operation tracking baseball in a unique, esoteric fashion.” Now, they’re “the world’s leading sports information, content and statistical analysis company.” I guess that numbers worked out for them.

Do Your STATS Match Up?

If you’re a sports stats geek like me, you’re probably already dying for a job with STATS. As you look more closely at the company, I think that your excitement will grow. They couldn’t be a bigger deal when it comes to sports statistics—they cover an insane number of sports, and their clients include the NFL, the NBA, CBS Sports, Google, Yahoo!, and quite a few other impressive names. So what about jobs at STATS? There are quite a few opportunities, and plenty of them appear to be suitable for new college grads. Current entry level positions include Part-Time Paralegal, Soccer Optical Tracking Position – Major League Soccer, Database Administrator, Computer Programmer, Data Collectors (Golf, Football, Baseball, or Soccer), and STATS Reporter. All of these jobs look awesome, so apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to jobs@stats.com (a few positions require you to apply in a different way, so be sure to check out all of the Job Listings first).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

And if you ever wondered about proper sports grammar, you need to check out STATS’ Style Sheet.

CB Richard Ellis

Willy Franzen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:55:21 +0000

Considering the fact that I drove by a house in Michigan that was on sale for $12,500 just a few days ago, it’s pretty obvious that the real estate market still has some rebounding to do. There has been a lot of hurt in the industry over the past couple years, but maybe things are looking up. A friend who works at CB Richard Ellis let me know about a position that they’re trying to fill, and after I checked their Careers page I saw that they’re hiring for more than 200 positions. Considering the fact that they just went through a round of layoffs at the end of last year, I’d say all those job postings is probably a good sign for where the company (and maybe the economy?) is going. If you have heard of CB Richard Ellis before, you should know that they’re headquartered in Los Angeles and they’re “the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2008 revenue).” Clearly $12,500 houses aren’t a problem for them.

Be with CBRE

CB Richard Ellis is a huge company. Not only are they world’s revenue leader in commercial real estate, but they also happen to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 30,000 employees and 300 offices. That makes finding an entry level job with them a little bit intimidating. It’s hard to know where to start, especially when they don’t have anything tailored to recent grads on their site. They do have a Career Paths section on their site, but it only allows you to self-select as Experience Professional or MBA. Neither of those pages offers much information that would be helpful to a recent grad. This means that we’re going to have to dive into the dreaded job search function to find entry level jobs at CBRE.

Unfortunately, CBRE’s job search function doesn’t let us link to specific jobs, and there are 200+ jobs to wade through. CBRE does have jobs all across the country, so getting ultra-specific with your query still should turn up a few results that might interest you. CBRE’s job areas include Administrative/Operations, Business Development, Client Services, Commercial Real Estate, Executive Management, Facilities Management, Finance/Accounting, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing/PR/Communications, Project Management, Property Management, Purchasing/Procurement, Research Management, Risk Management, Sales/Brokerage, Technology, and Transaction Management, so there really is something for nearly everyone. There’s also the position that my friend told me about: Marketing Coordinator (.doc file) in Woodbury, NY. You can apply for this specific position by sending your cover letter and résumé to joscelyn.wippern@cbre.com. For other positions you can apply online through CBRE’s Applicant Tracking System, or you can apply through e-mail to cbreresume@cbre.com. If you still have questions about the CBRE hiring process you can check out their Careers FAQ.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about CBRE?

The Bronx Defenders

Willy Franzen — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:13:41 +0000

Last night I had some friends over for dinner, and we played a question and answers game. My questions for everyone was “if you got arrested, what would it be for.” Think about that for a second. I’m sure most of you never expect to run into trouble with the law, but not all criminals intend to break the law and not all people who are arrested are guilty. Since you’re a college student/new grad with limited financial resources, how would you afford a defense lawyer? Your parents? (If your parents would pay for it, then maybe you should take advantage of that generosity and have them sign you up for our job search prep course.) Or would you end up needing a public defender? That’s not a good thought – “someone you’ve never seen; someone you didn’t choose; someone you have no reason to trust” is responsible for your freedom. That’s why The Bronx Defenders exists. They “have transformed the role of the public defender by changing the nature of the attorney-client relationship, investing in the communities where our clients live, and striving to create justice for the people [they] serve.” It’s still not pleasant to consider a court case, but having better public defense makes it a little less scary.

