Panel Information

Date/Times/Location

Friday, April 20, 2012, 4:00 - 5:00 (for day students) & 6:00 - 7:00 (for evening students), in the 1st floor Function Room, Sargent Hall. 

There will be refreshments and an opportunity to talk with the panelists between the two sessions, from 5:00 - 6:00.

Panelists

4:00-5:00 -- Garvin, Samaksky, Schiff, Snyder
6:00-7:00 -- Garvin, Moran, Schiff

Michele M. Garvin is a partner and former chair of Ropes & Gray’s Health Care group. A frequent speaker on health care issues and author of articles highlighting trends and opportunities in the field, Ms. Garvin has practiced since 1987, representing a wide range of health care providers including academic medical centers and faculty practice plans, community hospitals, physician group practices, health maintenance organizations, insurers, prescription drug plans, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. She has a broad practice focusing on general regulatory compliance, governance issues, academic medical center and medical school relationships, corporate affiliations and acquisitions, clinical joint ventures, including electronic health records and physician integration strategies, as well as insurer/health plan matters, and third party reimbursement, including managed care contracting and pay-for-performance issues. Currently, Ms. Garvin is advising numerous clients on corporate transactions and hospital affiliations, accountable care organization development, clinical integration and structuring of shared savings arrangements, and negotiating and implementing corporate integrity agreements.   She has received numerous professional honors and awards including: Boston Best Lawyers Health Care Lawyer of the Year (2010); The Best Lawyers in America (2003-2012); Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2004-2012); Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2004-2011); Lawdragon 3000: Leading Lawyers in America (2006); and, Massachusetts Super Lawyers "Top 50 Women" (2006).   Ms. Garvin is a recipient the Ropes & Gray 2010 Award for Outstanding Partner Pro Bono Service.   Ms. Garvin received her JD from Suffolk University Law School in 1987, a PhD in Sociology from Boston College in 1981, and a B.A. from The College of William and Mary in 1974.

Michael C. Moran in an associate at Bingham McCutchen where his practice focuses on securities enforcement, broker-dealer defense and securities litigation. He represents broker-dealers, individuals and public companies in enforcement actions brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulatory agencies. Mr. Moran’s practice also includes defending clients in derivative suits and shareholder class actions.  He also represents clients in complex commercial disputes and class actions in state and federal court, and is actively involved in several pro bono matters.

While in law school, Mr. Moran served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review and vice president of the Public Interest Law Group. He received the faculty’s Outstanding Student Award at graduation. Mr. Moran spent a summer during law school working as a Judiciary Committee law clerk for Rep. William Delahunt in Washington, D.C.  He is a member of the American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Boston Bar Association.  Mr. Moran graduated summa cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in 2006 and received his B.A. from George Washington University in 1999

Adam P. Samaksky is an associate at Edwards Wildman Palmer and practices in the area of intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, and trade secret law.  Mr. Samaksky’s core practice focuses on patent litigation involving complex technologies in the pharmaceutical, medical, firearms and communications industries. He has trial experience before multiple United States District Courts, and has submitted extensive briefing before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Samaksky recently tried highly technical aspects of a trade secret misappropriation case before a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, resulting in a multimillion dollar judgment for his client. He was a key member of trial teams representing major international branded pharmaceutical companies Hatch-Waxman patent infringement actions, and played a pivotal role in briefing and argument in what is now the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s authoritative pronouncement on the law of chemical obviousness.  Mr. Samaksky routinely consults in due diligence on blockbuster pharmaceutical assets, including the review and assessment of litigation, regulatory and settlement strategies, and frequently advises private investors, including hedge and equity funds, on high-stakes IP litigation at both the trial and appellate level. He graduated from Suffolk University Law School magna cum laude in 2004, and holds a B.A. from Brandeis University.

