When Craig Compton graduated UC Berkeley School of Law in 2001, his focus – his only focus – was to make his
career in international law. He'd already earned a Mathematics degree from UC Davis in 1998 when he decided to pursue law school. With that objective in mind, he accepted a position with the international law firm Fish and Richardson, PC, where he honed his skills as a patent litigator. The next decade was spent doing just that: honing his legal skills. The last two years he was with Fish & Richardson, Compton served as principal. He also served as Hiring Principal and Marketing Chair for the firm's Silicon Valley office. With his commitment to community, Compton volunteered as Special Deputy District Attorney for a rural county located in northern California, opting for this as his efforts of giving back.
Before long, Compton heard the winds of change and by the time they settled, he had come full circle and was back at his alma mater serving as the assistant dean for Career Services. Working as part of a team of two more attorneys, along with support staff, this provides a unique perspective as they know what awaits law students once they've entered their own careers. Referring to the relationship with students as ''partnerships'', Compton seeks a comfortable and casual environment to encourage students to incorporate the many resources available.
With many of those resources easily found online, this perspective provides every opportunity to the student body. These offerings, along with a career library, put the power in anyone's hands seeking to maximize their options.
Other services include career advice, various workshops and presentations, on campus interviews and resume critiquing.
Finally, the
Career Services team publishes a newsletter that allows students and alumni to remain current on various goings-on at the law school, networking opportunities, industry news and statistics. There exists a Career Services blog, edited by Kimberly Thomas. There are few law schools whose career services team takes such an approach as the UC
Davis School of Law. The formula works; one need only ask current and former law students who know the power of this amazing team led by Craig Compton. For more information, visit Law.UCDavis.edu/current/career-services.