The Best Offense is a Good Defense

The Bronx Defenders, like many non-profits, is an organization that you hope that you never have to take advantage of, but if you do, it’s nice to know it’s there. They’ve been around since 1997, and they’re now “poised to grow to over 100 criminal and civil attorneys, social workers, parent advocates, investigators, administrative staff, and community programmers.” They’ve worked with more than 100,000 clients, and that doesn’t even touch on all of the additional community outreach that they’ve done. Despite their focus on public defense, there’s a lot more to the organization than helping out people who are in legal trouble. If you’re excited about what The Bronx Defenders is doing, you’ll be excited to know that they’re hiring. Although the position isn’t posted on their Jobs page, they have an Executive/Development Assistant position posted on Idealist. It seems like a perfect job for a new grad, so apply by sending a resume, cover letter (indicating job title) and 1-2 writing samples to Courtney Libon at courtneyl@bronxdefenders.org. (There appears to be a nearly identical position posted on The Bronx Defenders’ Jobs page as an internship, so we’re not quite sure what the deal is here.)

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about The Bronx Defenders?

Mozilla

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:53:19 +0000

I remember the days of browser wars. It was Netscape vs. Internet Explorer, and it was ugly – the Internet that is. Back then it was all about whether or not your browser displayed pages properly, and people were passionately in favor of one browser or the other (or maybe some weird 3rd option). Now it’s all a lot simpler (unless you’re still using Internet Explorer) – your browser probably displays most sites just fine, and you’re more worried about speed and bells and whistles. That’s where Mozilla shines with their Firefox browser. They’re absolutely dominant with web savvy users (except with me – I still use Safari), and they are constantly making their products better. The Mozilla Corporation is a Mountain View, CA based wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit, while the Corporation calls itself a “public benefit organization.” That means that they are “dedicated not to making money but to improving the way people everywhere experience the Internet” – even if by definition they’re still a for profit.

Browse Mozilla’s Jobs

Not too long ago it seemed that the browser wars were over. Microsoft had come out on top, and they had even decided that there was no need to keep working on building a better web browser. Out of nowhere an open source project started gaining traction. Internet Explorer is still an industry behemoth, but Mozilla’s Firefox continues to grow and can now claim 15% of the world market share. That means that there’s still a lot of room to grow, and with Mozilla’s focus on user experience, you can be sure that Firefox will continue eating away at Internet Explorer’s user base.

One of the coolest things about working at a company like Mozilla is how many people they reach. Most of my daily work is done on the web, and my web browser is almost like my office. Most of our computing needs are moving to the web, and Mozilla is doing everything in its power to make that experience as enjoyable as possible. So, how can you become a part of Mozilla and their awesome projects? You can start by checking out their Careers page. It’s really well done, and includes information on the company, the team, life at Mozilla, first person experiences, and – obviously – job listings. Their jobs are posted in a number of sections that include College Recruiting, Engineering, Engineering Operations, Finance, Labs, Legal, Marketing, Quality Assurance, and User Experience. We obviously want to take a look at College Recruiting which includes jobs like Firefox Engineer, Platform Engineer, and Web Developer. Don’t just focus on those jobs though, there’s the chance that some of the other jobs might be suitable for some entry level candidates too. You can apply online (through your web browser, obviously), so get to it.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Which web browser do you use?

