Monday, April 8, 2013

Job: Reader for Lawyer at SEC

Dear Economics Students:

I am writing to inform you about an excellent full-time job opportunity for graduating seniors and recent alumni working as a reader for a blind lawyer at the SEC in Washington, DC.  While the position has not yet been officially posted, I know that the job will become open around the middle of this summer.  I worked for this lawyer myself after graduating from the University of Virginia and prior to beginning law school, and she will need the position filled as soon as her current reader leaves for law school.  She would like to make the position known to potentially qualified candidates and to speak with these candidates in advance of when the position is posted in order to facilitate finding someone to take over after her current reader departs in a timely way, that is, without having a gap in reader coverage. 

I am directing this opportunity to economics students in particular because I know from my own experience that my background as an economics major helped me a great deal in learning and enjoying the work for the position.  For students who are interested in law school, this experience greatly helped me be ahead of my peers in terms of legal research, writing, and understanding complex legal concepts more generally.  It also gave me a greater sense of the daily responsibilities and work product of an attorney, which better solidified and structured my studies and goals while in law school.  This job provides a significant opportunity for students interested in this field, and serves as an alternative to similar positions as a paralegal or legal assistant.

In general, qualified candidates would be quick learners, conscientious, diligent, hard working, and interested in learning.  Flexibility with hours is also important as I did work some overtime.  From my experience, it is important to be skilled at research, though research using legal databases can be learned on the job.  Exposure to and interest in concepts in finance is important since a range of financial products arise in the course of the job.  In general, the job includes some straight reading of texts, lots of research in different forms, editing and formatting of legal citations, and attending and note taking at various meetings.  The lawyer would like to find someone who is interested in working for at least two years and the candidate must be able to clear a background check. 
 
I will be collecting cover letters and resumes from any interested candidates and am happy to answer any questions about the position.  Resumes should include GPA and can be emailed to me at mogershok@gmail.com.