College Transcripts? What College Transcripts?

As you may recall, about 6 months ago, a man named Michael Watson was employed as in-house counsel by New York Life Insurance Company. Previously, he had worked for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy and Hunton & Williams.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the cafeteria. Williams was unlicensed to practice law in the state of New York. How did this go unnoticed for 13 years?

Human Resources departments at many AmLaw 100 firms are no longer asking “How did this happened?” Instead, they’re making sure it doesn’t happen again by implementing new policies and procedures to protect the assets of their firm.

So if you’re interviewing for a position at a top law firm or Fortune 500 company, don’t be surprised or insulted if not only are you asked to fill out an application and bring your resume, but also to provide your college transcripts and provide documentation for any further certifications that you’ve earned.

My advice: Go ahead and fill out the application. But treat transcripts and documentation requests like references. You’re not required to supply them until you know you’re interested in the position.