Meet the Career Development Office

Associate Dean, Career Development Office

Email: suzanne [dot] hardlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (suzanne[dot]hard[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu) 

Suzanne Hard provides strategic direction, oversight, and management of the professional development and career strategies team. Dean Hard is responsible for all of GW Law’s Career Development Office services and activities, as well as relations between the CDO and the many constituencies of the law school.

Before coming to GW, Dean Hard served as director of the University of Connecticut School of Law Center for Career Development and led a team of counselors to deliver a curriculum of professional development programming. She also developed, planned, and supported recruiting programs and cultivated relationships with alumni and employers.

Previously, Dean Hard held multiple roles at the Connecticut Bar Association, including director of education and section programming, director of communications, and co-interim executive director. She has also served as an associate professor of legal studies at Post University, where she taught undergraduate courses in environmental law, administrative law, business law, legal research, real estate, and intellectual property.

Dean Hard's earlier legal career included tenure as an attorney with Cohen, Burns, Hard & Paul and as an associate attorney with Hogan & Hartson.

Assistant Director, Career Counseling
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Inn Advisor

Email: namadilaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (namadi[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Ndidi Amadi is an Assistant Director of Career Counseling and a Career Advisor for the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Inn. Before joining GW Law School she was a pre-law advisor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at GW. 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. She is currently an Intellectual Property LLM candidate at GW Law. 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

Director, Employment Placement

Email: diana [dot] blaszkiewiczlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (diana[dot]blaszkiewicz[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu) 

Diana Blaszkiewicz is the Director of Employment Placement at the George Washington Law School's Career Development Office. Prior to joining GW Law, she worked at a legal search firm, helping attorneys find entry level and lateral positions with law firms and in-house. Diana began her legal career working as a commercial real estate attorney.

Diana holds a JD from Brooklyn Law School and a BA in Art History from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a DC native and enjoys exploring the area with family and friends. 

Appointment types: Class of 2025 Advising. 

Assistant Director, Career Counseling
Robert Jackson Inn Advisor

Email: jessica [dot] battlelaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (jessica[dot]battle[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Jessica Battle is an Assistant Director of Career Counseling and a Career Advisor for the Robert Jackson Inn. Prior to joining GW Law, she was an attorney on the Legal Advocacy team at the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), where she advanced the rights of children and youth nationwide through systemic impact litigation in collaboration with other public interest law firms and pro bono partners. She also coordinated the recruitment and hiring of law students as co-chair of the Law Clerk Committee. It was at NCYL that she discovered her passion for counseling and mentoring law students, fellows, and early-career attorneys. Her legal career also includes serving as a Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Oregon, where she developed affirmative and defensive civil rights advocacy strategies, and as a Staff Attorney with The Legal Aid Society of NYC’s Juvenile Rights Practice, where she represented children subject to abuse and neglect petitions in Kings County Family Court. Jessica began her legal career as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Gerard H. Breland of the Superior Court of New Jersey.

Jessica is a proud cum laude graduate of Howard University School of Law and holds a BA in International Studies from The Johns Hopkins University. Jessica is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A native of South Jersey, Jessica is an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan and finds joy in Motown bass lines, aimless walks in nature, and Ethiopian food. 

Appointment Types:  1L, 2L, and 3L - Job Search Strategy, Document Review (Resume and/or Cover Letter), Offer Evaluation, Transfer Student, GWNY Program, State Court Clerkships. 

Email: s [dot] dennislaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (s[dot]dennis[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Associate Director of Employment Placement

Email: darius [dot] johnsonlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (darius[dot]johnson[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Darius Johnson is an Associate Director of Employment Placement at the George Washington Law School's Career Development Office. He is a proud alumnus of Savannah State University, where he earned his BA in Mass Communications, and the Atlanta John Marshall Law School, where he earned his JD. Additionally, Darius holds a Masters degree in Adult Education from Georgia Southern University. Before joining GW Law, he worked as a Lead Academic Program Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he created a pipeline program aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion.

Appointment Types: Class of 2025 Advising. 

