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Debbie Foley - Career Services Director, Mississippi College School of Law By Donna McGill Debbie Foley, the Director of Career Services at Mississippi College School of Law, grew up in the south. She attended Dallas Bible College in Texas and after spending some time in the engineering industry and then as a small business owner, she was drawn back to the education sector, where she has been for more than a decade. Here, we profile Debbie and the road that led her to one of the most coveted positions on the law school’s campus.
Many career deans opt to limit the information they make available on the facility’s website; not Debbie Foley. A transparent policy and transparent resources are key to well connected and informed student body and alumni. All of the school’s resources, including its relationship with our own LawCrossing. com, are made available on the school’s site. Foley believes it’s the only way to ensure every student is prepared. She believes in an open door policy and encourages MCSOL students to contact her with any questions or concerns they have at any time. She knows well the uncertainties, especially in the current climate, of the student body and she works to keep them her top priority. With a smaller staff than many law schools, she and her team make it happen for both current and former law students, faculty and alumni. They easily coordinate and manage the various goings-on and the dynamics work well in her office. With a background in engineering and a former small business owner, it’s this surprising and unique skillset that provides both balance and insight to the legal field. For the past decade, she’s been a part of the Mississippi College School of Law family. She knows her job well, as evidenced by the respect she has of faculty, alumni and current and past law students and certainly the employers who rely on her.
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She works closely with those employers looking for law clerks, attorneys or other alternate positions suitable for law students and graduates. She incorporates the latest technology, but never loses focus of the important one on one interactions of both the student and employer. Further, she and her staff work to maintain a reciprocity relationship with other law schools around the country. The school, with Foley at the helm, coordinates both a fall and spring On-Campus Interview Program, a Resume Collection and Resume Drop Program. Further, the campus is part of the Symplicity network, a career services manager system. Employers routinely interview second year students for summer clerkships and third year students for after graduation employment opportunities on the school’s campus; and many employers also interview first year students for summer clerkships. It’s an environment Foley is proud of and one she believes allows for a more relaxed approach by both students and employers. Foley is clearly an asset to the school. She is respected by the student body and faculty; she is diligent in her efforts to ensure a superb learning environment and then the necessary resources for the students to make the transition from law student to lawyer. For more information on Debbie Foley and the Career Services program at Mississippi College School of Law, visit the site at Law.MCU.edu.
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