Ethics and Employment, A Guide for Law Students

The following guidelines have been reprinted from the National Association of Law Placement's brochure entitled, "Ethics and Employment, A Guide for Law Students."

• All information provided in your résumé and cover letter must be accurate. Distortion, misrepresentation, exaggeration, or intention to include inaccurate information in your résumé or cover letter is unethical and inexcusable. You should be willing and able to discuss everything listed on your résumé.
  
• Your legal name should appear at the top of your résumé and should be the same as the one that appears on your transcript, unless you have legally changed your name since graduation.
  
• You should show your current and permanent addresses and telephone numbers. Using addresses of acquaintances or distant relatives to establish a geographic tie to an area in the hope that an employer in that area will give your application consideration is inappropriate.
  
• List the names of all the academic institutions from which you have received a degree. Include the degree received, graduation date, majors, minors and concentrations. If you did not receive a degree from an institution, you may either list the dates of attendance and the credits earned or omit them.
  
• Your grade point average and class rank (if applicable) should appear on your résumé. You should not "round up" your grades (from a 2.5 to 3.0, for example), or round down your class rank (from top 22% to top 20%).
  
• Include bar status on your résumé once you have taken the bar examination. Be sure to include the date you sat for the examination, the state in which you took it, and when the results are expected. Upon passing the examination, indicate the month and year of your admission.
  
• For each employment experience, you must include the name of the employer, location (city and state), dates of employment, positions held, and a brief description of your duties. Do not extend your length of employment to fill gaps, elevate positions held, or expand your responsibilities to increase their significance.
  
• Be honest about any journals, articles, and research papers in which you have been involved. Be certain to define your level of participation, i.e. author, co-author, contributor, etc.
  
• List only outside interests and activities in which you are truly interested and which you feel are relevant to your experience. Do not include items only because they may be appealing to an employer or are politically correct.
  
• Indicate candidly your level of proficiency with a particular computer software package or foreign language. If you state that you are fluent in a foreign language or computer program, expect the employer to rely fully on your representation of this skill.
  
• References should be from individuals who can verify and comment about your work experience, legal skills, ability to get along with others, dependability, or accomplishments. Include only individuals who are knowledgeable about your performance, and be certain that the references listed know that you have provided their names to prospective employers.
  
• You should supply employers with the most current transcript available. If you have received grades that the law school registrar has not recorded, you may attach a separate listing of the courses taken and grades received. You should not add these grades to the transcript nor should you attempt to compute a new grade point average or approximate a new rank in class.
  
• Writing samples should be your own unedited work. If the writing sample has been edited, state this fact clearly. You may also explain the extent of the editing by others. If your writing sample was prepared for a previous employer, you must obtain permission from that employer and take any necessary steps to protect the confidentiality of the client.