Meet the Career Center

With one of the largest legal career counseling teams in the country, the Career Center collectively represents more than 80 years of experience in the legal and counseling professions. Our counselors have expertise in many areas of employment in the private and public sectors, including law firms of all sizes, international and domestic corporations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and judicial clerkships in federal and state courts. 


Career Counselors

 

 

Ndidi Amadi
 

Ndidi Amadi 

Senior Law Career Counselor; Jackson Inn Advisor

Email: [email protected]

Ndidi Amadi is a Senior Career Law Counselor and a Career Advisor for the Jackson Inn. Before joining GW Law School she was a pre-law advisor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU. Additionally she is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Social Sciences. She is a graduate of the illustrious Howard University and Drake University law school with a certificate in public service. Ndidi is a first generation Nigerian-American and enjoys bringing her culture to everything she does. Ndidi is also a traditionally published children’s book author with Penguin Random House - Waterbrook. In her spare time, Ndidi enjoys traveling, reading, the performing arts, cooking and spending time with her friends and family.

Appointment types: 1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Mock Interview, Offer Evaluation, Diversity Equity Inclusion

Alvita Barrow
 
 

Alvita Barrow

Senior Law Career Counselor; Marshall Inn Advisor

Email: [email protected]

Alvita Barrow is a Senior Career Law Counselor and a Career Advisor for the Thurgood Marshall Inn.  Prior to joining George Washington, Alvita served for seven years as an associate director for the Office of Career and Professional Development at the Wake Forest University School of Law and, for over 15 years, she was the managing director of Columbus Community Legal Services, the in-house civil litigation clinic at Catholic University’s law school in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Duke University and Cornell Law School, Alvita began her legal career as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, where she handled misdemeanor and felony cases on behalf of indigent individuals.  She later joined the Office of the Public Defender in Rochester, New York, where she served as a trial attorney in the Violent Felony Section.

Appointment Types: 1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Mock Interview, Offer Evaluation.

 

 

Julie McLaughlin
 

Julie McLaughlin

Director, Career Counseling; Robert Jackson Inn Advisor

Email: [email protected]

Julie McLaughlin is the Director of Career Counseling, a Career Advisor for the Robert Jackson Inn, and an advisor on federal clerkships. Julie works with students to identify goals and develop individualized career plans. Prior to joining the Career Center, Julie was a regulatory associate at a large international law firm in Washington, DC where her practice focused on food and agriculture law and consumer protection. Following law school, she clerked for the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia. Julie is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Virginia School of Law.

Appointment Types: 1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Mock Interview, Offer Evaluation, Clerkships.

 

Robert Proctor
 

Robert Proctor

Senior Law Career Counselor; Benjamin Cardozo Inn Advisor

Email: [email protected]

Rob is a Senior Career Counselor. Prior to joining GW Law School, Rob was a Senior Clinical Instructor at Harvard Law School and Lecturer on Law where he taught and supervised third-year law students in criminal defense representation of indigent defendants charged with misdemeanors and felonies and in the Trial Advocacy Workshop, an intensive course teaching and demonstrating civil and criminal trials. Before joining Harvard, Rob was in private practice specializing in civil litigation and criminal defense and represented thousands of clients in a variety of cases including employment law, contract disputes, school disciplinary matters, theft crimes, drugs, and murder. While in law school, Rob worked in the Prisoners’ Rights Clinic, representing inmates charged with disciplinary infractions, had a judicial internship for a senior justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, worked in the litigation department of a large law firm in Boston and the general counsel's offices of a biotech company and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the largest labor union in Massachusetts.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Rob was a high school English teacher in California and worked as an executive search consultant on behalf of large law firms. Rob earned a B.A. from Morehouse College, Ed.M from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and his J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.

Appointment Types: 1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Mock Interview, Offer Evaluation, Public Sector.