Janis B. Schiff serves as the client service and development partner in Holland & Knight’s Washington, DC office.  In this role, Ms. Schiff works with members of the firm's senior management and clients to develop and implement client initiatives on a firmwide basis. Ms. Schiff coordinates the firm's Rising Stars mentoring and leadership program, which she founded in 2001, and is the immediate past chair of the firm's National Real Estate Section. She has also served as the firm's national marketing partner.  She has extensive experience representing property owners, asset managers and investors in connection with the development, redevelopment, sale, acquisition and leasing of retail, residential, condominium, office, mixed-use and hotel properties and venues and represents clients in all facets of commercial real estate, including foreign investment in the United States, public-private partnerships, government leasing, financial workouts and restructurings, acquisition and sales contracts for improved and unimproved properties and borrower and lender representation.  The professional honors and awards she has received include: Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Real Estate, 2008-2011; The Best Lawyers in America guide, Real Estate Law, 2008-2012; Woman on Top, Washington Women’s Weekly, 2011; The Legal 500 USA, Real Estate & Construction: Land Use/Zoning; Real Estate & Construction: Real Estate, 2011; Best Lawyer, Washingtonian Magazine, Real Estate and Zoning/Land Use, 2009, 2011; Woman of Achievement Award, Chicago Alliance of Women, 2009; Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers magazine, 2008-2011; Corporate Counsel Edition, Super Lawyers magazine, May 2009;  Top Washington Lawyer Finalist, Washington Business Journal, Real Estate, 2005; and, Outstanding Achievement Award, Commercial Real Estate Women, District of Columbia Chapter, 2004.  Ms. Schiff is an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University Berman Real Estate Institute.  She is also a frequent author and lecturer on leasing and general real estate transactional topics.  Ms. Schiff graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 1983 and holds a B.A. cum laude from Brandeis University. 

Jennifer C. Snyder is a partner in and former chair of the Private Client Practice Group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Boston. She joined the firm in 1981. She has practiced in the Private Client Practice Group for more than 20 years. Ms. Snyder represents high net worth US and non-US individuals and families in all aspects of estate planning, including the administration and taxation of estates and trusts.  Ms. Snyder is known for her personalized attention to clients. She advises high net worth clients and their families regarding a wide range of issues relating to wills and trusts and sophisticated wealth transfer strategies. Ms. Snyder's practice includes pre-IPO planning, tax advice, fiduciary investments, charitable giving and the administration of estates. She also serves as a professional trustee. Ms. Snyder's client base extends throughout the United States and Europe. She has substantial experience in the area of international estate planning, including representing multiple generations and advising trustees of offshore trusts.  Ms. Snyder was named the 2012 Best Lawyers' "Boston Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year" and has been consistently selected by peers for inclusion in the 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of trusts and estates. She was named as one of the nation's top trusts and estates attorneys by Bloomberg Magazine, listed in the February 2010 issue of Boston Magazine, as a recipient of the "FIVE STAR Wealth Manager Award", named a "New England Super Lawyer" (formerly "Massachusetts Super Lawyer") in estate planning/trusts in the 2004-2011 issues, and listed among the "Top 50 Female Massachusetts Super Lawyers" in 2006.  Ms. Snyder lectures frequently on estate planning topics in seminars sponsored by the Federal Tax Institute, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. and the Boston Bar Association.  Ms. Snyder graduated with honors from Suffolk University Law School in 1981, and received an M.A. from San Francisco State University in 1978, and a B.A., with honors from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1972.

Moderator

Jessica Silbey, Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School

Alumni & Faculty Mentors

Many Suffolk Law alumni work in large firms and are happy to speak with current law students. 

For more information about the Alumni Mentor Program, contact Diane Frankel Schoenfeld, Director of Alumni Relations, Suffolk University Law School at 617.305.1904 or diane.schoenfeld@suffolk.edu

The Career Development Office can also help you identify Suffolk graduates working in large firms. If you have not done so already, make an appointment to meet with a career counselor for more information.

To speak to a faculty member about working in a large firm, contact Jessica Silbey, Professor of Law, jsilbey@suffolk.edu

Career Development

To get oriented in your job search and make an appointment with a career counselor, go to CDO's webpage or call 617-573-8094 or email lawcdo@suffolk.edu

Large law firms usually hire their junior lawyers through the annual summer associate program.  In the summer prior to the start of the 2LD/3LE year, students vie for On Campus Interviews (OCI) – or screening interviews -- and if successful, are invited for a full round (or callback) interview at the firm.  Offers for the summer program are made following the callback interview phase.  Hiring criteria for these large firms is highly competitive; large firms favor top grades, law review/journal membership, and/or advanced moot court.  Because of these selectivity factors, students need to consider OCI as just one of many avenues of the job search process.  In addition, students seeking positions with large law firms in markets outside on the Boston area should apply directly to these firms in the July/early August timeframe.  For additional details and strategies, please meet with a CDO career counselor.

