You may have previously read my post about how to land a job in civil rights. If you did, then you know it’s less about applying to posted job positions and more about applying for the unposted job by making connections.
If that’s the case, you may be wondering who you’re supposed to reach out to when you send in your resume and ask to go get coffee. The named partner? The newer associate? Someone who went to your law school? Depending on the circumstances, any of these could be the right answer. Thought there’s one very important person we’re forgetting.
All things equal, I’d say the best person to reach out to with your resume hoping to forge a connection is a mid- or senior-level associate (or a similar position in a non-profit). Why is that? Because that person almost positively has enough time to read your email and actually meet for coffee. And that person also has some sway with the senior partners (or senior staff attorney/Legal Director of a non-profit). And that person is probably the one with the most desperate need for help and who will advocate for another attorney to be hired to clear some work from their plate.
Of course, these are generalizations. But overall, I’d say these are the people to reach out to and who you want to impress.
That said, let’s say the firm is really small. Just the two founding partners, or just a single Legal Director. Well, that narrows down your choices, doesn’t it?
Or let’s say the firm is partner-heavy and the associates are mostly fresh out of law school. In that case, it’s probably worth reaching out to both the partners (or Legal Director) who may hire you as well as the associates (or staff attorney) to see what it’s really like to work there.
Perhaps someone you know works at the firm or non-profit. Definitely start with them. It would seem weird if you did not. (That happened once at our firm, and it just seemed odd.) But then if that person doesn’t have a lot of clout yet, make sure to follow up by emailing the partners (Legal Director) or a more senior associate (senior staff attorney) directly and cc’ing your friend.
And if you have a law school connection, that could also be a great way to get your foot in the door.
Of course, there’s no absolute right and wrong answer. I just caution that I’ve seen a lot of people reach out directly to the partners of a prominent civil rights firm, and those people are busyyyyy. So they may not get back to you as quickly. Or it’s possible they don’t realize how busy their attorneys are and see no real need to hire you.
And if you reach out to too young of an associate or a brand new staff attorney, they may just be getting their own footing. They definitely don’t want to be advocating to hire a new attorney by claiming they have too much work. And they honestly might be too busy to actually meet anytime in the next few weeks, delaying your process considerably.
That’s why I think the safest bet is a mid- or senior-level associate or staff attorney who knows what the firm/non-profit is looking for, who typically has more flexibility to grab coffee or lunch even when busy, and who can advocate for additional hires to the team.