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16 Pass It On: Newsl. Gov't & Pub. Sector Law. Div. 1 (2006-2007)

handle is hein.journals/passit16 and id is 1 raw text is: Volume 16, Number 1 P S1L D PSLD nt and Public Sector Lawyers Division PAS S '4EWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN BAR AssoCIATION's GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR LAWTYRS DIVISION Charting Your Future: Creating an Individual Development- Plan By Anne E. Dewey-Balzhiser Y ou all know the old saw: how do you know where you'll end up if you don't know where you want to go? Successful careers don't just happen. They involve planning and constant nurturing. That's not to say that serendipity doesn't play a role. But you'll go much further (and be happier along the path) if you devote some of your effort to deciding what kind of a legal career you'd like to have. One of the keys to a successful career is taking responsibility for your own career development. An Individual Development Plan (IDP) can help you. An IDP is used to identify, in detail, particular steps that will be taken by you and by your organization over the next three to five years to advance your career development. Agencies often have their own IDP forms that are typically completed annually, often in conjunction with performance reviews. If your organization does not have such a form, go ahead and develop one yourself (a sample form is included later in this arti- cle). Don't worry about the format as much as the content. Tell your supervisor about your plans to develop an IDP and stress that taking stock of your career develop- ment needs on an annual basis benefits not only you but also management and the agency. Identify Your Dream Job So, how does one plan one's legal career? Let's take an example. You're three years out of law school, working for the county attorney handling land use cases. How do you determine what you want to be doing 10 years from now? How do you figure out , ' ' ' ' how to get there? Spend some time brainstorming about what kind of position you'd like to occupy in the future. Study your office's organiza- tion chart. Aim high, but be realistic. Let's say that you'd like to be the deputy county attorney. Okay, now you need to find out what that position entails. Detennine the Job's Requirements There are several ways to find out the job duties and responsibilities of the deputy county attorney You can ask the incum- bent of that position about his or her daily activities, you can observe that person in action, or you can ask the human resources department to provide you with a copy of the position description. A position description (PD) is prepared to describe the specific requirements of a job and forms the basis for assigning a grade level or salary range to the particular position. Human resources departments generally require the preparation of a PD before a job is initially filled. The job require- ments change over time, and the PD may not have been updated, however, it will still serve as a general guide to the requirements of the job. Higher graded jobs entail more complex work and greater knowledge and skill levels. All legal positions entail two fundamen- tal aspects: substantive legal knowledge and legal skills. Examples of substantive legal knowledge for a county attorney may include such areas as: personnel law; land use regulation; ethical standards (for the board mem- bers who supervise the county as well as for all county personnel); contract and procurement law. continued on page 2 Create Your Individual Development Plan, p. I Division Delegate Report, p. 4 * Fall Meeting Registration, p. 6 * Division Election Results, p. 7 Free CLE Now Ethics Program Offered, p. 8 = Fall 2006

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