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| Author: Kimm Alayne Walton
Publisher: Gilbert Law Publishing - Thomson West
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 113578
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1380
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.3
Dimensions (in): 10 x 7.6 x 2.1
ISBN: 0314176772
Dewey Decimal Number: 340
EAN: 9780314176776
ASIN: 0314176772
Publication Date: March 17, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 "Yeah, Rah, Rah!!!" August 13, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
My review is "give me a break". This book should have been titled, "Rah, Rah, You can do it, yeaaaaaaaaah!!!"
How many times will the author say that we all should go to our CSO because they love to help us and they are counsellors first and lawyers second? She didn't meet my CSO and didn't mention them in her thank you section. Apparently she only met CSOs who wanted to be guidance counselors from birth and not the failed, bitter lawyers who got a CSO job as a favor.
There are some interesting ideas that could have been boiled down to a few pages. Warning, a lot of those tactics might be effective for a petite, attractive woman but if you try some of it as a man security will escort you out.
 Overhyped, warmed over and tired advice July 7, 2006
23 out of 28 found this review helpful
Hey Kimm,
The 1980's called and they want their Parachute back.
Let me give all potential readers of this book some REAL advice. DO NOT, under any circumstances, answer ANY of the interview questions as advised in this book. I interview law students and applicants to our firm every week. Upon hearing one of these "cooked" responses, I immediately put that person's resume/application in the "No" file.
Do yourself a favor and answer job interview questions frankly, honestly and with originality. Your sincerity will play far better than the insulting routine this author -- and almost every other career counselor -- proposes.
I don't know what's more pathetic: the fact that people like this are still making money encouraging applicants to "sell themselves like an infomercial" or the fact that other people actually give them money for the drivel they're shoveling.
 Great Book June 28, 2006
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
I read the reviews here before purchasing this book and decided to go ahead and buy it anyway. First of all, forget her writing style/tone, that "Auntie Kimmbo" stuff and the way she goes on and on about Harvard. You can get over it--that is not a reason to low-ball the book. Second, I do think Walton over-promises a bit, but I see why. Her ideas are really good. Whether or not they are common sense to a person probably depends on that person's background. But as someone who came to law school as an introvert with no connections and very little experience with job searches and interviews, I learned a lot from this book. Some of the ideas she gave had occurred to me on occasion before reading this book (i.e. anybody in law school knows they need to network, but some people--like me--are very uncomfortable with it and don't entirely appreciate its significance) while others are simply the kind of ideas that seem so simple when you read them in this book that they merely *seem* like common sense. You wonder why you didn't think of it before.
To tell you about me some and relate it to this book--I finished my first year at a top 10 law school May 2006 with low grades and no job offers. The school I attend has on-campus interviews in the spring that are mainly for first-year students but also for second-year students...but the spring OCI is mainly used by 1st years. My school is the kind where firms have to see whoever signs up; grades are not used. I sent out resumes to firms, also, but not as many as my classmates were sending out. The cover letters and resumes were pretty general, not attention-getting at all and just boring. There were students at my school who also had unimpressive grades but got jobs while I had what I thought were strong on-campus interviews and one interview at a law firm in my hometown that I also thought went well. I couldn't understand why I kept getting rejected, how other people got their jobs and connections, and how I could attend a top 10 school and finish my 1st year with nothing, to be very honest. I had a lot of misconceptions in my head (mainly that of entitlement based on my school's reputation, particularly in relation to the ranky-dank-ness of my hometown...I thought they should have wanted to snatch me right up), and I now believe that if I'd had Walton's book I wouldn't have had to come back to my hometown, call public interest groups and ask to volunteer over the summer.
I have found that I made countless mistakes that I wouldn't have made had I known about Walton's book, or even had I been to see my Career Services office like she recommends over and over in her book (and, again, I never bothered with them because I believed everyone when they insisted our school's reputation would be enough and that my hometown would jump on a student from a top 10 school). I wouldn't have had to figure out too late that law firms in areas I'm not from care a lot about geography while stumbling through geo-related questions in interviews and then have that confirmed by Walton in her book. One thing I think Walton says several times that I'm not sure about, unless you attend a top law school, is that you can get your dream job regardless of grades. At my school, we get access to a lot of information about what top firms have hired our students with what GPA...and, essentially, firms make a lot of exceptions for *us* despite saying they want "top 10% at top schools." In fact, every firm that says that takes students from my school that are not in the top 10%, or even 20%, and pretty much every other firm that says they want "top students from top schools" goes almost to or right around the 50th percentile. I found out that with my GPA and even lower (I am seriously not in the top 50%), there were several law firms I could have gotten hired by during the summer of 2006 had I read and followed Walton's advice...and I would have known that before had I paid more attention to my Career Services office. But I somewhat doubt the exceptions are just for top schools...I think some firms do have their strict cutoffs, but I also think some firms claim they want top 10% simply to make themselves look more prestigious/selective or even to discourage receiving more resumes to sift through. One of my classmates had actually given me a tip that Walton gives in her book about what to do when you have lower grades than a firm looks for--just go ahead and mention your grades in the interview but put a positive spin on them--and the tip had worked for him several times. I wonder if he had read Walton's book, in retrospect!
