“The soft skills are the hard skills.” -Professor Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School
“21st century education revolves around the “4Cs” (critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity).” -Ken Kay, CEO,EdLeader21
“Talent alone gets you nowhere. You really have to have the grit, and you gotta have a love for people.” - Zac Brown
As 2018 begins, a number of our Class of 2017 graduates continue to seek full-time post-graduate employment. Why should you hire our graduates? Here’s why.
We are Cleveland’s “brain-gain” law school. Most of Cleveland’s judges and lawyers graduated from our 120-year-old law school. We stand out for our outstanding faculty, ethos of social justice, affordable tuition, state-of-the art facilities, thriving downtown university campus, practical hands-on experiential opportunities, industry-aligned Cybersecurity, Health Law, and Global Space Law Centers, technologically advanced Trial Courtroom, SoloPractice Incubator, and Learning Commons, and the region’s first Master of Legal Studies program.
But there’s something else that also distinguishes us that is just as important. Our graduates have grit.
The managing partner of a major Cleveland law firm recently told me that they have found that the C|M|LAW graduates they have hired stand out from other excellent law school graduates in 3 important ways. They have “grit,” “an understanding of the power of relationships,” and “perseverance”– an exceptionally strong work ethic, the ability to communicate and collaborate with colleagues and clients to solve problems, and a desire for long-term success in the firm.
We prepare our students not only to be lawyers, but also leaders. In other words, we recognize that learning the substantive law will always be an essential foundation for legal practice, but legal expertise and analytical acumen, while critical, are not enough. Clients also are looking for trusted advisors who can translate their knowledge into practical solutions and who can lead an integrated, efficient team of service professionals.
That’s why we not only teach substantive law but also focus on skills such as critical thinking, practical problem solving, initiative, creativity, optimism, empathy, teamwork, client relations, project management, the ability to listen, and the ability to see a situation from another’s perspective.
Our graduates have varied interests and experiences and all are eager to prove their skills and value to their future employer.
Please take a moment to look through our C|M|LAW Resume Book. Please consider who you might be able to take for coffee and a networking meeting, who might be a good candidate for someone you know who has a hiring need, or who might be a good addition to your own practice. Then please reach out to those graduates and offer your advice and assistance.
If you have questions, please contact Heather DiFranco or Sarah Beznoska in our Office of Career Planning at 216-687-6871 orcareernull@law.csuohio.nulledu.
Hire a C|M|LAW graduate. Hire Grit.
Have a great week.
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
My best,
Lee