Ellen Robb serves as the Assistant Dean of Career Services at Mississippi College School of Law, where she helps law students navigate the path from education to employment with clarity and confidence. After spending over a decade in private practice, she brings first-hand insight into the profession’s expectations and opportunities. Her leadership is centered on preparation, transparency, and the belief that growth stems from resilience, not perfection.
Charting a Path into Legal Education
My professional journey began in 2003, following my graduation from law school. I first worked as a judicial law clerk before joining a large Mississippi law firm, where I practiced for more than 13 years. My work focused primarily on insurance defense, and over time, it led me to develop a strong understanding of litigation, case strategy, and client relations.
Eventually, I established my own boutique law firm concentrating on insurance coverage matters. That experience allowed me to see the business side of legal work and to handle every aspect of running a practice, from client management to compliance. Later, I joined a colleague from my previous firm to focus on healthcare law and contractual matters.
It was during this period that the dean of Mississippi College School of Law approached me about joining the Career Services team. I hadn’t planned to move into higher education, but the opportunity felt right. It offered a chance to help students find their footing in the same profession that had shaped my own career. Looking back, I see it as one of the most rewarding turns my professional path could have taken.
“Preparing law students for professional careers demands a clear-eyed honesty about the challenges of the legal market, coupled with the belief that persistence, preparation, and strategic effort will unlock the doors of opportunity. The path may be tough, but with resilience and focus, success is within reach.”
Shaping the Role of Career Services
As Assistant Dean of Career Services, my responsibilities are both administrative and deeply personal. A key aspect of the job is managing the American Bar Association’s annual employment report, which is a vital component of the school’s accreditation process. This involves verifying and documenting the employment status of each graduating class, ensuring that every data point is accurate and compliant.
Beyond reporting, much of my work revolves around connecting students with opportunities. I collaborate with law firms and other employers to coordinate on-campus interviews during the fall and spring, while also helping students secure summer clerkships, part-time roles, and post-graduation positions.
However, the most meaningful part of the role lies in building relationships. Maintaining ongoing contact with students throughout their three years and often beyond graduation creates a sense of continuity. These relationships are what bring the data we report and the programs we manage to life.
Preparing Students for the Realities of the Profession
One of the biggest challenges in career development is helping students understand the realities of hiring cycles without discouraging them from pursuing their goals. Many first-year students enter law school believing they will graduate at the top of their class; however, law school grading can be a significant adjustment. When their first-semester grades arrive, it can be disheartening.
To help them gain perspective, I organize sessions where upper-level students who have faced challenges and persevered share their experiences with the first-year students. I intentionally avoid selecting only top-ranked students. Instead, I invite those who initially struggled to secure positions but eventually succeeded through persistence. Their stories demonstrate that career success is rarely linear and that resilience is often the deciding factor.
Our admissions team also holds preview days for undergraduates considering law school. During these events, I present our employment outcomes and emphasize that the first job out of law school does not define a career. Once graduates gain experience and obtain their bar license, new opportunities naturally open up. This message encourages future students to approach their education with patience and focus, rather than fear.
Bridging Academic Knowledge with Professional Readiness
Legal employers today expect graduates to bring more than academic excellence. They look for business awareness, communication skills, and professionalism from the first day on the job. To prepare students for those expectations, I encourage them to engage with practicing attorneys and judges who regularly visit the law school. Their presence offers students a model of professionalism, including how these leaders dress, interact, and carry themselves. Observing these small but significant behaviors helps students understand the importance of respect, preparedness, and presence in professional settings.
Practical learning also plays a vital role. Through our legal clinics, students can be sworn in for limited practice and appear before judges, meet with clients, and handle real cases under supervision. Externship placements in government offices, judicial chambers, and nonprofit organizations expose them to the daily dynamics of professional environments like teamwork, hierarchy, communication, and workplace etiquette.
Student groups also organize programs on professional development topics like workplace attire, networking, and even dining etiquette. These experiences reinforce the soft skills that complement legal expertise and prepare our graduates to thrive in diverse work settings.
Rethinking How Career Success Is Measured
Career services success is often defined through employment statistics, whether graduates are employed and when. While those numbers are significant, they don’t always capture the full picture. I believe meaningful evaluation should also include feedback from employers who hire our graduates.
Tracking alumni performance like communication skills, teamwork, and adaptability provides actionable feedback that helps us identify gaps, update our curriculum and enhance the overall readiness of our graduates. Gathering that kind of information would allow career services offices to better align preparation efforts with industry expectations.
Another measure of success lies in ongoing engagement. When graduates continue to seek guidance or share updates years after leaving law school, it signals that the relationship we built during their studies made a lasting impact. That, to me, is just as important as the employment rate we report each year.
Leading through Connection and Care
An important piece of advice to individuals entering the career services profession would be to get to know your students. It may sound simple, but connection makes all the difference. I try to learn each student’s name, their career goals, and where they hope to live or practice after graduation.
These personal details allow me to match them more effectively with employers who are hiring and to advocate for them when opportunities arise. It also helps graduates feel comfortable returning for advice or assistance when needed. That trust, built over three years, often continues well beyond commencement.
Career development is about more than job placement. It’s about fostering confidence, resilience and being prepared for the long term. Helping students discover who they are as professionals and people is the most fulfilling part of what I do. Every conversation, placement, and piece of feedback adds up to preparing the next generation of lawyers to work and lead with integrity and understanding.
