If you are interested in applying for one or more of the Clinical Programs, please read this information regarding this year's Clinic OCI. This should address many common questions about the application process. If you have any further questions, please contact the Office of Career and Professional Development.

1. Obtain your Symplicity user name and password. If you have forgotten your password, go to the Symplicity log-in page at https://law-wisc-csm.symplicity.com/students and click on the "Forgot My Password" tab on the Symplicity home page, and your password will be reset and emailed to you. If that doesn't work, contact the Office of Career & Professional Development (OCPD), and we will manually reset your password.

2. Log on to https://law-wisc-csm.symplicity.com/students.

3. Review your personal "Profile" data. In the "Academic Information" section of the Profile, make sure your "Year in School" and anticipated "Graduation Date" are correct.

4. Update your resumé. Look at the sample resumés available in the OCPD and on our website for formatting ideas and suggestions about how to describe particular activities.

5. Have your resumé reviewed by someone in the OCPD, if possible, and by anyone else whose opinion you value. If you wish to have your résumé reviewed by OCPD, please send your résumé via email unless otherwise instructed by your advisor.

6. Upload your final, error-free resumés onto Symplicity. (Go to the "Documents" tab, click on "Add New," give the document a name, choose the document type, and then browse your computer's hard drive until the name of the résumé appears in the window, then click on "Submit." After you've uploaded the resumés, you can view them either as a Word document or a PDF file.)

   It is critical that you upload your resumés. If you don't do so, the system will not allow you to bid for interviews. You may upload more than one resumé. You may have a resume specifically tailored to certain positions. Make sure you give your résumés descriptive names (e.g. John Smith Resume Law & Entrepreneurship, Mary Jones Resume Family Law) so you are able to easily upload your desired resume for the relevant bid.

7. Research the clinics. To do this, click on the "OCI" tab, and then choose the Fall Clinics OCI Session. Once you choose this option, you will be able to view the list of clinics. Click on the "Review" button to the left of the clinic’s name to view additional information about that clinic, including to whom to address your cover letter. You may also visit the Clinic website (law.wisc.edu/clinics) to view more in depth information. You should only bid on clinics with which you would accept an interview. Do not bid at random and do your research before you bid. This avoids wasting bids and taking spots from others who may really wish to interview with a particular clinic.

8. Upload your cover letters and other required documents. All of the participating clinics are asking for a resume and a cover letter. You will need to create the documents that the employers you want to interview with have requested, and upload them into Symplicity in the "Documents" section.

9. Enter your bids through Symplicity by the bidding deadline. Remember to rank your bids. You are able to bid on up to 5 clinics.

   To bid: Click the "Review" button to the left of the name of the clinic. Once on the employer's screen, you will be able to select, from a pull-down menu, the appropriate version of all required documents needed for the bid. After you have uploaded your documents for a specific clinic, you may choose the numerical rank for the clinic you are bidding on. Once you've uploaded all required documents, click on the "Apply" button. (NOTE: You will not be allowed to apply unless you (a) have all required documents for the employer uploaded into your Documents section (b) have attached all the documents to the clinic application and (c) have selected a rank number for the bid).

   You may edit your documents and change your bids as often as you'd like, up until bidding closes. However, if you change any of your documents in the documents section of Symplicity, make sure you re-upload the edited documents to your bid or bids. The documents are not changed automatically in the bid section of Symplicity.

   There is no advantage to bidding early, other than that you can turn your attention to other things. Bidding early does not increase your chances of obtaining interviews. However, the rank that you give each clinic that you bid on may impact your chance of interviewing with each clinic. Further, no documents are submitted to the employers until after the bidding deadline passes.

   Students will be permitted to bid on and rank up to 5 clinics. Therefore, be sure to carefully research the clinics before you bid. You won't want to waste any of your bids on clinics that don't interest you.

10. Sign up for Interviews. Most clinics will publish their selections for interviews in early December. Check the information in Symplicity for each clinic to see when they will make their decisions. To see if you have been selected for an interview, log on to Symplicity, click on "OCI," and then choose the 2015 Fall Clinic OCI session from the drop down menu. A list of the clinics you bid on will appear, and in the column headed "Invitations," you'll see either "invited," "alternate," "not invited" or "pending."

    If you've been "invited," you have been selected for an interview, and you should click on the "Accept Preselect" button, which will take you to that employer's interview schedule. Select an interview time and click on "Submit."

    Note: Some clinics will not schedule their interviews through Symplicity, some may not require interviews, and some may have a different interview process than others. Please pay attention to your email and Symplicity account to see what the interview process is like for the clinics you have bid on.

    If you are preselected but do not want to accept an interview opportunity, please click on the "Decline" button so that your interview spot can be offered to another student.

    After the interview selection deadline(s), if your status with a clinic is listed as “not selected,” it means you have not been selected for an interview by that clinic. If your status is listed as “pending” after this date, it may mean that the clinic has not yet made final interview choices.

11. Show up for your interviews! Interviews will likely be held in one of the offices associated with each clinic. It may be helpful to find the specific office ahead of time. The location of the interview will be specified in Symplicity or in a later email after interviewees have been selected.

    YOU MUST SHOW UP FOR EVERY INTERVIEW YOU SCHEDULE. Nothing is more unfair to your fellow law students, or more annoying to employers, than "no shows." If you bid for and obtain an interview opportunity but don't want it, DO NOT SCHEDULE YOURSELF FOR AN INTERVIEW. You should have already made decisions regarding potential clinics during the bid process, but if something comes up that changes your mind, do not interview. That way, an alternate, who does want the interview, will be able to take it. If an emergency arises that will prevent you from showing up for an interview, tell the OCPD or the specific clinic as soon as possible. To cancel an interview that you have already scheduled yourself for, you must notify the director of the clinic THREE FULL BUSINESS DAYS in advance.

    For each interview, bring with you a copy of all the documents you submitted including your resumé. At times, the interviewer may not have your documents and you should be able to provide them with copies.

12. Consider all other deadlines, applications, and offers. If you receive an offer from a clinical program, please remember the deadline to accept or decline. If you accept an offer from another opportunity, please decline any clinic offers as soon as possible. If you have accepted an offer from one of the clinics, consider this commitment as final and do not accept any other offers from other employers. If you have any questions about multiple offers, please contact the OCPD.

13. Familiarize Yourself with NALP Principles Applicable to Students. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the "Principles for Candidates" that are part of the NALP "Principles and Standards for Law Placement and Recruitment Activities," which all law students are expected to abide by. Those Principles can be found at the front of each copy of the NALP "National Directory of Legal Employers," or on the NALP website at www.nalp.org, or at www.nalpdirectory.com. These Principles explain the kind of behavior that is expected of you during the recruitment 

As always, you should contact OCPD with any questions or concerns you might have.