A Glimpse Of The Real World  
Law students come out for a night of food, networking and mentorship

KABA recently held its spring career panel at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. More
than 45 students were in attendance from Southern California law schools, including
UCLA, USC, Loyola, Southwestern and Pepperdine.
The event began with a panel that featured practitioners at the height of their careers,
including partners and senior attorneys from major private and corporate law firms,
senior government attorneys, in-house counsel for major corporations, top lawyers from
preeminent public-interest organizations and even a judicial staff attorney for an associate
justice of the California Supreme Court. 
The panelists shared their wisdom and experience on a wide range of topics, including
the No. 1 topic on law students' minds: jobs. For most first-year law students, the spring
interview season will be their first introduction into the world of legal recruiting, a
process with its own peculiarities and obstacles that are different from recruiting in other
career field. The panelists explained the recruiting process for their respective practices
and provided advice and encouragement, diffusing some of the anxiety and apprehension
that the students had been carrying for the weeks leading into the interview season.
After KABA president Joanna H. Kim concluded the panel with motivational words and
insight, attendees dispersed into breakout sessions. More than 25 attorneys volunteered
for the event and organized around the room into small groups. Student attendees then
made their way around the room, meeting and networking with senior and rising-star
attorneys practicing in a large number of legal fields. For the first-year law students, this
was their first experience meeting and networking with attorneys. Students were able to
meet and network with attorneys in wide-ranging practices including corporate
transactions, taxation, mergers and acquisitions, family law, estate planning, commercial
litigation, labor and employment, criminal law, entertainment and media, intellectual
property, public-interest law and immigration.
Based on feedback from the students, the event was a resounding success. Irma Martinez,
a student at Southwestern Law School, remarked, "I come to all of your events because
KABA throws the best law student events in Los Angeles!" Connie Kim, a law student at
Loyola Law School who was instrumental in organizing the event, commented, "It was
remarkable that so many attorneys showed up to meet with us. What a great event. We
are so lucky that KABA attorneys are always reaching out to law students." 
KABA has made a concerted effort over the last several years to host events where law
students can meet and interact with attorneys on a one-on-one and small-group basis. If
you are interested in getting involved, please visit us at www.kabasocal.org. See you at
the next event!