Starwood

Willy Franzen — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:42:12 +0000

Having a girlfriend who is a consultant, I’m often subjected to hours of consultant-speak. It’s not really English, as it consists mostly of acronyms. One thing consultants seem to talk about a lot, even though they don’t have an acronym for it, is the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Card. It’s apparently by far the best credit card for the consulting lifestyle (especially when you work for a firm that almost exclusively puts you up in Starwood hotels). Since I’ve been hearing the Starwood name a lot, and I’ve had a few people recommend their Jobs to me, I thought it was time to take a look at what kind of entry level jobs are available with one of the world’s largest hotel and leisure companies. In case you’re not familiar with the Starwood brand, they’re the company behind Sheraton, Four Points, aloft, W Hotels, Le Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Element, Westin, and St. Regis. All of them are nice places to stay, and a few of them are about as trendy as you can get when it comes to hotels – check out aloft.

Be a Star at Starwood

Starwood gets hospitality. They also get entry level recruiting. They make it dead simple for college students and new grads to figure out how to land a job with them. They have a College Recruiting page that outlines the 4 ways of getting a job with Starwood. You can go through Campus Recruiting or apply online, and you can apply for their Management Training Program or opt for Direct Placement. The Management Training Program seems to be geared towards students who are graduating from hospitality programs, but that’s not explicitly stated as far as I can tell. The program lasts 6-18 months and concludes with placement as an Assistant Manager or Manager in the hotel where the trainee trained. Applications for the Management Training Program haven’t been opened yet, but they say that you will be able to apply online in early 2009. If you go to one of the schools on this list, you’re better off talking to your Career Services office about when Starwood will be on campus than waiting for the online application to be posted.

If the Management Training Program isn’t for you, there’s another option. You can check out Starwood’s Career Paths and apply for Direct Placement. You have to go through a general job search function where you can narrow down from the 1,650 jobs posted by location, hotel, or job title. This is the one area where Starwood’s Careers site stumbles a bit. The job search function isn’t very good. Unless you enter specific criteria, you’re going to be inundated with results that are going to be hard to scan. Still, if you want a job in a posh hotel in an exotic location, that’s the best way to find one.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you stayed at any Starwood Hotels?

Vera Institute of Justice

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 13:07:17 +0000

I was just browsing the news this morning when I came across the story of how Bernard Madoff, a prominent Wall Street trader, allegedly admitted to defrauding investors in his hedge fund of $50 billion. It is an unbelievable amount of money, and it’s hard to believe that anyone would go through the effort and risk to steal that much money – I can’t even fathom what you would do with $50 billion in illegally acquired money. The most outrageous part of the story might be that Madoff has been released on $10 million bail. That’s peanuts for him. It’s .02% of what he allegedly stole. After reading this story I started browsing non-profits for today’s post, and I came across the Vera Institute of Justice. It’s a New York City based organization with locations in Washington, DC and New Orleans, and it was founded when “philanthropist Louis Schweitzer and magazine editor Herb Sturz recognized the injustice of a bail system in New York City that granted liberty based on income.” Today’s story about Madoff is a perfect example of this injustice.

You Can’t Buy Justice

Vera Institute of Justice began by attacking the bail system, but today their “staff are leading more than two dozen separate projects that each aim to reveal more about the meaning of justice.” They start new projects by examining how the justice system really works, and then use experimentation and rational thought processes to develop alternatives to address the problem that they are facing. The end goal is always “justice systems that are fairer, more humane, and more effective for everyone.” Luckily for you, Vera Institute of Justice needs help making this goal happen, so they’re hiring. You can find all of their job opportunities on their Employment page. We’ve identified a few that seem best interested for new college graduates – Research Associate, Intake Interviewer, Therapist, Research Analyst, and Project Analyst. You can find the full job descriptions on the Employment page along with information on how to apply (it varies for each position). All of the jobs that I just mentioned are located in New York City.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Had you heard about the Bernard Madoff story before today?

