The Rankings
Students,
Manage Your
Careers
The economy may be down, but you don’t have to be:
Get a strategy, make connections, and keep an open mind.
What Frims Want
TBY NIKI KOPSIDAS
AND STEVEN J. STEINMAN
his time of economic uncertainty
poses unique challenges to all of us. As politicians
in Washington attempt to stimulate the economy,
NIKI KOPSIDAS is the director of legal recruitment for the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. STEVEN J.
STEINMAN is a corporate partner resident in the firm’s New York
office and co-chair of its recruitment committee.
you as law students are
faced with launching
your careers in a professional world surrounded
by much apprehension.
While you listen to the
news and watch the
market’s ups and downs,
or wait to see if another
firm announces layoffs
or dissolution, you have
to distance yourself long
enough from the media
and the Internet to focus
on a strategy that will
meet your immediate and
long-term career goals,
just as you would in a
stable or booming economy.
Although you may feel
that you have little control
over your future as an aspiring lawyer, it’s essential
to your professional development that you rally,
create opportunities and
invest in your success.
In more recent years,
there was less of an immediate need for some
law students to spend as
much time focusing on
their career goals since
job opportunities for
graduates were ample
during a robust economy.
There was a higher level of
confidence that a solid opportunity would become
available by the time the
summer rolled around or
upon graduation.
Today’s law students
justly do not feel that
same sense of security.
Managing a higher level of
stress, you’ll find that you
need to work harder to
discover rare oppor-
