Associate Director, Law Careers and Pre-Law Advising

Full-time professional position in the Associate Dean for Mentoring and Advising department.

About the Role

The Associate Director, Law Careers and Pre-Law Advising is responsible for maintaining an ecosystem of support for students interested in pursuing law careers. The Associate Director serves as the primary point of contact for students exploring or pursuing law careers, providing advising, coaching, and mentoring through individual and group advising. This role guides students through discerning whether a law career is the right choice, obtaining internships and shadowing opportunities, developing curated resources and programming, and supporting the law school application process or post-graduate paths. The Associate Director collaborates with Furman's Pre-Law Advisory Group, engages internal and external stakeholders, and promotes student success through effective communications and programming.

Responsibilities

• Individual and Group Advising:
  • Serves as an expert for law careers, staying up-to-date on trends, timelines for application processes, federal policies impacting law school financing, and educational/co-curricular expectations.
  • Advises students and alumni in one-on-one and group meetings:
    • Connects advisees to curricular interests, majors/minors, and out-of-class experiences (e.g., Mock Trial, Medical Legal Partnership) that support their goals.
    • Provides information on a wide range of legal careers.
    • Counsels on immediate and long-term personal and professional goals.
    • Supports resume writing and interview preparation for internships and employment.
    • Writes recommendation letters for on-campus and external programs.
    • Represents pre-law advising during orientation events.
    • Coordinates pre-law exploratory meetings and facilitates connections with the Pre-Law Advisory Group.
  • Provides guidance on the law school application process and preparation of application packages for current students and alumni:
    • Advises on law school exploration, helping students discern if law school is the right choice and what to look for in a law school.
    • Advises on LSAT preparation.
    • Provides resources, guidelines, and feedback on personal statements, recommendation letters, resumes, and cover letters.
    • Supports interview preparation for law school applicants.
    • Meets with students individually to discuss the application and recommendation process.
    • Provides post-application support.
  • Provides support for prospective students considering pre-law:
    • Serves as the contact person for Enrollment Services to connect prospective students and families with faculty and resources.
    • Facilitates and conducts group information sessions for prospective students.
    • Conducts information sessions for on-campus Admissions programs and events.
    • Responds to emails and phone calls from prospective students and parents/guardians.
  • Develops a plan for assessing outcomes and advising practices:
    • Tracks student engagement with the office and outcomes, including acceptances to law school and placement in related fields.
    • Tracks student performance on the LSAT exam.
    • Solicits and collects feedback on the advising process for pre-law students.
    • Keeps faculty and relevant administrators updated annually on the success of candidates in the application process.
• Programming & Resources:
  • Assists with the development, implementation, support, and management of programming to support pre-law student exploration and preparation, and facilitates connections between students and professionals in the field. Examples include:
    • External speaker seminar series.
    • Alumni panels.
    • Community and alumni law professional networking events.
    • Career Conversations with alumni and professionals in the field.
    • Law Day.
    • Celebration of rising 1Ls.
  • Cultivates ongoing relationships with law school admission officials and the Law School Admission Council (LSAC):
    • Coordinates recruitment visits and presentations by law school admission officials.
    • Plans and leads student visits to law schools and regional law school fairs.
    • Communicates changes in LSAT preparation and admissions standards to the Pre-Law Advisory Group.
    • Acts as an advocate for Furman University as an institution that prepares students for law school and on behalf of Furman's law school applicants.
  • Establishes and maintains online platforms for sharing resources and communicating with pre-law students:
    • Manages the Pre-Law Advising Moodle page as a repository of resources for current students (e.g., legal field career guides, videos of alumni panels, application resources).
    • Maintains the pre-law program website as an external-facing resource for prospective and current students and alumni.
    • Manages a law-focused alumni group in The Furman Network (PeopleGrove).
    • Uses systems for student appointments and information sharing (e.g., Handshake).
    • Manages social media channels.
  • Serves as the advisor for the Pre-Law Society (student organization) to develop and deliver effective programming aligned with student needs.
  • Collaborates with campus partners (e.g., Mock Trial, Medical Legal Partnership, the Riley Institute for Public Policy and Civic Leadership) to promote existing programs and design relevant opportunities.
• Relationship Development & Engagement:
  • Develops and maintains relationships with faculty, employers, professional associations, alumni, parents, and graduate schools for advising, networking, programming, and career exploration.
  • Collaborates with the Associate Director of Networking and Student Connections to build a network of support for students and alumni pursuing law careers, including developing relationships with alumni and professionals in the legal field.
  • Works with faculty, staff mentors, alumni, and local partners to develop opportunities exposing students to potential pathways in the legal profession:
    • Identifies and markets existing opportunities to students and alumni.
    • Develops shadowing opportunities for students to explore the legal field.
    • Develops internship/externship opportunities for hands-on experience.
  • Serves as the campus point person to request resources for supporting students pursuing law careers, including:
    • Liaising with faculty to ensure they are updated on the law school admission process and pre-law pathway experiences.
    • Working with the Malone Center for Career Engagement to develop internships exposing students to legal pathways.
    • Using the Furman Network to connect students with alumni mentors in the legal profession.
    • Partnering with Associate Directors in the Malone Center to co-sponsor visits by legal experts.
    • Creating guidelines for letters of recommendation and preparing faculty to use them.
• Cross-Functional Teams and University Initiatives:
  • Tracks student engagement across categories including exploration, internships, and connections with campus resources.
  • Serves as a co-leader of the Pre-Law Advisory Group.
  • Contributes to the strategic plans of Furman University, the Malone Center for Career Engagement, and the Office of Advising for Health and Law Professions.
  • Represents the Division of Academic Affairs and Office of Advising for Health and Law Professions on divisional and university committees.
  • Pursues professional development, including representing Furman at local and national professional associations and conferences.
• Performs administrative tasks such as setting appointments, managing email and phone communications, paperwork, photocopying, organizing, and filing.
• Completes the performance review process with a supervisor to understand job performance expectations.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Relationships

• Daily contact with students to exchange information related to law-related goals.
• Frequent contact with alumni to exchange information related to law-related goals.
• Frequent contact with university departments and members of the work unit to plan, coordinate, and solve problems related to mutual goals.
• Frequent contact with faculty and staff to coordinate on-campus and external events and initiatives related to pre-law and legal careers.
• Frequent contact with law schools, maintaining a professional relationship as a representative of Furman.
• Frequent contact with faculty, staff, and advisors to exchange information related to supporting students with pre-law interests.

Decision-Making

Responsible for own work. May assist or instruct others doing similar work, including student workers. Tasks involve interpretation.