Department of Veterans Affairs

Willy Franzen — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:52:48 +0000

It’s been a while since we’ve featured any entry level government jobs, and with today’s being Veteran’s Day, we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take a look at what kind of jobs you can get at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Before you get in to job searching mode, though, go thank a veteran. If your grandfather served in World War II, give him a call and say thank you. Or if one of your buddies has served or is serving in Iraq, shoot him or her an e-mail stating your appreciation. And if any of you job searchers out there happen to be veterans, thank you from the One Day, One Job team. Now let’s get into what the VA is all about. There are 25 million veterans currently living in the United States and 70 million people who are “potentially eligible for VA benefits and services because they are veterans, family members or survivors of veterans.” The VA is responsible for providing top-flight patient care and administering veterans’ benefits. Our vets have risked their lives to earn the services offered by the VA, so it’s important that the VA has a talented staff that is committed to providing top-flight “customer” service.

Thank a Vet by Working at the VA

If you remember any of our previous posts about jobs with the Federal Government (e.g. the US Forest Service), you’ll know that finding jobs with them isn’t as easy as it should be. That’s ok, because we’ll guide you through the process. You should probably start by checking out the VA’s page on Types of Careers. It has info on every type of job that they offer, and even includes some videos that show “A Day in the Life.” In fact, this area of the site is pretty simple to navigate, so you shouldn’t find it too hard to get a sense of what types of jobs might interest you – categories include Health Care, Business / Administration, Legal, Engineering / Architecture / Technical Support, and Specialized Skilled Occupations / Trades. The hard part is actually navigating through the job listings. For most jobs with the VA, you need to use the USAJOBS site to search for openings. (The exception is if you’re looking for jobs with the Veterans’ Health Administration.) From the USAJOBS site you can search by Agency, Occupation, Keyword, or Location. If you have found some positions that interest you on the Types of Careers page, then you can search for those jobs. If you haven’t, you might want to try using the keyword “entry.” It’s worked for us in the past, but it’s not 100% at finding entry level jobs. You can also try sorting the search results by salary and start from the bottom, which is almost certain to lead to jobs that require no experience. There are hundreds of jobs in locations all across the country, so we’re not going to list specific opportunities, but we will warn you that once you find jobs that look interesting and click on the links to their descriptions, be sure to notice the second row of tabs on the page. That’s where you can find all kinds of detailed information about the jobs and how to apply.

The VA does work in cities big and small, so there’s a strong likelihood that they have jobs near where you live. The application processes for all of these jobs are pretty intense, because that’s how the government likes to do things, so be sure to follow the instructions carefully.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you thanked a veteran today?

The Innocence Project

Willy Franzen — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:06:07 +0000

Almost every kid has experienced it: your parents yelling at you for something you didn’t do. They are absolutely sure that you did something wrong and there is no convincing them otherwise. It’s a horrible feeling. Now, imagine the legal system putting you in the same situation, but the consequence is a lengthy imprisonment for something you didn’t do. Tragically, this happens more often than we’d like to think. It’s likely impossible to have an effective judicial system that eliminates all false positives, but we can certainly do better. The Innocence Project is a non-profit organization that is putting DNA and forensic evidence to work to exonerate people who have been wrongly convicted.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

The Innocence Project was started in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld and works in conjunction with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University to serve people who may have been hopeless just a decade and a half ago.

To date, 218 people in the United States have been exonerated by DNA testing, including 16 who served time on death row. These people served an average of 12 years in prison before exoneration and release.

Most of these cases were overturned because “The Innocence Project’s full-time staff attorneys and Cardozo clinic students provided direct representation or critical assistance.” Although the idea of helping convicted criminals may seem unsavory at first, you must remember that “convicted” doesn’t necessarily mean guilty.

We don’t cover many entry-level jobs that are law related here on One Day, One Job, but The Innocence Project has a number of opportunities for new college graduates. They are located in New York City and are looking for a Paralegal, Policy Associate, and Communications Assistant. They’ve done a nice job with their website, and their Jobs page links to detailed descriptions for each opportunity. If you’re thinking about law school, but not quite ready to get started, a job at The Innocence Project might aid you considerably in the decision making process.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

InnoncenceProject.org
Jobs at The Innocence Project
About The Innocence Project
The Innocence Project’s FAQ
The Innocence Project’s Cases
The Causes of Wrongful Conviction

Are you interested in more entry-level law jobs? Let us know in the comments so that we can find similar opportunities for you.