University of Colorado School of Law: Patty Powell, Assistant Dean of Career Services | Career Tips & Insights

Summary

Patty Powell is the Assistant Dean of Career Services at the University of Colorado School of Law.


In her current role, Powell is responsible for creating and implementing career planning and professional development programs for students and alumni. She also works to build strong relationships with employers around the country, helping to form professional networks and foster career opportunities for graduates.

Powell's professional career began as an attorney at Arnold & Porter in Washington, DC. She then served as director of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Career Services Office before taking on her current role at the University of Colorado School of Law.

Powell's success in her current role is rooted in her commitment to individualized service. She helps each student to understand their career goals and develop a personalized plan for achieving them. Powell also focuses on building strong relationships with employers and leveraging those relationships to create job opportunities for students and alumni.

At the University of Colorado School of Law, Powell has created successful initiatives such as the Colorado Law Alumni Network and the Schools Everywhere Program. The Colorado Law Alumni Network is a online career platform designed to connect students and alumni with lawyers and employers. The Schools Everywhere Program offers externship opportunities that have helped students gain invaluable legal experience while in school.

Powell's commitment to service has helped the University of Colorado Law School to remain competitive in an ever-changing job market. Her creative, comprehensive approach has been instrumental in the success of the school's Career Services Office. She is an effective leader who is passionate about building relationships and providing personalized support to students and graduates.
 

Patty Powell – Assistant Dean of Career Services at University of Colorado School of Law

Patty Powell is the Assistant Dean of Career Services at the University of Colorado School of Law, located in Boulder. Mrs. Powell is a respected authority in the career services field, and her expertise has been sought out by other institutions around the nation.

Mrs. Powell has been an integral part of the University of Colorado School of Law since 1998. During her tenure at the university, she has made significant strides in improving the quality of career services offered at the law school. She has been instrumental in helping to transition the university from traditional career services to an expanded model that is tailored to the individual needs of each student.

Mrs. Powell has also taken the lead in establishing an alumni network for the University of Colorado School of Law, which has been successful in providing students with more job opportunities. Furthermore, she has taken the initiative to create a comprehensive program that allows students to build and enhance their professional networks. This program has been highly effective in allowing current students to connect with alumni and other professionals who can provide invaluable career advice.

In addition to her duties as Assistant Dean, Mrs. Powell is actively involved in teaching a Career Development course at the University of Colorado School of Law. She has also been recognized for her contribution to the field of career services by being chosen as a member of the National Association of Law Placement (NALP).

 

Mrs. Powell's Leadership in Career Services

Patty Powell has been a leader in the legal profession for over 20 years. She has used her expertise in career services to help the University of Colorado School of Law grow its career services offerings, providing students with more opportunities for job placement. Mrs. Powell developed an alumni network for the law school and created a comprehensive career development program that helps students build their professional network and develop the skills needed to succeed in their chosen field after graduation.

In addition to her work at the University of Colorado School of Law, Mrs. Powell is also a member of the National Association of Law Placement (NALP), and has been recognized by the organization for her contributions to the legal field. She also continues to be active in teaching a Career Development course at the law school.

One month into her new position as Assistant Dean of Career Services at the University of Colorado School of Law, Patty Powell is already thinking about the needs of the diverse batch of first-year students now arriving in Boulder for orientation. "We draw students with a global view. Many were already involved in public service before law school, doing fascinating work overseas… first-generation people from amazing backgrounds." As a result, Powell feels a greater responsibility toward generating public interest opportunities for the students in her care. "We already have an excellent public interest directory, but we have to do even more."

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Powell, an experienced career services professional, is certainly up to the task. She came to CU after a lengthy stint at the University of Denver College of Law, first in career services, and then as Dean of Student Affairs. "I love getting to know students, and I love mentoring students," she says. That passion stems in part from her undergraduate background in psychology. "I entered a master's program in counseling, but midway through, I realized it wasn't the right training for what I really wanted to do. So I started rethinking my path." A family member convinced her she'd make a great lawyer. "I thought, 'What's another word for a lawyer? Counselor.' The connection just made sense to me. I also had a serious social conscience and wanted to make a difference."

