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OUTLOOK: Careers and COVID-19

Alumni and Faculty Partnerships Help 2020 Class Navigate Uncertain Terrain
 

American University Washington College of Law’s alumni and faculty have long partnered with the Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) in helping students secure academic year and postgraduate employment. The onset of COVID-19 this past spring enhanced those connections and amplified efforts to help the 2020 class navigate this novel landscape and successfully launch into the legal profession.

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Even before the world changed and public and private institutions began shuttering their doors and deferring new hires, numerous efforts were underway at AUWCL to help the 2020 class transition seamlessly into the professional world.

Alumni Remain a Vital Resource

Our alumni serve in many capacities to help educate, mentor, and prepare students for the realities of legal practice. Whether serving as an adjunct faculty member, hosting an intern or extern at their workplace, presenting in the classroom or on a panel, serving as a mentor in the Alumni Mentor Database, or sharing job opportunities with the school, AUWCL alumni are a critical lifeline to the real world of legal practice.

Following are highlights of collaborative programs from spring 2020, with a particular emphasis on alumni contributions.

  • Alumni Webinar Presenters – Focusing on topics such as “Practice and Career Trends in Finance,” “Insurance and M&A During COVID,” “Key Trends in Data Privacy and Security,” and “Marketing for Lawyers in the Midst of COVID-19 Crisis,” alumni continue to offer their timely advice and expertise in their fields of practice. Contact the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) at mpasco@wcl.american.edu to participate. Webcasts can be viewed at wcl.american.edu/careerwebcasts.
     
  • Careers in Compliance and Judicial Clerkship Panels – Ada Loo ’01 and Regan Alberda ’02 were joined by practitioners in the trade, health care, and financial services compliance fields, while Austin Egan ’18, Neah Evering ’19, Lorena Guzman-Diaz ’19, and Thais-Lyn Trayer ’14 presented on securing jobs as clerks and administrative law judges in federal and state courts, as well as in federal agencies.
     
  • Alumni in the Classroom – Vice Dean Susan Carle and Professors Angela Davis and Elizabeth Earle Beske are just some of the many faculty members who incorporated alumni guest speakers into their online courses over the past semester. Many worked with DAR to identify alumni, and alumni who are interested in sharing their expertise as a panelist or webinar presenter can contact the DAR office.
     
  • Alumni Mentor Database – Over 50 alumni joined the WCL Alumni Mentor Database, bringing the total number of Alumni Mentors to over 900. Contact mpasco@wcl.american.edu to participate.
     
  • Faculty Careers Committee – More than 50 full- and part-time faculty members signed up to serve as Faculty Career Advisors for the 2020 class. Working in concert with OCPD, they provided supplemental one-on-one mentoring for more than 80 students in the students’ areas of interest as well as access to alumni networks, whenever possible.

“Our goal is that through this continued departmental collaboration—and the generous support of our alumni and faculty—students and graduates will continue to feel well-supported by both the administration and alumni communities as they forge their new careers,” said Professor Beske, who coordinates the Faculty Careers Committee and is year-round liaison with OCPD. “With a continued emphasis on innovating programs, creating employer connections, and pursuing recruiting and networking opportunities in a virtual environment, OCPD has been able to leverage the tremendous resources and commitment of our community to positively affect employment outcomes, even during these trying times.”