In-house counsel at a cruiseline

June 5, 2007 5:08 AM

I want to eventually join the in-house counsel staff of a large cruise line company. How do I do this?

I am a recent law school grad and just passed the Bar.

posted by KimikoPi to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Start doing employment and personal injury defense -- that's probably what most cruise lines get sued for. Would help to know about arbitration (since most passengers agree to arbitrate disputes) and the Jones Act.
posted by footnote at 6:27 AM on June 5, 2007

Look them up in Martindale-Hubble and see what kinds of lawyers they have (maritime law, litigation, employment??). Find out who their general counsel is. Call the general counsel and ask if he or she can spare 15 minutes for career counseling as you would somewhere down the road desire to work for them and would like to know what experience would be most helpful in achieving that goal (this probably won't work but if it does it is your best source of information). Probably the best way to do this is send your resume through the mail with a cover letter explaining that you are seeking career advice (not a job) and then follow that with a call. Repeat for each large company in which you are interested. Get experience at a well respected law firm. It would probably help if it is a firm which the company uses, although sometimes there are no-poaching agreements, usually informal.
posted by caddis at 6:43 AM on June 5, 2007

Get experience that's compatible with their needs, as footnote suggests. I've heard that it's easier to go in house with experience in corporate / transactional work rather than litigation, as most major companies farm out their litigation and use the in-house people for the transactional stuff. But arbitration is probably a good bet. And maybe entertainment law?? They have to deal with lots of performers all the time.
posted by rkent at 6:56 AM on June 5, 2007

I'd think experience or study in maritime law would be a big plus. In my (common law) jurisdiction, there are very few lawyers who know anything about it and therefore those that do are always in demand.

Seconding arbitration and employment law. Plus caddis' advice sounds good.
posted by tiny crocodile at 7:18 AM on June 5, 2007