After graduating from U. of Denver, Powell practiced law in the Denver metro area for several years in both public- and private-sector jobs, including a stretch in the Colorado Attorney General's office. She gained a wealth of valuable experience, but eventually grew disillusioned. Powell recalls, "I was constantly involved in negative adversarial roles in the practice, and I felt like I wasn't having an immediate significant impact on people's lives." She began a process of introspection and self-assessment, during which she rediscovered her enjoyment of teaching and counseling. "The dime-store psychologist in me retained a strong interest in the growth and development of other people. I knew I wanted to see positive outcomes to my work more immediately than four years down the line, when litigation finally makes its way through the courts." She followed her interests and started a private consulting practice for other lawyers in career transition, which she eventually segued into her position at U. of Denver.

Powell meets more and more law students who, like her, question whether they actually want to practice law with their degrees. "This is a generation of people thinking more about quality of life and lifestyle issues, and they don't necessarily want an 80-hour work week. They still want to work hard, without being married to their jobs. They want more balanced lives." She encounters many who plan to do something law-related, but not in a traditional firm. "I see them seeking positions as staff attorneys for nonprofits-in the environmental area, for instance, tracking the adverse impact pollution has on low-income or minority communities." She also sees a lot of lawyers who later transition into teaching. "The ones who become teachers sacrifice a lot. They scale back their material needs to focus on the work and end up happy as a clam."

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To her dismay, Powell has also recently noticed fewer prosecution and public-defender positions available to new grads. "When I came out of law school, a very sound career path was to start out in a D.A.'s or public defender's office, learn how to do trials, and then go on to private practice or in-house corporate work. Back in the early '80s, there were a lot more entry-level positions in these offices." Powell attributes this shift to an increasing number of already practicing attorneys being hired laterally into those spots. "They are fed up and burned out and want their lives back," she explains, "but they're taking jobs away from new grads who'd love that launching pad for their careers."

To buck this trend, Powell recommends students look at ways to take "baby steps" into these public-sector jobs, staying cognizant of the need to position themselves earlier in their careers. "Internships help students get their foot in the door, and then they're able to become well known in those organizations." This approach, though, also impacts the way students must manage their finances while in school. "Students want great high-paying clerkships in big firms. But if they are truly interested in prosecutor or public-defender positions," Powell advises, "they should try not to 'live like lawyers' while in law school. Try not to borrow too much or rack up too much debt, so that you can afford to volunteer in P.D. or D.A. offices if no paid internships are available, just for the exposure."

Like many of her peers, Powell makes a point of trying to undo the misperception that career services professionals only care about students in the top 10% of their classes. "On-campus interviewing programs are very visible on campus. When the big-firm people show up, they've got their suits on, and the students with the interviews have their suits on, and the rest feel like chopped liver." Many times, Powell explains, this feeling stems from students who believe that if they don't work in a big firm right after graduation, they are failures. "That's a very limited notion of what a successful lawyer is. You can be successful as a lawyer in so many different environments, but it takes work. We in career services do everything we can to provide tools to help students find satisfaction. But after they've been equipped with the tools, they have to take their own responsibility."

Finding a job is often a job in itself, Powell reminds those she counsels, requiring foresight and persistence. "First-years need to get used to being in law school in order to make the best grades. But then, once you've got an established routine that works for you, you must start to think about the job search as if it were another class." Powell helps students develop career action plans relatively early in their schooling. "Too many students blow that aspect off until their third year, and then they panic. They come into the office and aren't particularly nice to us. They expect us to pull jobs out of our drawers."

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Still, Powell clearly enjoys her position in career services, though she's quick to mention it's not a job for jaded lawyers. "You really have to still love the law. This job has afforded me the opportunity to maintain my enthusiasm for the law, seeing all it can do and all the ways people in law can make a contribution." She has also come full circle, back to the interest in counseling others that developed in her earlier studies in psychology. "I'm always dealing with folks who dream of what they want to do with their careers, who feel they have a meaningful purpose in life, and that's great. So uplifting."