Career Services at SMU Dedman School of Law

Karen Sargent, the Assistant Dean of Career Services, has managed the Office of Career Services since 2004. In addition to overseeing the office’s daily operations, she is also responsible for establishing policies, procedures, career education resources, and initiating and maintaining contact with law firms and other potential employers.

Before joining the Office of Career Services in 2004, Sargent served as a part-time faculty member at SMU Dedman School of Law, during which time she taught courses in Legal Research, Writing & Advocacy, and a practical skills course. She also spent time with the law school as an Assistant Director of Admissions.


Following her graduation from SMU Dedman School of Law in 1979, Sargent joined the Houston office of Andrews Kurth LLP, where she practiced tax and corporate/securities law in Houston. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from SMU. She is currently a member of the National Association for Law Placement, the American Bar Association and the Dallas Bar Association.

Steve Yeager, Director of Career Services, is charged with the development of clerkships, internships, and permanent jobs. He also provides counseling services for full-time law students and handles other professional development matters.

Prior to joining the Office of Career Services in 2009, Yeager spent six years as general counsel of Charity Capital, a Dallas financial services firm. He also spent nine years with Jones Day in Dallas, where he specialized in complex business and products liability litigation. He holds a JD from SMU Dedman School of Law and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Real Estate from the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Linda A. Hale, also a Director of Career Services, handles internship and job opportunities with federal, state, and local government agencies. She additionally deals with judicial internships and post-graduate judicial clerkships with the courts and is involved in promoting employment opportunities with small firms. She also provides counseling services for full-time JD students.

Hale, who joined the office in 2010, worked for Shank Irwin in Dallas immediately after graduating from Baylor Law School in 1981. During her time with the firm, she became a litigation partner, concentrating on toxic tort and oil and gas litigation. She spent two years in the early 1990s as an Assistant University Counsel for Southern Methodist University and served Of Counsel to the Conant Whittenburg, Conanat, French & Chaney, and the Clouse Dunn Khoshbin firms from 1993 to 2010. She functioned as an Associate Municipal Judge for the City of Dallas from 2002 to 2006. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Baylor University and has been AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell as a practicing lawyer for more than 20 years.

Beth D. Lee, the Assistant Director of Recruiting and Events, is responsible for handling the law school’s on-and off-campus career fairs, updating and maintaining Symplicity, and providing counseling services to transfer and visiting students.

Immediately before joining the Office of Career Services in 2002, Lee worked at Baker Botts as the Manager of Client Relations. After completing her undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Business in Marketing, she worked for a number of high profile companies in sales and marketing. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Sunbelt Minority Recruitment Program, Southeastern Minority Job Fair, Southeastern Law Placement Consortium, and the Texas Off-Campus Recruitment Program. She is also a Dallas Business Committee for the Arts Leadership Arts Graduate and is associated with the National Association for Legal Career Professionals.