Associate Director, Career Counseling
Thurgood Marshall Inn Advisor

Email: erin [dot] kelly1law [dot] gwu [dot] edu (erin[dot]kelly1[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Erin Kelly is an Assistant Director of Career Counseling and a Career Advisor for the Thurgood Marshall Inn. Before joining GW Law, she spent almost nine years practicing employment and administrative law with the Federal government, including positions at the Merit Systems Protection Board, Department of Commerce, and Social Security Administration. Prior to becoming a lawyer, she worked for a private investigation firm in DC, primarily conducting due diligence public record background investigations of candidates for executive and board positions. Erin is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia School of Law. Erin was born in London and also lived with her family in Tokyo and Hong Kong during her childhood and adolescence.

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

Director, Career Counseling and Professional Development
Robert Jackson Inn Advisor

Email: jamclaughlinlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (jamclaughlin[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Julie McLaughlin is the Director of Career Counseling and Professional Development, 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 Development Office, 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, Federal Clerkships.

Associate Director, Career Counseling
Louis Brandeis Inn Advisor

Email: robert [dot] proctorlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (robert[dot]proctor[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Rob is an Associate Director of Career Counseling. Prior to joining GW Law, 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 BA from Morehouse College, EdM from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and his JD from Northeastern University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 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/Public Interest.

Assistant Director, Career Counseling
Benjamin Cardozo Inn Advisor
John Jay Inn of Court Advisor 

Email: aschiappalaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (aschiappa[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu) 

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.

Associate Director, Career Counseling
Sandra Day O'Connor Inn Advisor

Email: erik [dot] turkmanlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (erik[dot]turkman[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Erik Turkman is an Associate Director of Career Counseling. 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 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 JD 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 MFA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and a BA 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. 

Senior Data Analyst

Email: acastonguaylaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (acastonguay[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Ari is the Senior Data Analyst for the GW Law Career Development Office. She is responsible for collecting and analyzing the employment and bar passage information for current students and recent graduates. She reports law school data to the American Bar Association (ABA) to maintain GW Law’s accreditation, and to the National Association of Law Placement (NALP) to broaden the information available to prospective law students, current law students, and legal professionals around the country. Prior to joining the team in 2022, Ari was a data analyst at U.S. News & World Report working on the Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools rankings. She is an EdD Candidate in Higher Education Administration at GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development, where she is dedicated to research and analysis of student success and outcomes after graduation. She also holds a BS in economics and an MS in economics from the University of Maine.

Email: leslier1law [dot] gwu [dot] edu (leslier1[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Leslie Rubenfeld, Director of Employer Relations and Outreach, has over a decade of experience in legal recruiting, specializing in nationwide talent acquisition, with particular focus in California and New York. She previously served as the Director of Recruiting at the Washington, DC office of a large New York-based law firm, where she oversaw on-campus and lateral recruitment efforts as well as the summer program.

Before transitioning to legal recruiting, Leslie worked as a criminal appeals and civil litigation attorney in New York, gaining valuable insight into the legal field. She holds a BA  from UCLA and a JD from Suffolk University Law School.

Having grown up on both coasts and lived in several diverse cities, Leslie brings a unique, well-rounded perspective to employer relations, leveraging her experience across nationwide legal markets to build strong professional connections.

Program Associate, Professional Development and Mentorship

Email: leah [dot] hollarlaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (leah[dot]hollar[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Leah is the Program Associate for Professional Development and Mentorship for the Career Development Office. She is the office’s main liaison with the Inns of Court and Foundations of Practice programs, helps lead the alumni mentorship program effort, and assists with general office operations. Prior to joining the team, Leah worked at an international non-profit in Washington, DC for over two years. Leah graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BA in Political Science and secondary major in Education Policy. She is pursuing a Master of Arts in International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Clerkship Coordinator

Email: teresakonalaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (teresakona[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

Teresa is the Clerkship Coordinator at the Career Development Office 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.

Legal Recruitment Coordinator

Email: rlindseylaw [dot] gwu [dot] edu (rlindsey[at]law[dot]gwu[dot]edu)

René Lindsey joined the Career Development Office in 1987. She is responsible for advertising legal vacancy announcements for students and alumni of the law school.