When I go for 2nd-year OCI, I will know not to be so passive this time in interviews. Walton teaches you to pick about 5 qualities about yourself that show why firms should hire you, think of experiences and situations you've been in to back those qualities up and then basically tell firms why they should hire you without flat-out saying, "Here's why you should hire me." I never did anything like that...never told firms why they should hire me or about what I can do for them. I never did any networking or took any kind of initiative, and now that I've started networking with lawyers at firms I'm interested in and in the area of law I want to practice, I have actually had those lawyers tell me that I am doing the right thing--that I need to be aggressive and show that I am a go-getter--and that when they think about giving out internships, etc, people who do what I am doing are the first ones they think about and make offers to. Walton basically says as much in her book. And these lawyers, for the most part, have been offering help before I can even get half the questions Walton suggests in her book out my mouth. From the very first lawyer I contacted after reading her book, I got the names and contact information of about five or six other lawyers who work at firms and in the practice area I'm interested in--one being a lawyer who is famous in that practice area and another two being lawyers who work for one of the most famous people/companies in the *world*. Though Walton suggests asking people you network with if they can suggest other people to talk to, I never had the chance to ask that lawyer--she just started GIVING me names and numbers of people I have dreamed of contacting and in positions I have dreamed of working in but had no clue how to get in. All this from only one contact I made.
No, this information might not be ground-breaking, and I could have done this on my own. But Walton gives that kick in the pants some people need and provides explanations for why you need to do the things she suggests. I see why Walton de-emphasizes grades and school--networking and who you know are definitely very powerful. It might not get you over that strict 3.0 GPA minimum your favorite top law firm might have, but you can still get a great--maybe even better--job doing it...and for those who don't really know how, Walton tells you the steps to take when you need contacts and what to say to them. She also tells you how to use those contacts you make in your cover letters so that you will get a response, or at least a serious look. But her book is NOT just all about networking! In general, she just takes all the "common sense" advice and puts it all in one book. I wouldn't necessarily buy the book full-price, but I never do--if you're interested, buy it here or half.com used. But if you're having trouble finding a job and/or are relatively clueless like I was, get this book! I would give 4 & 1/2 stars!
Decent book, but not worth purchasing... May 8, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Although the book includes some useful advice, I didn't like the tone of the writing (other reviewers have called it "cutesy"). I wouldn't recommend buying a new copy of "Guerrilla Tactics"; however, if you can find a used or borrowed copy, by all means skim through the book for information/advice that can be applied to you.
Overrated and Overpriced November 11, 2005
15 out of 47 found this review helpful
I don't see why everyone heaps praise on this book. It's not that good. It contains the exact same suggestions as other legal career books, but it takes 200 pages more to make those suggestions, and it costs $10-$12 more than the other books.
Walton's big idea is to network. She thinks that applicants should basically yell at the top of their lungs that they are searching for a legal job. As she sees it, applicants should tell friends, family members, and even people they meet on the street about their job search. For evidence that this advice works, Walton relates a story of one job seeker who told a trash collector about her job search, and it turned out that the trash collector was well-connected, was able to pull some strings, and eventually was able to help the applicant find a legal job.
I got a kick out of that story. I don't deny that the story is genuine, but I doubt that talking with trash collectors will help most job applicants. The vast majority of people will just get puzzled looks from trashmen if they mention their job search. Maybe if you live in Beverly Hills, or have a summer home in the Hamptons, you might know a trash collector who is so well-connected that law firm partners will hire on the trash collector's advice. For those of us living in the real world, Walton's anecdote rings hollow.
Even worse is Walton's advice about interviewing. She says to put on an "infomercial." In other words, sell yourself like Tide detergent or Keebler cookies. As anyone who has ever gone to a law firm interview can testify, Walton's advice will not get you very far. You will be asked for a copy of your transcript, and that is what you will be judged on. If you prattle on about how qualified you are, how enthusiastic you are about the position, or how good a fit you are for the firm, then you might annoy someone. That might mean that you will not get the job EVEN IF you meet the firm's GPA cut-off.
It is worth noting that Walton is a graduate of Yale Law School. As such, she never had to deal with the legal hiring headaches the rest of us have had to deal with. Walton was basically able to sign up, and get whatever job she wanted. Federal clerkship? No problem. Big law firm job? When can you start? It is almost patronizing for someone like Walton--who could pick her legal job--to pretend to be able to empathize with what the rest of us face when trying to find a position.
Walton's book is called "Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams." Walton actually is right that there are guerrilla tactics you can employ to boost your odds of getting a legal position, but she fails to mention what they are. If you really want a legal job, and you are willing to do anything, then consider: (a) changing your last name to Silberfarb, Rosenfeld, Goldberg, Kaplan or Silverstein; (b) wearing a yarmulka to your legal interviews; and (c) putting down something about a love of Israeli history in the hobbies/interests section of your resume. I cannot guarantee that my "guerrilla tactics" will get you a legal job, but I feel strongly that following my advice will get you further than any of the advice contained in Walton's book. Good luck!
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