Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships Vicki Huebner Advises on Job Searches at Chapman University School of Law

Summary

Vicki Huebner is the Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships at Chapman University School of Law. She is responsible for providing students with assistance and guidance in the pursuit of their individual success in the legal job market. She has provided a wide range of services, including on-campus recruiting, job fairs, and individualized career development services. She also works with employers to ensure that students have access to the best opportunities possible.


Ms. Huebner has extensive experience in the legal industry, having worked at a variety of law firms and other organizations prior to joining Chapman University. She began her career at a litigation firm in Los Angeles, where she served in various roles, including client relations manager, legal assistant, and law clerk. She then moved to a diversified financial services firm, where she held the position of Associate General Counsel.

In addition to her experience in the legal job market, Ms. Huebner also has experience in higher education. She has held numerous positions at Chapman University, including Assistant Dean of the College of Health Sciences, Assistant Dean of the School of Education, and Assistant Dean of the College of Law. In each of these roles, she was responsible for providing students with advice, resources, and support as they navigated their academic and professional pursuits.

Ms. Huebner is committed to ensuring that every student has access to the best opportunities for success in the legal job market. She works tirelessly to provide job seekers with the resources and advice they need to advance their career. She also works to develop relationships with employers so that there are ample opportunities for students.

Vicki Huebner is the Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships at Chapman University School of Law. She has many years of experience in the legal industry, working at a variety of law firms and other organizations. Ms. Huebner has also held numerous positions in higher education, providing students with advice and resources in their pursuit of success in the legal job market. In her role at Chapman University, she is committed to providing students with the best opportunities possible and works to develop relationships with employers to ensure ample job opportunities.
 

Vicki Huebner is the Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships at Chapman University School of Law

Vicki Huebner was appointed as the Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships at Chapman University School of Law in 2011, four years after the school opened its doors. In her role, she provides career services and externship programs to students and helps them to prepare for the legal profession. During her tenure at the school, she has created innovative professional development initiatives and implemented them successfully.
 

Vicki Huebner Brings Extensive Expertise to Career Services and Externships

Vicki Huebner brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the position of Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships at Chapman University School of Law. She has over 20 years of legal experience in both private practice and in the public sector. She has also served as a legal editor and authored several articles on legal subjects. With this experience, she is uniquely qualified to help students gain the experience and skills required to succeed in the legal profession.
 

Vicki Huebner Creates Innovative Professional Development Initiatives

Vicki Huebner has created and implemented several professional development initiatives including mentoring programs, job search workshops, and externship opportunities. These initiatives have helped Chapman University School of Law students gain the experience they need to succeed in the legal profession. In addition, she has created and implemented an externship program that provides an opportunity for students to gain real-world legal experience through working with a supervising attorney.
 

Vicki Huebner Offers Comprehensive Career Services Support

In addition to creating innovative professional development initiatives, Vicki Huebner offers comprehensive career services support to Chapman University School of Law students. From resume writing to job search strategies and networking opportunities, she provides students with the resources and guidance they need to succeed. In addition, she has established a career counseling program to help students identify their career goals and find the right path for them.

If your law school, located not far from San Diego, is not 10 years old and already famous, you need to take aggressive measures to get news of your school and your students out into the community. Vicki Huebner, Chapman University's Assistant Dean for Career Services and Externships has managed to combine both missions in the conduct of her job and do so in a creative and unusual way.

"We have a two-fold mission here at the Chapman University Law School," she told us in a recent interview. "The first mission is the traditional Career Services one, which is to help students navigate the job market by teaching them how to put together an effective resume, conduct a solid interview, network effectively and utilize job-search vehicles such as Martindale and other on-line resources. This in itself, along with Fall and Spring on-campus interviews, can be a full-time job.

"The second mission, Vicki added, "is to facilitate connections between our students and employers. We do this through a variety of methods. However, one of our most successful means has been our student-attorney mentor program. Last year, 115 of our 450 students agreed to be paired with an attorney who helps them transition into a law-practice mode by example. We believe that exposure early in a law school career to what attorneys actually do helps our students focus on what is and is not important. Additionally, this program helps students develop long-lasting professional relationships early in their career."

Vicki Huebner has been trained well for her new role at Chapman University Law School. She has a B.A. in International Relations from Brigham Young University and a law degree from that same institution. Prior to pursuing a federal clerkship in Washington D.C., she took and passed the California Bar because all of her family lived in California and she wanted to eventually return there. Following her clerkship, she returned to California and joined a solo practitioner who specialized in plaintiff's personal injury and medical malpractice, which had always interested her. Approximately one year later, she became Brigham Young Law School's Assistant Director of Career Services, worked there four years and then came to Chapman when the Career Services Director job opened up there.

We asked how the mentoring program was going and whether it was helping Chapman law students get jobs.

"Yes, it has," Vicki said, sometimes with the mentor's firm, but not necessarily. What actually happened surprised us. By going to depositions and arbitrations and general court hearings with mentors, students make connections on their own while they're learning the nuts and bolts of law practice. It's the networking and formation of relationships that has proven to be most valuable."

We asked what else in this area of community out-reach she was doing.

"Plenty," she answered. "We also have normal career panels on various subjects scheduled throughout the year. Additionally, we host small group informal sessions off-campus in which students go to lunch with a lawyer. This program not only gives students the opportunity to learn more about a practice area, but also to begin a relationship with a legal professional. Often, it is through the interaction in these small group settings that students are able to find employment. Then there is the Dean's Round Table. Dean's Roundtable participants are high-profile individuals within the legal, business or political community. Since its inception, the Dean's Roundtable has become an important adjunct to the formal curriculum. Roundtable participants meet with a small group of students over lunch. Although the purpose of the Roundtable is to foster an exchange of ideas in an informal setting, participants do prepare approximately 20 minutes worth of remarks with the remaining time devoted to questions and answers.

"I've experimented with how to select students for the Roundtables. Originally I chose those who came from the best undergraduate institutions or had prior interesting work histories; however, the best interactions are produced by groups consisting of students diverse in gender, ethnicity, and age."

We asked about future plans.

"To keep doing what we've been doing," she said. "Our school will swell from 450 to 500 students next year despite keeping standards very high. We attribute most of this consistent growth to our rising academic reputation and profile in the community. Additionally, the practical training our students receive through externships, clinical programs, lawyering skills courses, and our own career services programs has provided them with necessary skills to compete in the job market. Graduates tell me often how much of a difference all of these programs have meant. We like to think that because of our programs, Chapman lawyers, more than those of most other schools, really do hit the ground running when they join a firm. I think of all the innovations we've made in the Career Services Office, the mentoring program makes me the most proud.