Recruiting / Career Opportunities

As one of Springfield's largest law firms, Sorling employs more than 50 professional and support personnel. The firm offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits, including insurance, vacation, and other fringe benefits. Qualifying employees who have completed one year of service to the firm are eligible to participate in the firm's 401(k)/Profit-Sharing plan, which is funded with contributions by the firm and by voluntary employee contributions.

Potential employees will generally fall into one of four categories:

• Lateral Hires. From time to time, Sorling seeks to employ attorneys who have already established a practice in particular areas. This might be done as a result of the demand the firm is experiencing in existing practice areas, or as a result of the firm’s desire to expand the services it offers to its clients. Experienced attorneys who are interested in making confidential inquiries to Sorling should click here to contact the appropriate individual at Sorling.

• New Associates. Each year Sorling reviews the credentials of third-year law students, recent law-school graduates, and participants in judicial clerkship programs. These potential candidates for associate positions with the firm are typically intending to enter private practice for the first time, and are either newly licensed to practice or are intending to sit for the Illinois bar examination at the next available opportunity. Candidates who are interested in such full-time associate positions with the firm should click here to contact the appropriate individual at Sorling.

• Summer Clerks. Sorling conducts a summer associate program that allows students who have completed their second year of law school to spend time in Springfield.  This is often the first opportunity for such students to gain experience in a private-practice environment. Staffing decisions for the summer program are typically made during the fall of the prior year, so law students interested in applying for the program should contact the firm during the summer following their first year of law school or during the early fall of their second year. Individuals interested in the program should click here for more information and to contact the appropriate individual at Sorling.

• Support Staff. Sorling employs individuals in a variety of support staff positions. Secretaries, paralegals, receptionists, clerks, messengers, and administrators of the highest quality work with Sorling attorneys to support the delivery of legal services to clients. Individuals interested in a support staff position should click here for more information and to contact the appropriate individual at Sorling.

Sorling is an affirmative action employer, and is committed to a policy of non-discrimination in all hiring and employment decisions. No aspect of employment within the firm is influenced in any manner by race, culture, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, or mental or physical disability. This policy applies equally to its employees and persons seeking employment.

Sorling Summer Program
Sorling holds itself to the highest quality standards usually associated with larger firms in major metropolitan areas and offers a wide diversity of opportunities to summer associates. Our summer program reflects the combination of our collegial work environment and high professional expectations.

Qualifications
Sorling usually hires one, two or three students who have completed their second year of law school to spend between 10 and 12 weeks in the summer associate program. Starting and ending dates are determined on a case-by-case basis, but most summer associates begin in mid-to-late-May following completion of final exams. Successful applicants have excellent academic credentials and often have participated in competitive law school activities such as law review, moot court, and similar groups. The firm also considers whether an applicant has a significant interest in returning to central Illinois to practice law after graduation. Indicators of well-rounded undergraduate achievement and past career successes are also considered.

Applications and Interviews
From time to time, Sorling participates in various law school on-site campus interviews. If Sorling is participating in such an interview program, interested students should sign up and meet with a Sorling attorney. If Sorling is not participating in such an interview program, please contact the firm by clicking on the link below and attaching a resume, or by mailing a letter of application and resume addressed to Mr. Mark H. Ferguson, Sorling Law Office, 800 Illinois Building, P.O. Box 5131, Springfield, Illinois, 62705. If an interview is deemed appropriate by the firm’s Associate Committee, law-student applicants will either be invited to Springfield or interviewed by a firm shareholder while on business near the law school.

In most cases a final interview will be held at the firm's Springfield office, at which time the student will meet several attorneys and members of our support staff. Professional dress during the final interview is expected. Offers for summer employment are extended in a timely manner after completion of the final interview.

Program Particulars
During the summer program a participant will experience what it would be like to work as a new attorney at our firm. Professional experiences will include working with multiple attorneys in our different practice groups. Attending court proceedings, researching and writing memoranda, experiencing client interaction, and utilizing firm technologies are included in the summer experience. Summer associates (and their spouses, if applicable) also participate in firm social activities, including gatherings at attorneys' homes and other firm-organized events.

The summer program is coordinated by the firm’s Associate Committee, which has responsibility for the hiring and supervision of all associates. Members of the Committee or the firm’s Chief Operating Officer advise each summer associate on overall progress during the summer, and conduct an exit interview at the conclusion of the program. The summer program is a principal means through which the firm hires full-time associates. Thirteen of the firm's current attorneys are former summer associates.

Sorling is an affirmative action employer, and is committed to a policy of non-discrimination in all hiring and employment decisions, including those with respect to its summer program. No aspect of employment within the firm is influenced in any manner by race, culture, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, or mental or physical disability. This policy applies equally to its employees and persons seeking employment.

For an e-mail link to send correspondence and related attachments to a firm representative, click here.

Support Staff

There are currently no openings on the Sorling support staff.

Sorling employs individuals in a variety of support staff positions. Secretaries, paralegals, receptionists, clerks, messengers, and administrators of the highest quality work with Sorling attorneys to support the delivery of legal service to clients.

Successful applicants have educational qualifications and professional background appropriate for positions applied for. They must possess the attributes of timeliness, courtesy, discretion, and thoroughness that are required in a legal services environment. All firm employees are expected to dress in a professional manner.

Support staff members are offered competitive salaries, vacations, insurance, fringe benefits, and high quality technological tools to perform their jobs. Qualifying employees who have completed one year of service at the firm are eligible to participate in the firm's profit sharing plan, which is funded with contributions by the firm over and above the employee's annual earnings.

When the firm has a support staff opening, it may be advertised in the Springfield State Journal-Register or posted above.

Sorling is an affirmative action employer, and is committed to a policy of non-discrimination in all hiring and employment decisions, including those with respect to its summer program. No aspect of employment within the firm is influenced in any manner by race, culture, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, or mental or physical disability. This policy applies equally to its employees and persons seeking employment.

For an e-mail link to inquire about support staff positions, click here.