OCPD requires students comply with the policies and procedures outlined in the Statement of Professional Obligation (PDF). To access Symplicity and participate in OCPD’s programming, students must sign and return a copy of the Statement to OCPD (Room 3221). These policies allow us to provide you the greatest service and they embody the professionalism required of you in the legal profession. Students and graduates who do not comply with these policies may be subject to the loss of OCPD privileges at OCPD’s discretion.
Requests for Information
To remain accredited, law schools must submit very detailed employment data to the American Bar Association. Accordingly, you are expected to respond to OCPD staff who request employment information from you. You will also be required to complete an exit interview at the end of your 3L year. This interview helps us gather data, assist those seeking employment, and gather feedback regarding the work we do.
Events and Meetings
If you RSVP for an event in Symplicity, it is crucial you make every effort to attend. We rely on RSVPs to order food and reserve rooms.
It is especially important you attend events for which you RSVP that have a one-on-one or small group component. These events include, but are not limited to: mock interviewing, speed interviewing, resume roundtable, speed networking, and all our on- and off-campus networking events (e.g., Reunion small group sessions and trips). We rely on lawyers from the community who generously donate their time and the events cannot proceed as planned with no-shows. If you have RSVP’d for an event and can no longer attend, you should remove your RSVP in Symplicity and contact the front desk (career@law.wisc.edu; 608-262-7856) as soon as possible. If you RSVP for an event and fail to attend, it may result in suspension of your Symplicity account at OCPD’s discretion.
To schedule a meeting with your OCPD counselor, you may contact the front desk or the counselor directly. If you schedule an appointment and are no longer able to attend, please contact the counselor as soon as possible.
Interviewing
If you accept an invitation to interview, (in other words, accept a pre-select by signing up for an interview) you must attend that interview unless you accept another job offer prior to the interview or experience an emergency. If you have an emergency which has prevented you from attending an interview, you must notify OCPD as soon as possible.
Full list of rules for OCI participants
Students who have an unexcused absence or cancellation from an interview will be expected to write a letter of explanation to both OCPD and the employer.
If you have interviews outside of UW Law’s formal recruiting programs, you should follow the same rules of professionalism.
Offers and Acceptances
Students should abide by the National Association of Law Placement’s (NALP) Principles and Standards for Law Placement and Recruiting Activities in their entirety.
If you receive an offer you have no intention of accepting, you should decline it immediately. This helps your peers who the employer may be considering and your promptness will leave a positive impact on your own professional reputation.
If you accept an offer of employment, you must immediately notify those employers with whom you have outstanding applications that you have accepted another offer and you must cease your job search.
Once you have accepted an offer, absent extraordinary circumstances, you must not rescind that acceptance. To do so will have a negative effect on your own professional reputation and on the Law School, and future generations of law students. If you believe an extraordinary circumstance necessitates rescinding your job offer, you should immediately discuss your situation with an OCPD counselor.
