Attorneys speak on their alternative career paths
Photos by Darren Schenck
Not everyone with a J.D. wants to practice law.
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| From left: Jennifer Berson '01, Margaret Thomas, Michelle Fivel and Karin Harwood Strickland '07 |
USC Gould students recently discovered ways they could use their law degree to serve their other interests at the “‘Out of the Box’: Alternative Careers in Law” event presented by the Women’s Law Association and Career Services.
“While a law firm is more prestigious and fancy, I had to look inside myself and see that it didn’t make me happy,” Karin Harwood Strickland ’07 said.
The four women on the panel had chosen to leave the traditional practice of law for new career paths.
Strickland spent her 1L summer at an accounting firm and ultimately decided that being in the International Tax Services practice was for her. She enjoyed working with teams and meeting with clients, as opposed to working at a desk in a traditional law firm setting.
“I love the fact that my day isn’t always the same,” Strickland said. “Sometimes I have my lawyer hat on and sometimes I have my accounting hat on.”
Jennifer Berson ’01 founded a public relations and media marketing firm called Jeneration PR. A former civil litigation attorney in Los Angeles, Berson encouraged students to not be afraid to ask for what they wanted.
“I literally built my entire career and business on ‘the worst thing they can say to me is no,’” Benson said.
While the women acknowledged they did not need a law degree to work in their current professions, they believe that what they learned in law school helped them take advantage of opportunities and work in their industry of choice.
“I couldn’t have gotten to where I am without practicing at a law firm,” Michelle Fivel said. “Having the ability to think things through logically and to think about issues that are going to come up in the future – law school trains you to do that like no other education.”
Fivel began her career as a bankruptcy lawyer in New York and said she enjoyed every minute of it. It was when she made the move to a firm in California that she became unhappy with the cases she had to cover. At that point she decided to try something new and became a legal recruiter for Major, Lindsey & Africa.
The women said the tools gained from law school and practicing at a law firm have set them apart from peers. By first practicing law, they gained the ability to write well and think critically, skills they use today.
Margaret Thomas worked for a law firm immediately after law school, but she later joined the U.S. Army JAG Corps and deployed to Iraq. Resigned from active duty, today she is a community liaison and analyst with the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families, where she leads the Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative.
“If I had just gone off of that [Army] stereotype or fear of 9/11, I wouldn’t have had my entire career,” Thomas said. “Have confidence in yourself; because once I made that decision, I have never looked back.”
The panelists made it clear that the decision to take an alternative path was difficult and at times even scary. During their transitions, they reached out to many people for advice.
“Don’t be afraid to ask people,” Strickland said. “People love to talk about themselves and what they do. So, keep up that network and keep up those connections.”
The panelists advised students seeking jobs to use their resume and cover letter as an opportunity to reveal one’s personality. They felt students should demonstrate their passion for the company they were applying for in the best ways they could.
“Sometimes if I don’t even have a position, I’ll try to find a way to work [a particular] person into my company because they’re that impressive,” Berson said. “So, definitely stay away from generic.”
For those who already know the traditional practice of law isn’t for them, the panelists advised that they explore those interests right after graduation.
“If you know in your heart of hearts that you don’t want to [practice law], it’s not worth doing,” Fivel said. “Your energies are best spent trying to find out now what it is that you want to do and putting in that leg work as a fresh grad… Because if you love [what you do], you’re going to be good at it.”
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