Rural Practice Committee Program

How to Join

The ISBA’s rural practice program is designed to match the school year. Typically, members of the Rural Practice Committee meet with students at Creighton, Drake and the University of Iowa who are interested in rural practice in early-to-mid fall. The meetings involve a presentation explaining the program with an opportunity for questions and answers. Students who want to participate are asked to submit their resumés and generic cover letters to the committee for posting on the ISBA’s website.

Students who are 2Ls and 3Ls may submit their materials immediately. Students who are 1Ls must wait until after December 1.

To participate or for more information, contact:
Phil Garland, Chair, ISBA Rural Practice Committee, garlandlawfirm@gmail.com, (641) 923-3792
Steve Boeckman, Staff Liaison, ISBA Rural Practice Committee, sboeckman@iowabar.org, (515) 697-7869

What to Expect

Shortly after the new year, ideally before the second semester begins, the Rural Practice Committee hosts a “Meet and Greet” event at the ISBA building in Des Moines. Patterned after the speed-dating concept, the event brings together students and attorneys who have agreed to participate in the program for a get-acquainted session. Each student meets each attorney for 6-10 minutes with the goal of determining whether he or she would like to work for the attorney. Attorneys also meet the students to see if they would like to hire. The goal is for students and attorneys to establish ongoing communications where there is mutual interest.

Both students and attorneys have given high praise to the Meet and Greet event over the last three years that it has been held. Several 1L and 2L students have received summer job offers from attorneys they met. A number of 3L students have received full-time jobs as a result of the event.

In addition to the Meet and Greet, members of the Rural Practice Committee submit the names and contact information for all participating attorneys to the career services offices of the three law schools. Officials in the career services offices post the names and locations on Simplicity and provide the contact information to students who express an interest in a particular name, or names.

Members of the Rural Practice Committee also submit resumés and generic cover letters to individual attorneys if they believe a particular student, or students, would make a good match with a particular attorney. In those cases, committee members also provide the attorney’s name and contact information to the students whose resumés/cover letters have been sent. This allows them to follow up with the attorney if they haven’t heard anything from them in a week or so.

Program Homepage

Frequently Asked Questions

Student Resumés

Committee Page