Nearly 200 Students Pack Career Fair, Meet Alumni Recruiters and More

04/04/2023
Law School students seeking summer internships and post-graduation jobs filled the fourth-floor dining room for a March 28 Career Fair where they had a chance to meet with recruiters, including 19 Brooklyn Law alumni, and explore opportunities. 

There were 15 employers set up at tables, and 178 students attending the 90-minute event.  Law firms included:  Bernstein Litowitz Berger and Grossmann; Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard; Douglas & London; Harris Beach; Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP; Mendes & Mount; Merson Law; Moses Singer; Mound Cotton Wollan & Greengrass, and The Law Offices of Benvenuto & Gaujean. Other employers recruiting at the fair were: Alma Realty Corp., Bank of America, EY, IBM, and the New York City Law Department.   

“We’re really happy with the turnout,” Associate Director of Career & Professional Development Michael Tenenhaus said, adding that the event is ordinarily held annually and sometimes twice a year, but it had been on hold in recent years because of COVID-19. “We’re encouraging participation from midsize firms and a mix of some corporate firms like IBM and Ernst & Young (EY)."  

Students Seek Variety of Opportunities 

The variety of recruiters appealed to Dina A. Khedr ’24, who attended the fair to seek out summer internships that would provide opportunities in business law. “There are a lot of interesting firms here,” Khedr said.  

Manpreet Kaur '23  was waiting to meet with Bank of America recruiters Allison Rowoth '14, vice president and client and business manager, and Erica Citron '16, vice president and senior trust officer, among others. Set to graduate this spring, Kaur is most interested in employment law, trust and estates finance. 

 “I understand the job market isn’t great right now, so I want to be open,” Kaur said. “I want to talk to as many people as I can and get a sense of what is going on.” 

Eli Wieder ’23 also attended the fair looking for potential post-graduate positions. “I’m being a little picky, and a few of the places here really interested me,” Wieder said. “I’m looking at opportunities to do intellectual property, entertainment, maybe startup or tech.” 

To gain experience during Law School, he participated in the BLIP (Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy) clinic, serving on the patent team. He also had experience prior to Law School, working in a hospital doing genetics research on Parkinson’s Disease. “I try to get as much broad experience as possible,” Wieder said.  

Thomas Lewis ’25,  an evening student attending part time, recently resigned from his position at the Bronx District Attorney’s office, where he worked as an appeals specialist, to attend law school full time. He was waiting to speak with the New York City Law Department.  

“I hope to stay in litigation,” Lewis said, adding that he wanted to expand his knowledge into other areas of practice.  

Alumni Share Advice on Getting a Foot in the Door 

Among the alumni meeting students were Josh Greenberg ’16 and Scott Resnick '21, who are senior associate, and associate, respectively, at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, an entertainment and intellectual property firm. Both work in the digital media and tech group. 

“We’re primarily here because we recruit a lot of our interns and associates from Brooklyn Law School,” said Greenberg, who is co-chair of the firm’s internship committee. “We don’t have a direct hiring pipeline in terms of summer associates getting jobs, but we heavily recruit from Brooklyn for our interns and associates, so we thought it would be good to have a presence.”  

Greenberg interned at Cowan his second summer through his 3L year and joined the firm after a stint at a smaller firm focused on startups. Resnick interned in his 2L through 3L year and was hired directly after graduation, which is more unusual, but he had “great prior law school experience,” and spot-on timing when there was an opening, Greenberg said.  

In terms of interns, “the number one thing we look for is demonstrated interest, anything that sets you apart from the hundreds of other applicants that we get each semester and summer,” Greenberg said. That could be prior work experience before or during law school, but it could also be courses, bar association involvement, extracurricular activities, or experiential learning opportunities like the BLIP clinic, which Greenberg was involved with as a student.  

For post-graduate opportunities, breaking into entertainment law can be tough, he acknowledged.  

"So, if you don’t have that opportunity, be intentional and purposeful with the job that you do get or the path that you’re working on,” Greenberg said. “You should never go into a job looking to leave, but be more intentional about the skills you’re developing. It might be entertainment, it might be just general transactional skills or if it’s litigation, being able to cut your teeth with litigation.” 

Michelle Moshe ’00, senior counsel, and Talysia Francis ’21, assistant corporation counsel, labor and employment law division, were recruiting on behalf of the New York City Law Department. 

During Law School, Moshe was a member of the Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest (BLSPI) and was happy to hear that the student organization still existed. She had always wanted to go into government but spent years working for various law firms. 

“There are a lot of different opportunities in the law department—including torts, family court, finance, labor and employment, and more,” said Moshe.  The city hires summer interns, and new Law School graduates, she said.  

Francis, who graduated two years ago, added: “I’m enjoying my time and it’s been a great place to start.” 

Moshe’s advice to students is to network.  

“Make connections, keep in touch,” Moshe said, adding that she had only recently made the transition by following her own advice. “I made a connection and kept in touch, and then I got hired during Covid.” 

To see photos from Career Fair 2023, click here.