This spring semester 2016, the Career Planning Center launched a pilot initiative “Alumni Counselors in Residence” offering JD students the unique opportunity to have one-on-one meetings with alumni leaders in their field(s) of interest in order to receive invaluable guidance on steering their own paths early on. The pilot program welcomed distinguished alumni leaders in in-house, public interest, and government settings practicing at the cutting edge of civil rights, compliance, privacy, family law, and fashion areas.
Forty students took advantage of this opportunity to be advised by
- Louise Firestone ’85, SVP, Legal Affairs and General Counsel LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.
- Michael Goldberger ’87, Chief of Civil Rights, Civil Division United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York
- Bill Min ’91, Senior Vice President, Legal and Chief Data & Privacy Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
- Tim Shore ’86, Vice President and Chief Ombudsman Pfizer, Inc. Compliance Division
- Betsy Tsai ’01, Co-Director of the Courtroom Advocates Project (CAP) at Sanctuary for Families, Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services
The informational interviews allowed students to identify alumni attorneys in practice areas and employment settings of interest with the goal of a meeting to gain advice and guidance about how to pursue that particular career path.
The event proved the strength of Fordham Law’s Network Effect—when alumni return to the Law School to help out those who follow them.
“It’s important for alumni to remain engaged with the Law School and offer the next generation of young lawyers the opportunity to learn from our experience,” said Goldberger.
“Fordham Law students are extremely motivated and thoughtful about their career paths, so they can really benefit from programs like this that help them get where they want to go,” said Tsai. “I am honored to be able to help these talented individuals who are taking the right steps to advance their careers and pursue their professional goals.”
“Meeting with the students was fantastic,” said Firestone. “Each one was well spoken, curious, and well prepared. It was an absolute pleasure to give whatever guidance I could and listen to them share their questions and aspirations. I would encourage all Fordham Law graduates to participate in these types of programs.”
Students were quick to point out the advantages of the program.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to have one-on-one access to an experienced and high-ranking member of the field I am interested in,” said Shaun Prunotto.
“It was great to meet someone who is so far along in his career,” said Katherine Wright. “The conversation gave me a chance to discuss, and hence envision, an end goal rather than just talk about the more immediate goals.”
Catherine Tremble added, “Having the opportunity to speak with a pioneer in data and privacy law was invaluable.”
Suzanne Endrizzi ’96, assistant dean for career planning, expressed her appreciation to the alumni and the importance of networking.
“We are so grateful to our five alumni who participated in this pilot program,” said. “They are helping our students build their network, which is critical for them to achieve their short- and long-term career goals.”