OCS Xfer Access

Showing employers that you understand the business of law can mean the difference between a successful interview season and a mediocre one. In this program, Julie Jones, Chair of Ropes and Gray, and Mark Weber, Assistant Dean of Career Services have a candid conversation about how law firms really work. Topics include law firm business models, the reality of associate and practice area profitability, and how grades and prior experiences figure into your marketability. 

Interested in learning about family law and/or starting your own firm? Meet Marie-Louise Ramsdale (‘93), the founder and principal lawyer of Ramsdale Family Law, an all-female family law firm in Charleston County, South Carolina.

Interested in learning about the budding field of cannabis law? Meet OCS Alumna-in-Residence, Lauren Estevez ’13, Principal & Attorney at LME Law in Los Angeles. Ms. Estevez advises licensed cannabis and CBD brands, investors, and operators on legal strategy, regulatory compliance, and transactional matters.

This event, presented by the ABA’s Women in M&A Taskforce, features a panel of distinguished speakers who discuss their careers and why they chose M&A law as their profession, what is truth versus myth regarding opportunities and challenges, and what law students can do to learn more and ready themselves for a career in M&A.

Networking is a fact of life in the legal profession and much of your career will rely on strong relationships. As early as 1L year, law firms will host receptions, which present an opportunity to develop new connections and learn more about the profession. This podcast will provide you with a concrete, step-by-step approach to making a great impression at a professional cocktail reception.

Want to know what it is like to work at a small firm, rather than in Big Law? Think you might be interested in employment law or criminal defense? Hear from Alumna-in-Residence Ruth O’Meara-Costello ’06, Of Counsel at Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP in Boston. 

Does solving business problems interest you more than solving legal problems? If you want to become an expert in operations, marketing or the use of information technology across a wide variety of industries, management consulting might be for you. Hear representatives from top consulting firms talk about careers in management consulting and steps to getting a job in this industry. Co-sponsored with HALB. 

Join OCS and HALB for a conversation with HLS Alum, Adam Rosenberg '93, who moved from legal practice to a senior investing role at Fortress. Learn about his career path and how you can position yourself now for a move to the buy-side.

Wondering how to land an in-house position either during the summer or later in your career? Join Shelbey Wright '92 of Raytheon, Scott Kirwin '01 of Fidelity, and Julia Coyne of Converse to learn what in-house legal departments are looking for, which practice areas are in demand, and how and when you can make the move in-house. 

Meet Alumna-in-Residence Anjali Salooja '12, Associate Counsel at the National Basketball Association (NBA) in New York. Ms. Salooja spoke with students about her experience with the NBA, as well as how she made the transition from law firm to in-house practice. Ms. Salooja was an associate in the corporate law department at Debevoise & Plimpton, where she worked with private equity firms on raising private investment funds, including buyout, mezzanine and emerging market funds, from 2012-2017. While a student at HLS, Ms. Salooja was a member of the International Law Journal, the South Asian Law Students Association, and the Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law.

Interested in continuing public service but want to gain experience at a firm? Want to learn more about how pro bono works at a firm? Hear four law firm attorneys' perspectives on working on pro bono matters at their firm. Attorneys from Cleary, Jenner, Ropes and Foley Hoag will discuss how their pro bono program is set up, how projects are staffed, and more. 

Before heading out to your summer or post-graduate job, listen to a candid discussion about navigating workplace misconduct in the legal profession. Expert panelists discuss practical steps to take if you experience or witness misconduct.

Meet Alumni-in-Residence Joe Hurd '95, who advises tech start-ups through his consulting firm, The Katama Group LLC and is a Director of GoCompare.com and of Edelman, a global marketing, PR and communications firm. Mr. Hurd discussed applying lessons learned at HLS during his extensive career in the technology sector, which includes executive positions at Facebook, Friendster, Gannett, VideoEgg, and AOL, and his work during the Obama administration as Senior Director for Export Promotion and Trade Policy in the US Department of Commerce. While at HLS, Mr. Hurd was on the ILJ, and a member of BLSA and APALSA.

Michael Kagan ’08 is a Vice President, Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs. Michael worked as a Tax Associate at Cleary Gottlieb in New York before transitioning to a career in investment banking at Goldman. Michael regularly interviews students and provides his insights on a successful banking interview.

Nicole Simon ’10 is an investment management attorney in the New York office of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP. In this podcast, she gives an overview of the practice area, how she found her way to the practice area, and encourages students to explore this practice area even if they do not have a finance or business background.

Merritt Baer '10, Principal Security Architect for Global Accounts at Amazon Web Services, is a cloud security expert who advises Amazon’s largest customers on technical security questions to create ecosystem-level improvements.

Join HALB and OCS for a conversation with Billy Gonzalez ’04, Senior VP at Audax Group. Learn how to make the jump from law school…

Learn about how to build a career in capital markets and leveraged finance in Europe, from attorneys from the London office of Latham & Watkins.

HALB and OCS present Careers in Investment Banking, your opportunity to learn more about what investment bankers do, the recruitment process and timeline, and special concerns and issues for J.D. students seeking to break into i-banking and finance.

Ameek Ponda '92 and Amy Sheridan '05 are partners in the tax department of Sullivan & Worcester in Boston, MA. In this podcast, they give a high-level overview of tax practice, including the types of skills that are necessary to be successful. Ms. Sheridan advises tax-interested students to take advantage of relevant coursework at HLS, saying that the "attorneys who think of the principles of the code and how the [tax] code should work find the practice incredibly interesting and are also good tax attorneys."

Noelle Reed ’96 is the head of Skadden’s Houston litigation practice. She works across a number of areas including white collar investigations, securities litigation, and general commercial litigation.  Prior to joining Skadden, Noelle was a trial attorney with DOJ’s Terrorism and Violent Crime Division as well as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of Texas.