 

Adam Schiappa
 

Adam Schiappa 

Senior Law Career Counselor; Louis Brandeis Inn Advisor; John Jay Inn of Court Advisor 

Email: [email protected] 

A native of Long Island, New York, Adam graduated from Binghamton University in 2014 with a BA in History. In Fall 2016, Adam became a full-time law student here at GW Law. A first-generation law student, Adam took environmental law courses while at GW, and was a part of the Journal of Energy and Environmental Law (JEEL). His internship and externship experiences varied considerably; he spent one semester at the US Office of Special Counsel, dealing with federal whistleblower matters, and another summer interning alongside members of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), handling everything from witnesses in a Hawaiian noise pollution case to researching the impacts of 5G cellular technology on the National Park system. There, Adam proposed a series of reforms to the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule, submitted to the EPA as a Petition for Rulemaking in part due to a severe delay by the agency to reform the rule after the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Adam's longest externship at GW lasted one year with the Broadcasting Board of Governors (now the US Agency for Global Media). Within the BBG's Office of General Counsel, Adam was responsible for reviewing and researching federal contracts and procurement law, as well as day-to-day legal research. 
 
Upon graduating, Adam took the NY bar exam in Summer 2019 and was eventually sworn in (remotely, on FaceTime) in Spring 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  For the last three years, Adam has been volunteering with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL)'s Election Protection division, acting as a Lead overseeing the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline both on election days and in the periods running up to them. Adam is excited to return to GW Law--this time already knowing where all the rooms are! Mostly.
 
Appointment Types: 1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Mock Interview, Offer Evaluation. 

 

Headshot of Erik Turkman
 

Erik Turkman

Senior Law Career Counselor; Sandra Day O'Connor Inn Advisor

Email: [email protected]   

Erik Turkman is a Senior Career Counselor. Before joining GW Law, he practiced in federal and private settings, including with estate planning and administration and Social Security Disability law. He also has a keen interest in copyright law and clerked in the Office of the Register at the U.S. Copyright Office and in the Office of General Counsel at the Library of Congress while in law school.

Erik is a later-in-life lawyer. Prior to turning to turning to law, Erik taught rhetoric, research skills, and academic and professional writing at the university level, including at the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, and Stanford University. He delights in assisting others with developing clear, compelling, and correct writing and speaking skills. In addition, Erik is a musician and plays the upright and electric basses, performing throughout the DC region in orchestral, jazz, Brazilian music, musical theater, and other musical settings. Erik earned his J.D. at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, with a concentration in Intellectual Property Law and a Certificate of Studies in Jurisprudence. He holds an M.F.A. in English/Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and a B.A. in Music from the University of Rochester/Eastman School of Music.

Appointment Types: 1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Mock Interview, Offer Evaluation.


Staff

 

Sierra Brummett
 

Sierra Brummett

Assistant Program Director, Professional Development

Email: [email protected]

Sierra joined the Career Center in August 2018 to help execute the Inns of Court and Foundations of Practice programs. As a graduate of GW Law and an alumnus of the O’Connor Inn of Court, Sierra is committed to ensuring that students continue to receive the high-quality and critical professional development training these unique and valuable programs offer. Prior to joining the Career Center, Sierra worked in banking and finance policy in the United States Senate, and at a lobbying firm dedicated to increasing foreign language education access. She received her law degree in 2018 from the George Washington University Law School and her B.A. in moral philosophy from Pacific University in Oregon.

 

Ari Castonguay Rodgers
 

Ari Castonguay Rodgers

Data Accreditation Analyst

Email: [email protected]

Ari is the Data Accreditation Analyst for the GW Law Career Center. Prior to joining the team, Ari was a data analyst at U.S. News & World Report working on the Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools rankings. She is currently pursuing her EdD in Higher Education Administration at GW, where she is dedicated to research and analysis of student employment outcomes post-graduation. She received her BS in economics in 2017 and her MS in economics in 2019 from the University of Maine. 

 

Emerald Chauncey

 

 

Emerald Chauncey

Employer Outreach Consultant

Email: [email protected]

Emerald Chauncey is the Employee Relations Consultant for The Center of Professional Development and Career Strategy at The George Washington Law School. She maintains the law school's relationships with both private and public sector employers.  She also manages the employer outreach marketing and communications, research, and event coordination.  Prior to joining GW Law, Emerald worked as a marketing and public relations associate for American Airlines and the Peace Corps. She received her MA in Communication Studies in 2013 and her BS in Psychology in 2008 from Arkansas State University.

