Amy Alderfer (JD 1999) has found success both in her career as a litigator and in her involvement at USC as an alumna. In addition to four years serving as president of the USC Gould Alumni Association, in 2020 Alderfer joined the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and the USC Gould Board of Councilors. In September, her alumni commitments were honored with the USC Alumni Association’s 2021 Widney Alumni House Volunteer Award, given to outstanding alumni serving across a variety of alumni organizations.
“I never would have expected to serve as president of the Gould Alumni Association, then to have all of this recognition and these new roles, but as the opportunities came up I was open to them and I really fell in love with the chance to give back and be part of something bigger,” Alderfer said.
After starting in private practice, Alderfer shifted to Am Law 100 firms as a litigator focusing on product liability, high-end personal injury and mass tort. In October 2021, she became an in-house litigator with The Walt Disney Company.
One of the highlights of her tenure as Gould Alumni Association president was working with Nicole Stark, USC Gould’s Director of Alumni Relations, on setting up C-Suite Lunches to involve more established alumni with their alma mater. Forming connections was her key priority, she said.
“The further people are removed from law school the more complicated their lives become, so we wanted to offer opportunities for these more established alumni to renew these relationships and get value out of attending Alumni Association events.”
Alderfer emphasizes the importance of the Trojan Family throughout her career.
“My connection to USC throughout all of this has been really important to me and instrumental in my career,” she said. “I feel that people really do take an interest in each other, not just alumni from the law school but other alums from the larger university, and they really care about seeing other people succeed.”