Translating Legal Education: Describing Your Foreign Law School Grades

By: Kandice Thorn

What is the difference between a sehr gut and vollbefriedegent in the German system? A 7 or 10 in the Argentine system?

Unless you are ensconced in those countries, it is unlikely you would know. Even if you can translate the grades, you would need to have a strong understanding of the cultures and traditions that govern legal education in those countries to fully comprehend what the grades mean. Most employers will not have this information easily at hand. As a candidate from a foreign country, if you choose to provide grade information in your resume, you also need to be sure you are providing the appropriate context so that an employer can understand the information. Otherwise, the information will lose its effectiveness.

Translating Legal Education: Why You Shouldn't "Equivocate" Your Foreign Law Degree

By: Kandice Thorn

I see a lot of resumes that state "J.D. equivalent" as a way of easily and simply stating foreign legal degrees. But what exactly is a degree that is equivalent to a J.D.? In what respect is it equivalent? Is it equivalent in the number of years of study required? In that it qualifies you to practice or sit for a qualifying exam? In that it is a doctoral level or professional degree? Or is a J.D. a master's level degree?

Advice for Career Changers

By: Kandice Thorn

Most LL.M. students come to the program as the logical continuation of a career path that has been already well defined. However, we also have a number of students who pursue the LL.M. degree as a way to move their career in a new direction. For these students, the question of how to market themselves to employers can be tricky.

Being Nice

By: Kandice Thorn

First, I must confess that this is a topic I have been wanting to address for some time, but I have been a little lost as to the right way to approach the subject. The gist is something that should be quite obvious: if you are nice, people will like you and want to help you; if you are mean, people will not like you and not want to help you.

Professional Email Etiquette

By: Kandice Thorn

Repeat after me: "Email correspondence is professional correspondence."

We live in a world where email is frequently our primary method of communication. We send our friends two line emails to make plans; we dot our correspondence with smiley faces; we use abbreviations and slang. But it is important to remember that, in the professional world, email correspondence should reflect your professionalism and should be treated with the same level of care you would have used in drafting a hard copy letter in the days of yore.

What to Bring (and NOT to Bring) to a Job Interview: A Checklist

By: Kandice Thorn

Keep this checklist handy and refer to it whenever you have a job interview.  

Google Yourself

By: Kandice Thorn

Many employers these days like to do a Google search of candidates to look for red flags, so it is very important for you to manage your internet image.