CAREER COUNSELOR'S CORNER
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Patty Powell, Assistant Dean of Career Services, University of Colorado School of Law [8-23-04 Barry Perlman] With a sophisticated student body looking to her for advice, Patty Powell knows she has to go the extra mile to help her students get access to all of the opportunities their education and experiences afford them. She talked with LawCrossing about how she does just that.
One month into her new position as Assistant
wealth of valuable experience, but eventuTo her dismay, Powell has also recently no-
Dean of Career Services at the University of
ally grew disillusioned. Powell recalls, “I was
Colorado School of Law, Patty Powell is al-
constantly involved in negative adversarial
ticed fewer prosecution and public-defender
ready thinking about the needs of the diverse
roles in the practice, and I felt like I wasn’t
positions available to new grads. “When I
batch of first-year students now arriving in
having an immediate significant impact on
came out of law school, a very sound career
Boulder for orientation. “We draw students
people’s lives.” She began a process of intro-
path was to start out in a D.A.’s or public
with a global view. Many were already
spection and self-assessment, during which
defender’s office, learn how to do trials, and
involved in public service before law school,
she rediscovered her enjoyment of teaching
then go on to private practice or in-house
doing fascinating work overseas… first-gen-
and counseling. “The dime-store psycholo-
corporate work. Back in the early ‘80s, there
eration people from amazing backgrounds.”
gist in me retained a strong interest in the
were a lot more entry-level positions in these
As a result, Powell feels a greater respon-
growth and development of other people. I
offices.” Powell attributes this shift to an
sibility toward generating public interest
knew I wanted to see positive outcomes to
increasing number of already practicing at-
opportunities for the students in her care.
my work more immediately than four years
torneys being hired laterally into those spots.
“We already have an excellent public interest
down the line, when litigation finally makes
“They are fed up and burned out and want
directory, but we have to do even more.”
its way through the courts.” She followed her
their lives back,” she explains, “but they’re
interests and started a private consulting
taking jobs away from new grads who’d love
Powell, an experienced career services
practice for other lawyers in career transi-
that launching pad for their careers.”
professional, is certainly up to the task.
tion, which she eventually segued into her
She came to CU after a lengthy stint at the
position at U. of Denver.
University of Denver College of Law, first in
To buck this trend, Powell recommends students look at ways to take “baby steps” into
career services, and then as Dean of Student
Powell meets more and more law students
these public-sector jobs, staying cognizant
Affairs. “I love getting to know students, and
who, like her, question whether they actu-
of the need to position themselves earlier in
I love mentoring students,” she says. That
ally want to practice law with their degrees.
their careers. “Internships help students get
passion stems in part from her undergradu-
“This is a generation of people thinking more
their foot in the door, and then they’re able to
ate background in psychology. “I entered a
about quality of life and lifestyle issues, and
become well known in those organizations.”
master’s program in counseling, but midway
they don’t necessarily want an 80-hour work
This approach, though, also impacts the way
through, I realized it wasn’t the right training
week. They still want to work hard, without
students must manage their finances while
for what I really wanted to do. So I started
being married to their jobs. They want more
in school. “Students want great high-paying
rethinking my path.” A family member
balanced lives.” She encounters many who
clerkships in big firms. But if they are truly
convinced her she’d make a great lawyer. “I
plan to do something law-related, but not in
interested in prosecutor or public-defender
thought, ‘What’s another word for a lawyer?
a traditional firm. “I see them seeking posi-
positions,” Powell advises, “they should try
Counselor.’ The connection just made sense
tions as staff attorneys for nonprofits-in the
not to ‘live like lawyers’ while in law school.
to me. I also had a serious social conscience
environmental area, for instance, tracking
Try not to borrow too much or rack up too
and wanted to make a difference.”
the adverse impact pollution has on low-
much debt, so that you can afford to volun-
income or minority communities.” She also
teer in P.D. or D.A. offices if no paid intern-
After graduating from U. of Denver, Powell
sees a lot of lawyers who later transition into
ships are available, just for the exposure.”
practiced law in the Denver metro area for
teaching. “The ones who become teachers
several years in both public- and private-sec-
sacrifice a lot. They scale back their material
Like many of her peers, Powell makes a
tor jobs, including a stretch in the Colorado
needs to focus on the work and end up happy
point of trying to undo the misperception that
Attorney General’s office. She gained a
as a clam.”
career services professionals only care about
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CAREER COUNSELOR'S CORNER
students in the top 10% of their classes. “On-campus interviewing programs are very visible on campus. When the big-firm people show up, they’ve got their suits on, and the students with the interviews have their suits on, and the rest feel like chopped liver.” Many times, Powell explains, this feeling stems from students who believe that if they don’t work in a big firm right after graduation, they are failures. “That’s a very limited notion of what a successful lawyer is. You can be successful as a lawyer in so many different environments, but it takes work. We in career services do everything we can to provide tools to help students find satisfaction. But after they’ve been equipped with the tools, they have to take their own responsibility.” Finding a job is often a job in itself, Powell reminds those she counsels, requiring foresight and persistence. “First-years need to get used to being in law school in order to make the best grades. But then, once you’ve got an established routine that works for you, you must start to think about the job search as if it were another class.” Powell helps students develop career action plans relatively early in their schooling. “Too many students blow that aspect off until their third year, and then they panic. They come into the office and aren’t particularly nice to us. They expect us to pull jobs out of our drawers.” Still, Powell clearly enjoys her position in career services, though she’s quick to mention it’s not a job for jaded lawyers. “You really have to still love the law. This job has afforded me the opportunity to maintain my enthusiasm for the law, seeing all it can do and all the ways people in law can make a contribution.” She has also come full circle, back to the interest in counseling others that developed in her earlier studies in psychology. “I’m always dealing with folks who dream of what they want to do with their careers, who feel they have a meaningful purpose in life, and that’s great. So uplifting.”
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