Policies

Employer Recruiting Policy

All employers seeking to recruit law students from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law must adhere to the Principles for a Fair and Ethical Recruitment Process set forth by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP).  Brandeis students must also comply with these principles.

In addition, the Office of Professional Development (OPD) has adopted the following guidelines to facilitate fair and timely hiring practices for both students and employers.  The guidelines govern summer and post-graduation positions, but do not apply to other positions posted with the OPD. 

1L Recruiting:

  • Prospective employers should not initiate formal one-on-one recruiting contact with first-year students, including applications, interviews, or offers prior to November 1.
  • Offers of employment to first year students for summer employment should remain open for at least 14 days from date of the offer letter.
  • Appointments with students for interviews should be established for a mutually convenient time so as not to disrupt students’ studies.
  • Students must regularly update the OPD staff on their status in the hiring process with the employers to which they have applied.

2L/3L Recruiting:

  • Offers of employment should remain open at least 14 days from date of the offer letter.
  • All offers should be confirmed in writing by the employer.  The date of the offer letter shall serve as the effective offer date for determining the date an offer shall close.
  • Employers shall grant reasonable requests for extensions by students to whom they have extended an offer.  At least 7 additional days should be granted.
  • If an employer makes an “early offer”, which is prior to the law school’s On-Campus Interview Program, the offer should remain open at least 14 days from when the first day of on-campus interviews begin at Brandeis.  Reasonable requests for extensions from students should be granted with a minimum of 7 additional days.
  • Students must regularly update the OPD staff on their status in the hiring process with the employers to which they have applied.

Students must immediately cease all interviewing activities and withdraw their outstanding applications once they accept an offer of employment and notify the Office of Professional Development.  Employers are expected to refrain from recruiting or extending offers to students who have already accepted offers from other employers. 

Employers and/or students who do not follow these policies may jeopardize their ability to continue to participate in recruiting at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.

All questions or comments regarding the above recruiting policies may be directed to Donna Lee, Assistant Dean for Professional Development at .

Non-Discrimination Policy

The University of Louisville is committed to and will provide equality of educational and employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, diversity of thought, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, marital status, pregnancy, or veteran status – except where sex, age, or ability represent bona fide educational or employment qualifications.  The Office of Professional Development furnishes assistance and facilities for interviewing and other placement services to employers whose employment practices comply with the University’s Non-Discrimination Policy.  By participating in recruiting programs or job posting services at the Brandeis School of Law, an employer agrees to comply with this Non-Discrimination Policy except as provided by law.

The complete Non-Discrimination Policy for the University of Louisville may be found here:  http://louisville.edu/hr/employeerelations/eeo-affirmative-action.

If at any time an employer is found to be in violation of these standards, policies and principles, the Office of Professional Development may discontinue the employer’s access to any and all employment services from the law school.

The Brandeis School of Law will not apply the above nondiscrimination policy to military recruiters interviewing on campus because of the threat of losing federal funding under the Solomon Amendment.  The School of Law strongly believes in and adheres to its nondiscrimination policy and seeks to provide our students and graduates with an equal opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination.  Allowing this exception in no way reflects an endorsement of any discriminatory hiring practice.  Any student who has questions or concerns regarding the decision to allow the military to recruit on campus are invited to contact Assistant Dean Donna Lee or Interim Dean Lars Smith.

The Brandeis School of Law is accredited by both the American Bar Association and the American Association of Law Schools and adheres to all policies and procedures required by these associations pertaining to non-discrimination in the employment process.

Complaint Procedures

Any student or graduate who believes that any employer has violated this policy is urged to report the problem in writing to the Assistant Dean for Professional Development as soon as possible after the incident in question.

Questions regarding the above policies may be directed to Donna Lee, Assistant Dean for Professional Development, at .

Outside Employment Policy

First-Year Students:  Because the first year presents demands and methods of study which most first-year students have not experienced, it is strongly recommended that first-year students not engage in outside employment.

Upper Level Students:  It is the policy of the law school to prohibit a student from working for compensation in excess of twenty (20) hours per week during any week of a semester in which the student is participating in law school courses as a full-time student. A full-time student is a student enrolled in twelve (12) or more credit hours of courses at the University of Louisville (including all courses, regardless of whether the credit will be applied to the student’s law degree).

Brandeis School of Law Reciprocity Policy

The Office of Professional Development at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law will grant reciprocity to 3L students and graduates of other law schools provided that the law school requesting reciprocity allows similar reciprocity privileges to Brandeis School of Law 3L students and graduates. Please follow the following procedures to request reciprocity:

1. Please submit a request in writing from a member of the law school’s Career Services or Professional Development staff stating the name of the 3L student or graduate, mailing address, phone number and email address, the date of graduation for an alumni or the anticipated date of graduation for a 3L student in addition to a copy of the law school’s reciprocity policy.

2. Reciprocity will be granted only to 3L students and graduates of law schools that allow University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law 3L students and graduates permission to access their resources and facilities. The Brandeis School of Law has the discretion to limit the number of 3L students and/or graduates to whom reciprocity is granted. The Office of Professional Development also reserves the right to deny services to individuals who misuse their privileges or who surpass a reasonable number of requests.

3. Available services include online access to job postings for a period equal to the school requesting reciprocity. Counseling services and participation in on campus interviews, resume collections or direct send jobs during Fall or Spring Recruiting is prohibited. Review of applications materials and participation in job/career fairs is not allowed.

4. Because the administrator who processes reciprocity requests is also in charge of both Fall and Spring Recruiting, reciprocity requests are not processed during the peak recruiting periods: Jan. 15 - March 1 and July 15 - Sept. 1. If you have questions or special circumstances, please contact Donna Lee, Assistant Dean for Professional Development, at donna.lee@louisville.edu.

5. No more than one 3L student and one alumnus/alumna from any law school may have active reciprocity at Brandeis at a given time.

Reciprocal privileges are non-transferrable and intended for the specific individual to whom reciprocity has been granted.

If you are granted access to our Symplicity system, the following restrictions will apply to your Symplicity account:

• You are not allowed to upload documents on Symplicity if the employer has requested applicants to submit documents by uploading them on Symplicity.
• You must identify yourself as a reciprocity student/graduate and that you have obtained reciprocity from the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville.
• If the Office of Professional Development is the contact for collecting application materials, you are not eligible to apply.

Please submit reciprocity requests to:

Caitlin Bias
University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
2301 S. 3rd Street, Louisville, KY 40292
Phone: (502)852-6368 Fax: (502)852-0862