 

Candacé Jackson
 

Candacé M. Jackson

Director, Employer Outreach

Email: [email protected]

Candacé is a proud alumna of Hampton University (BA, Political Science) and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (JD). Additionally, Candacé earned her certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of South Florida’s Muma School of Business in 2021.

Prior to joining GW Law, Candacé worked as a consultant in the private, non-profit, and government arenas on issues such as: victims’ compensation, anti-money laundering, medical malpractice, human trafficking, civil rights, Freedom of Information Act, government contracts, and fraud. She also taught as an Assistant Professor at Hampton University, The Graduate School USA, and Delaware State University.

 

Leah Hollar
 

Leah Hollar

Program Associate, Professional Development and Mentorship 

Email: [email protected]

Leah is the Program Associate for the Career Center. She assists with the Inns of Court, Foundations of Practice, and mentorship programs, as well as front desk management. Prior to joining the team, Leah worked at an international non-profit in Washington, D.C. for over two years providing program support. Leah graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Political Science and secondary major in Education Policy. As a student, she interned with the U.S. Department of Defense and overseas with the U.S. Department of State.

 

Teresa Kona
 

 

 

Teresa Kona

Clerkship Coordinator

Email: [email protected]

Teresa is the Clerkship Coordinator at the Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy at the George Washington University Law School. Teresa is an alumna of Morgan State University (BA Communications Studies) and is currently pursuing a masters in Political Management at the George Washington University. Prior to joining GW Law, Teresa worked as a legal assistant in the non-profit, private sector, and government arenas. Teresa serves as support for students during the judicial clerkship application process, as well as office assistance. 

 

Rene Lindsey
 

René Lindsey

Job Posting Coordinator

Email: [email protected]

René Lindsey joined the Career Center in 1987. She is responsible for advertising legal vacancy announcements for students and alumni of the Law School.

 

Emma Meverden
 

Emma Meverden

Office Manager

Email: [email protected]

Emma joined the GW Law Career Center in August 2022. As the Office Manager, Emma manages the Operations Team, spearheads onboarding of new employees, coordinates event logistics, processes expenses, drafts the Career Center newsletters, and assists in monitoring the Career Center's website and social media accounts. 

Prior to joining GW Law, she held administrative and customer service positions in academia and small business. Emma is currently enrolled in the Master's in Museum Studies Program at The George Washington University's Corcoran School, and she received her BA in History at the University of Maryland, College Park. During her time at Maryland, she interned at the National Archives and Records Administration II, where she helped catalog research files and create digital finding aids. 

 

Liza Ramirez
 
 

Liza Ramirez

Manager of Legal Recruiting

Email: [email protected]

Liza Ramirez joined the Career Center in 1997 as the Office Manager. In April 2001, she became the Assistant Recruitment Manager. Liza assists in the planning and execution of all recruiting programs, creating and managing interview schedules, communicating with legal employers and law students, and resolving employer and student concerns related to recruiting events. She also reconciles the Fall Recruiting Program budget, processes accounts payable for all recruitment activities, and handles all procedures related to temporary/wage account staff.

 

Kieran Riley
 

Kieran Riley

Graduate Career Consultant

Email: [email protected] 

Kieran joined the Career Center in Fall 2023 as a Graduate Career Consultant, with a focus on connecting upcoming and recent law school graduates with employers and placing new lawyers in their first post-graduation legal jobs. Prior to joining the GW Law team, Kieran worked as an attorney in the Washington, DC area handling matters related to workers’ compensation and employment law. She then transitioned to the legal recruiting field, where she worked first for an agency placing attorneys with firms and companies and then in-house at a large law firm where she recruited lateral associates and other attorneys and specialists for the firm. Kieran earned her Bachelors degree in English from the George Washington University and her law degree from Boston University School of Law.