lawyer

Published February , last updated October

There are a number of programs intended to assist minority law school applicants as they seek to earn a spot in increasingly competitive law school classrooms. The following organizations, while not affiliated with any law school or worth any academic credits, provide a unique opportunity for URM applicants to get a jump-start on understanding the J.D. curriculum and the legal job market.

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Career Program

SEO is a nonprofit organization founded in 1963 as one of New York City's first mentoring programs for high school students of color. Over the past four decades, SEO has expanded its programs to benefit more than 5,000 young people, helping them develop throughout high school, college, and their professional careers. SEO has offices in New York City and London, more than 50 full time staff, and programs that serve over 1,000 students and SEO alumni each year. One such program is the SEO Law Program.

SEO Law is a 10-week career development program for 0L (pre-law) students of color. The program includes a 1-week training period, an 8-week internship at a top law firm and a 1-week law school crash course called the Law Institute. Interns spend a summer becoming familiar with the inner workings of the corporate law firm environment and networking with associates, firm partners and legal recruiting professionals. SEO has partnerships with firms in over 7 markets, including New York, Washington, D.C. San Francisco/the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago. Interns are paid for all 10 weeks and salaries range from $1000 to $1500 per week.

SEO Law is open to underrepresented, pre-law students of color (Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American and Asian). Candidates must be enrolled in an ABA accredited law program for the fall semester immediately following the summer internship. Students with F-1 visas or CPT/OPT work authorization are not eligible for the Law program.

What are the benefits of participation?

There's much to be gained from participating in SEO Law. Participants get an early start on the law firm recruiting process by making connections with legal recruiting contacts, associates and partners. SEO alumni frequently return to their host SEO firm or a different firm in the SEO family for 1L and 2L internships. Interns get the opportunity to meet and connect with law school peers from their own and other institutions prior to starting school in the fall. Additionally, there are over 1,000 alumni of the SEO Law program and SEO interns graduate into this elite network of legal professionals of color upon completion of the program. SEO also has a 1L judicial clerkship opportunity that is only available to alumni.

The Law Institute provides a preview of the classes that students typically encounter during 1L year. Interns complete reading assignments and sit through Socratic Method style mock lectures taught by real law school professors.

How Competitive is the SEO program?

The program is quite selective; by utilizing LSAC's CRS (Candidate Referral Service) and yearly college visits, the SEO recruits more than 600 applicants for the Corporate Law program each year. In previous years, the acceptance rate has hovered around 10-13% according to SEO officials; however, the current economic climate is likely to alter the number of spots available within the program. Additionally, the program's notoriety has permitted them to select most of their interns from the Top 20 law schools, as dictated by U.S. News and World Report's ranking system.

seocareer.org/apply-now. All applications must be filled out online and before starting the application applicants should be sure to have:

• A professional photograph of themselves (in digital format)
• An updated resume
• An idea of why they wish to participate in the program (There is a required short essay which asks for a max of 200 words.)
• Your personal statement
• A list of all ABA accredited law schools to which they have applied to or will apply to and the status of those applications

What is the application process?

There are 4 round deadlines:

Round 1: December 1st

Round 2: January 1st

Round 3: February 1st

Round 4: February 20th

Much like law school, acceptances to the SEO program are granted on a rolling basis, so it is advisable to apply and interview as early as possible. Once the application is submitted, applicants enter into the all-too-familiar territory of waiting.

After applying, select applicants are selected for interviews; these invites are sent out in waves via e-mail. Candidates may be interviewed via Skype (if studying abroad) and/or in-person in New York City or in select regional locations. Past regional sites have included Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC. The Admissions Committee reserves the right to interview candidates at any point after their applications is received.

After the interview, candidates are requested to submit seat deposit receipts or other proof of enrollment after finalizing enrollment plans. Additionally, SEO requests an official transcript and may sometimes request a letter of recommendation. No student can be admitted into the program without proof of enrollment in law school .

I got an interview invite; now what?

Congratulations on getting an invite to interview with SEO. Read over the interview invite email before doing anything else. Schedule and confirm your interview as soon as possible, as spots tend to fill up quickly. Candidates should also reach out to their SEO recruiter to get more information on how to prepare for the interview.

What can I expect? (Note: answers compiled from numerous threads on TLS)

SEO utilizes the stress interview method, which means that applicants must be prepared. The interview consists of two parts: the personal portion and a reading comprehension (case study) portion. The latter part of the study requires candidates to read a case study and then analyze and respond to it. The first portion of the interview is where candidates tend to need the most preparation. Previous applicants have urged candidates to review their resume, SEO's website, their partner firms, current events, and to have a basic understanding of why they might like to pursue a career in corporate law. Questions are delivered at a frighteningly quick pace, often offered out of the expected order. Listen closely to the questions asked and evaluate what the interviewers are asking for.

SEO echoes much of this advice in their preparation tips found on their website. The key during the interview is to remain calm, think through all answers, and to verbalize all thoughts clearly.

For further questions please visit the SEO's official FAQ:

Or contact the SEO office at: