Networking Events: Conquer Your Fears

By: Kandice Thorn

For this week, I am going to resurrect a post from about a year ago that I think will be useful for all of you who are just now starting the LL.M. program...

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(originally published on September 8, 2014)

I have been approached by several students recently who were preparing to attend their first networking events. I'm using the term "networking events" to broadly refer to conferences, panel discussions, "meet and greet" events, or anything else that will attract professionals with whom you may want to build a professional relationship.

How to Handle a Resume "Gap"

By: Kandice Thorn

One thing that you will hear time and time again about resumes is that you should not have any "gaps."  A gap on your resume is a period of time when you were not in school pursuing a degree and were not employed.  Basically, it's a period of unemployment.  In this post, I will tell you how to address resume considerations if you are currently in a period of unemployment, and also how to address a past period of unemployment.

What Should be Included in my Resume?

By: Kandice Thorn

One of the most frequent questions I get from international students regarding their resumes is whether it really needs to be limited to one page.  European-style CVs typically span at least two pages, and the idea of shifting to a one-page resume can be daunting.  But it is very important to limit yourself to one page, at least until you amass enough experience to warrant a second page.  The difficult part is figuring out what to include in order to prune your accomplishments to fit onto one page.

Maintain Relationships with Professors, Colleagues, and Supervisors After Graduation

By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees

This week we are pleased to present the third of three posts by guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees.  Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C.  She wrote this series of three articles to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students.  This week, she addresses the importance of building and maintaining relationships throughout your LL.M. year.  We are grateful for her contribution!

After graduating, what stays with you from your LL.M. year is not just the knowledge you have gained, but also the relationships you have built with your professors, peers, colleagues and bosses, which is far more precious.

Externship/Internship Performance: Be Curious and "Loud"

By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees

This week we are pleased to present the second of three posts by guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees.  Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C.  She wrote this series of three articles to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students.  This week, she addresses how to succeed in an internship/externship.  We are grateful for her contribution!

A primary goal in any internship is to complete your part of the job, diligently and actively. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you do it all by yourself, sit quietly in front of your computer throughout all your hours. You can be a hard worker as well as a great team player who is able to optimize workload, think outside the box and ASK QUESTIONS (don’t be afraid!). A smart intern will not only complete what s/he is supposed to do, but will also be CURIOUS about the other parts of the work.

                                                                                                                                          

Here is my real experience when I worked at Coach, Inc. during the first semester of my LL.M. year. Each intern was assigned a certain amount of work doing online intellectual property monitoring and enforcement. It was actually a pretty sweet position because we worked closely with the senior counsels and the General Counsel. 

Speak Up During the Year of Your LL.M.

By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees

This week we have a guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees.  Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C.  She wrote this blog post to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students.  We are grateful for her contribution!

An LL.M. program for most non-U.S. candidates is something with multiple purposes. First and foremost, it is an intensive one-year long program of study covering various American substantive legal subjects. It also provides an almost exclusively English-speaking environment, which is a first for many people. Most importantly, an open, mingle-cultured (both legally and socially) society is right there, waiting to embrace you, whether or not you are prepared for it. 

I am a foreign-trained lawyer who recently graduated from the LL.M. program at Fordham Law, which is located in midtown Manhattan near Columbus Circle—not a very quiet place! In this article, I will share my experience and give you some tips on what you, as an international student, need to do to make your year the most rewarding.

Passing the Bar Exam

By: Kandice Thorn

We have reached the end of the semester and finals are rapidly approaching.  But for many students, beyond finals looms an even bigger challenge: the bar exam. 

If you have done any research at all, you know that the pass rate for foreign-qualified bar takers in NY is quite low, hovering consistently around 40%.  What can you do to improve your chances?  Below are a few tips that can help you beat the odds.