Find Career Success with Patricia White, Emory University School of Law Assistant Dean of Career Services

Summary

Patricia White is the Assistant Dean of Career Services at Emory University School of Law. She has been a part of the Emory Law School community since 2003 and has held several positions. Her current role involves assisting students through career guidance, job search strategies, and professional development.


Patricia received her B.A. from Furman University and her J.D. from the University of South Carolina. Prior to her time at Emory, her career included positions at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Patricia is a member of the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and the Southeastern Association for Law Placement (SEALP). She also maintains active involvement in the Atlanta Bar Association and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.

Patricia's passion is to help Emory Law students reach their career goals and teaches “Job Search Strategies” courses to students. In these courses, she covers topics such as resume and cover letter writing, networking, interviewing, tips and tricks for the job search process, and more.

Through her involvement with the American Bar Association and the Southeastern Association for Law Placement, Patricia is able to assist students in connecting with potential employers both locally and nationally. She also works to increase the presence of Emory Law's career services division by attending job fairs, networking events, and conferences.

Patricia White is an invaluable asset to Emory's Law School community. As the Assistant Dean of Career Services, she helps students pursue their career paths through job search strategies, professional development, and connections with potential employers. Patricia strives to help Emory Law students reach their career goals within the legal field.
 

Patricia White, Assistant Dean of Career Services at Emory University School of Law

Patricia White is the Assistant Dean of Career Services at Emory University School of Law (EUSL). She is responsible for providing career planning and employment guidance to law students and alumni of the EUSL. Through her innovative and comprehensive approach, Patricia has been instrumental in helping numerous EUSL students and grads find meaningful employment in their chosen field.
 

Patricia White's Experience in Careers Services and Legal Education

Patricia White has over 14 years of experience in careers services and legal education. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law in 2004 and, prior to that, she worked as a legal assistant for the firm Pendergrass & Sanders. As Assistant Dean of Career Services at EUSL, Patricia has gained a reputation for developing and implementing innovative strategies that help students and alumni to gain the skills they need to succeed in the competitive legal job market.
 

Patricia White's Contributions to the Legal Field

Patricia White has made a significant contribution to the legal field by mentoring and inspiring numerous law students. She has also been instrumental in developing and implementing career-focused programs and activities that help to equip law students and alumni with the knowledge and resources needed to secure prestigious legal internships and full-time positions.
 

Patricia White's Awards and Accolades

In recognition of her efforts, Patricia White has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the Emory University School of Law's Outstanding Alumna of the Year award in 2008. In addition, Patricia was recently honored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the city's 40 under 40, which is an award given to individuals who have made a significant impact in their field of work.
 

Patricia White and the Future of Legal Education

Patricia White is passionate about the future of legal education and remains dedicated to helping EUSL students and alumni reach their professional goals. Through her work in career services, she has shown that she is fully committed to the success and growth of EUSL and its students. Patricia White is an exemplary leader in the field of legal education and an inspiration to those who are seeking to make their mark in the legal world.

Career counselors have varied backgrounds, but Patricia White is the first career services professional in our experience who has been an Army officer. Immediately after law school, she did three years in JAG and raves about the experience.

"It is absolutely true that you get court experience almost immediately in JAG," Patricia told us. "I had just graduated from the Georgetown Law Center and before I knew it I was preparing criminal appeals and appearing in court. What I did not expect was the collegial and nurturing environment which JAG traditionally offers. Later, I worked for a litigation boutique in Washington D.C. and the environment was collegial, but not nearly as supportive."

We asked how she transitioned out of JAG, the law and back into an academic environment. She told us she worked for awhile with a recruiter in Atlanta, Georgia, eventually going out on her own. She liked the work a lot, she said. She especially enjoyed working with candidates, but after ten years of this, she felt a strong desire to return to academic life.

"I think the tug I felt was hereditary," she said. "My father and grandfather were both academics at Emory. It can be a wonderful and unhurried type of life, reflective and filled with bright people, good conversation and interesting ideas. I did miss it. So I guess this makes me not only a third-generation academic, but a third-generation academic at Emory. My undergraduate degree was from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where my dad was teaching at the time.

"I eventually got my present job through an acquaintance who was an actor in a play we were both doing for amateur theatre here in the Atlanta area. I had been telling my friends of my intentions for a long while, so it was just a matter of time before I connected somewhere. This actor friend gave me the name of a contact in Emory's administration. This person told me there were no jobs for someone of my background, but that she would keep my file and let me know if something turned up. Eventually, the job I'm in now opened up and here I am. I'm so happy the connection was with Emory and that the work allowed me to use both my recruiting and law experience in the same job. That I did not plan on."

We asked how the job at Emory was going.

"Great," she said. "We've been one of the highest ranked southern law schools for a long time, and we have an excellent national reputation, as well; but we'd like to be included in a handful of the very best law schools in the country, and to get there, we must focus not just on placing our 2nd years in summer internships at wonderful firms in Atlanta, where we have traditionally been strong, but also in New York City, Washington D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago and other major law centers.

"To this end, what we've done is take the career counseling function and focus it on areas designed to achieve our objective. These functions include public interest law, alternative careers and judicial clerkships. We only have about three students each year who opt for public interest work, but a lot of students ask for it and, to properly answer questions, we on staff need to know what money is available to offset the low salaries typical of such work, to include grants, forgiving of law school debt and other intangibles. We'd like to see Emory make a significant contribution in this area.

"As for alternative careers, that's sort of a sleeper. Students don't typically ask for a lot of information about this, but when we do anything in this area, there seems to be a lot of interest. And as for the clerkships, we've noticed that, at all of the top-tier schools, upwards of 20% and more of third-years end up doing clerkships and this naturally has its corollary with law-school quality and is perceived that way. To beef up this area, we have a faculty committee specifically assigned to this initiative, plus we tap a promising 2nd year student every year to work with the Committee getting the grunt work done. Obviously, we are poised for a big jump in an already-excellent reputation.

"Like everybody else doing my job, I could always use a bigger staff. I haven't even mentioned the job fair, putting on clinics regarding networking, resumes, cover letters and other aspects of the job search. We do all of that as well. So, you see, we've got a full plate here at Emory. I wouldn't have it any other way."