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Big Law associates. In-house counsel at major corporations. Attorneys with extensive experience in governmental organizations and public interest firms. Mediators. The Career Development Office (CDO) staff at LMU Loyola Law School comprise a range of lawyers who work in concert with staff armed with top master’s degrees to help LLS students secure their desired employment outcomes.
LLS students and recent graduates secure summer and full-time job placements in every practice area, including Live Nation Entertainment, Gilead Sciences, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Fenwick, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Public Defender’s Office, the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, and many more. Through a unique, hands-on approach to supporting every student, LMU Loyola Law School’s Career Development Office (CDO) helps students discover their own career interests, connect with LLS’ expansive network of alumni and employers, and secure top job opportunities.
Their strategies are paying off. As of March 17, 2025, 93% of the Class of 2024 was employed in full-time, long-term legal jobs. As of the writing of this story, 98% of graduates who are seeking employment and responded to a school survey are employed or have accepted a job offer.
Katrina Denny, assistant dean of career development, credited the “exceptional” one-on-one work of her team and the office’s specialized organizational approach. “Our counseling model is unique because students are assigned to a specific counselor when they arrive as 1Ls, and that person works with them throughout their time in law school,” Denny said. “We really enjoy supporting students on their career and professional development journey – from their first meeting in the fall of their first year to walking across the stage at graduation and everything in between.”
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Loyola’s CDO provides important guidance to students while organizing a bevy of key events and programs designed to help our students find their calling and connect with alumni, employers and career opportunities. This includes organizing On-Campus Interviews (OCI), which connect students with employers, and a range of recruiting events, tapping into Loyola’s active alumni network to participate. This year, CDO hosted a Legal Pathways Expo; panels and workshops about specific practice areas, including bankruptcy, big law, intellectual property, and public interest and government; an interview skills workshop (in addition to mock interviews, which students can request at any time); a reception with national and international law firms through which presents students with opportunities for spring and summer positions; and more.
While working closely with their assigned counselor, students also benefit from the broad range of expertise offered by the entire CDO team, who have diverse backgrounds in law and higher education. In addition to multiple licensed lawyers, the CDO is helmed by associates with master’s degrees in higher education administration, some of whom have served as hiring managers.
CDO Assistant Director Julie Kim came to Loyola Law School with 15 years of experience as a corporate lawyer in New York. She was a corporate associate at Winston & Strawn LLP and then an in-house counsel at Time Warner Inc. (now Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.). Now, as a career counselor, she draws on her own experience to guide law students toward successful, fulfilling careers.
“I can speak to our students about the types of skills that would be helpful in those roles, the differences between working at a firm versus at a company, and how to succeed in those beginning years as a newly minted lawyer,” Kim said. “I can talk about the challenges of work/life balance, the expectations for professionalism, and how becoming a lawyer changed me as a person.”
Most students are trying to figure out what they want to do as lawyers, Kim said, so her role is not to figure out what job would be best for them but rather to ask them questions to help them guide themselves – for example, what type of law excites them the most, what they’ve learned from classes and prior work experience, and whether they’re open to doing informational interviews to learn more about different practice areas.
“Students often just need a game plan for next steps and a bit of emotional support to get the ball rolling,” she said. “Whether students seek jobs via OCI, direct applications, or networking, getting a job is not easy for most students. The CDO is here to help our students navigate the bumpy and unpredictable process.”
CDO’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist Ariana Allen works with students to highlight their strengths in their interviews and applications and connects them with programs and opportunities designed to support underrepresented students, like diversity fellowships, mentorship programs, and inclusive employers. She also collaborates with campus affinity groups and partners to create tailored workshops and spaces for these students to thrive.
“I remind my students that while their experiences might look different from others’, that doesn’t make them any less valuable. In fact, their unique backgrounds and perspectives are often exactly what the legal profession and their future clients need,” Allen said.
CDO Assistant Director Rebecca Ruschell echoed Kim’s and Allen’s passion for helping students develop their own unique career paths. She urged prospective students to take into account CDO’s success rate and personalized counseling model when considering which law school to attend.
“I would advise prospective students to consider the level of personalized support, the quality and accessibility of the school’s alumni network (LLS alumni are fantastic!), and how well the CDO connects students to relevant job opportunities,” she said. “Our CDO excels in providing individualized attention and support, fostering strong legal industry connections and opportunities, and offering robust resources for both private and public interest career paths.”