To find SULS graduates working in large law firms, use the search function on the firms' websites to search their attorneys by law school.  In addition, you may find alumni through LinkedIn, Martindale.com, and SULS's Online Community. Instructions for these resources appear in the handout called, "How to Find Alumni Networking Contacts" available on the "Handouts/Resources" section of the CDO website.

To explore numerous cities and states throughout the US when applying directly to large law firms outside Boston, utilize the 20 "Out of Town Guides" available on the 'Handouts/Resources' section of the CDO website.

To listen to audio recordings of career programs that discuss large law firm practice, the OCI and callback process, and other related topics, visit the 'SULS Community' section of the CDO website (contact the CDO for the password).

For additional links pertinent to large law firm practice, visit the 'Links' section of the CDO website.

Additional Large Law Firm Resources

NALP's online National Directory of Legal Employers – THE resource for detailed information about large law firms, hiring practices, salary, etc. 

NALP's Principles & Standards for Law Placement and Recruitment Activities – Provides a comprehensive resource about standards for ethical recruiting, timing of offers, and other related material. 

"Applying Directly to Large Law Firms" – helpful CDO handout 

Professional and Bar Associations

The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) 

The Boston Lawyers Group (BLG) 

Boston Bar Association (BBA)  -- most of Boston's large law firm lawyers are members of the BBA

Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA)  -- many large law firm lawyers are members of the MBA

American Bar Association (ABA) -- the ABA is another great outlet to meet and connect with large law firm lawyers

Library Resources

General

Tips for Landing the Job of Your Dreams
Top Ten Free & Subscription Legal Research Sites
Lawyering Bibliography
Suffolk University Law School Research Databases
For a complete list of research guides, go here.

A few recent law review articles:

Charles D. Weisselberg, Big Law’s Sixth Amendment: The Rise of Corporate White-Collar Practices in Large U.S. Law Firms, 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 1221 (2011)

Leslie Larkin Cooney, Walking the Legal Tightrope: Solutions for Achieving a Balanced Life in Law, 47 San Diego L. Rev. 421 (2010)

Lori McMaster, Top Five Ways to Effectively Manage Associate Attorneys in a Challenging Economy, 11 No. 15 Lawyers J. 7 (2009)

Ian J. Silverbrand, Modified Partnership Structures and Their Effects on Associate Satisfaction, 21 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 165 (2008)

Guides & Manuals

Andrew Hartman, The Six-Minute Marathon: A Guide to Life as a Lawyer (Caren Ulrich Stacy, ed. National Institute of Trial Advocacy, 2011) Career Development Law Office: KF300 .H373 2011 & Law New Books Case (FL 6): KF300 .H373 2011

For more resources on this topic, search the Library's online catalog.

Contact Information

If you have any questions at all or need research assistance, contact a Moakley Law Library reference librarian: 617-573-8516 or lawref@suffolk.edu

Conferences & Continuing Legal Education

Suffolk University Law School's Advanced Legal Studies (ALS) Center for CLE & Academic Conferences seeks to create in-depth continuing legal education for the legal community by utilizing the strengths and resources of the law school and the expertise of the bench and the bar. Their programs are built around members of the Suffolk faculty and experienced lawyers and judges. By carefully crafting the curriculum for each program, preparing solid course materials, and employing vigorous and open discussion methods, these programs provide attendees with challenging and helpful educational opportunities.

All current Suffolk University Law School students can register for ALS Conferences, for FREE. These conferences are great opportunities to learn and network. To review their current calendar of events or to get more information about ALS and the conferences they organize as well as a list of the very helpful practice-oriented publications they publish, go here.

For more information about Suffolk's Advanced Legal Studies Center, contact Carole Wagan, Esq., Director, Center for Advanced Legal Studies, cwagan@suffolk.edu or (617) 305-1652.

LEAPP Journals & Student Survey

LEAPP Journals

First-year students are required to attend each of the LEAPP panels and submit a short journal entry by April 27, 2012 via Campus Cruiser. 

For more information, log on to Campus Cruiser.

Student Survey

Please go to Campus Cruiser and take just a few moments to complete a brief survey.