Reciprocity
USC Reciprocity Policy
USC's law school students or graduates request form for reciprocity
Reciprocity information and links provided by The National Association for Law Placement
USC Law is located in the heart of a large metropolitan area with a highly competitive legal market. As such, it has become a target for many law school graduates from other states, many of whom want to use the resources of USC Law's Career Services Office in their job searches. Our reciprocity policy is designed to fulfill our primary responsibility to serve USC Law students and graduates, while still offering employment information to job candidates from other law schools. Requests for use of USC Law's Career Services Office from persons who received an undergraduate degree from USC and who are enrolled at other ABA-accredited law schools will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Reciprocity will be granted to law schools located in cities outside of the Southern California area where USC Law graduates request use of their career services facilities on a one-for-one basis. (One student or graduate will be granted access to our Career Services Office for each USC Law student or graduate who uses the requesting school's facilities.)
Requests for reciprocity must be made in writing by the student's or graduate's law school Career Services Office via fax, email or regular mail. We will respond in writing if the request has been granted or denied.
The student must call ahead to confirm office hours and availability and to confirm that the letter or request has been received. Students must identify themselves when they come into the office and may be requested by the staff to provide identification.
Reciprocity services are not available during the spring and fall on-campus interview seasons, July 15 through November 18 and January 2 through February 24. Students from other schools are not allowed to schedule appointments with prospective employers through the on-campus interview program.
Reciprocity is available for a two-month period (beginning with the date of the first visit) and is limited to the use of materials in the Career Services Office only. Reciprocity students may view our password-protected online job listings while in our office; however, no access will be granted to the listings under any other circumstances. In-office use of resource materials in the Career Services Office library is also permitted. Questions regarding USC Law's reciprocity policy or requests for reciprocity should be emailed to careers@law.usc.edu.
Reciprocity with Other Law Schools
If you are a law student or graduate considering employment outside the Southern California area, you may be interested in visiting the career services offices of law schools in the vicinity of your job search. As a member of the National Association of Law Placement (NALP), the USC Career Services Office can send a written request to other ABA-approved, NALP member law schools to request reciprocity privileges on your behalf.
While NALP has established reciprocity guidelines for member law schools, it is important to understand that each law school has its own reciprocity requirements. If reciprocity is granted, students and graduates should be sure to read and honor the reciprocity policy of the host school. Please note:
- Reciprocity requests are typically decided on a case-by-case basis by the individual law school. You should not assume it will automatically be granted.
- Although reciprocity policies vary from school to school, services are usually limited to job postings and resources in the career library; reciprocity usually does not include access to career counseling, resume review services and participation in on-campus recruitment programs and job fairs.
- Most law schools will suspend reciprocity privileges during the fall recruitment season (mid-August through mid-November) and possibly during the spring recruitment season (January-February).
- If reciprocity if granted, the host law school will determine the length of time or number of visits.
- In more popular regions of the country, some schools require that you limit your request in that area.
To review the reciprocity policy of a specific law school, please go to the NALP web site at www.nalp.org/Schools/reciprocity/index.htm. Additional information is also available in USC Law Career Services Office.
If you would like us to request reciprocity privileges on your behalf, please stop by the Career Services Office to complete the Reciprocity Request Form or forward the following information via e-mail to careers@law.usc.edu. Please feel free to contact us at (213) 740-7397 if you have additional questions regarding reciprocity.
