Associate Director Of Career Strategy - Professional Development And Legal Industry
Washington and Lee University
Application
Details
Posted: 07-Aug-25
Location: Lexington, Virginia
Type: Full-time
Internal Number: 6449587
Associate Director Of Career Strategy - Professional Development And Legal Industry
The Associate Director of Career Strategy reports to the Assistant Dean of Career Strategy and is an essential member of the Career Strategy team providing leadership, career counseling and career development support to the student and alumni constituencies of the W&L Law School community. The Associate Director will deliver career-related programming and offer individualized career advice based upon their professional expertise to facilitate the varying interests and career goals of the students while fostering W&L Law's commitment to cultivate broad-minded, highly skilled, and honorable lawyers and leaders. Through relationships cultivated with employers, the alumni community, colleagues, and the judiciary, the Associate Director will support the mission of the office to aid the transition from law student to legal industry professional.
Washington and Lee University actively promotes a dynamic and welcoming environment that allows students and employees of multiple backgrounds and perspectives to learn, work, and thrive together. Successful candidates will contribute to that environment and exhibit potential for excellence in their areas of expertise.
W&L offers an exceptional benefits package, including a unique Home Loan Program. Full-time exempt employees are immediately eligible to borrow up to $500,000 at a reduced interest rate to purchase or build a primary residence within 50 miles of campus. Learn more about this benefit here. Visit jobs.wlu.edu to learn more about working at W&L, our benefits, community, and living in the area.
Essential Functions:
Provide one-on-one advising to students and recent graduates on job search strategies, professional identity formation, interview preparation, networking, and career planning.
Develop and deliver programming, workshops, and resources to support the professional development of law students across all class years.
Partner with faculty, alumni, and employers to create opportunities for mentoring, internships, and professional skills development.
Contribute to internal resource development (e.g., handbooks, tip sheets, digital content) related to judicial and other legal career paths.
Develops a large network of professional connections in the legal industry to assist in developing student employment contacts.
Assist in managing key events, such as professional development workshops and panels, attorney-student professional connections, legal industry information sessions.
Gathers and analyzes informational and statistical employment reports and surveys produced by the department and/or national organizations, such as NALP to inform career advising.
Collaborates with the Assistant Dean and law school leadership on matters of strategic importance related to the growth and management of the office.
Additional related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications:
J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience, which may include judicial clerkship experience, legal practice, or law school career services.
Excellent interpersonal, advising, presentation, and written communication skills.
Demonstrated commitment to student success, engagement, and professional development.
Comfort with data tracking, assessments, reporting tools, and career talent platforms, such as 12Twenty.
Experience in legal recruiting, law school career services, or higher education administration is strongly preferred.
Experience in the practice of law in the private sector and/or knowledge of judicial hiring trends is preferred.
Application Instructions:
Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Required materials include:
Cover letter
Resume
Names and contact information for three professional references
This position is designated as a Campus Security Authority (CSA) in accordance with the Clery Act. This position is required to report Clery qualifying crimes to the Department of Public Safety and complete annual training about your reporting responsibilities under the law.
Physical Requirements:
Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.
Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
Repetitive motions: Making substantial movements (motions) of the wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
Working Conditions: The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
Types of Work: Sedentary work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.
Position Type: Exempt, Full Time, Benefit Eligible
Washington and Lee is an Equal Opportunity Employer seeking candidates committed to high standards of scholarship, performance, professionalism, and to a welcoming campus community. Job description requirements are representative, but not all-inclusive of the knowledge, skill, and abilities needed to successfully perform this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
About W&L
Washington and Lee University is a nationally ranked, private liberal arts institution located in Lexington, Virginia. W&L integrates the rigorous inquiry and critical thinking of a liberal arts curriculum with nationally accredited undergraduate programs in business and journalism, and a graduate School of Law. Our academic units are strengthened by meaningful collaborations, all in the service of the university’s mission.
With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 1,860, our small size enables students to find mentors and develop personal relationships across campus. W&L is committed to institutional citizenship. We regard liberal arts education as an important public good, of value not only to our students and alumni, but also to the larger communities in which we live.
Our Mission
W&L provides a liberal arts education that develops students’ capacity to think freely, critically, and humanely and to conduct themselves with honor, integrity, and civility. Graduates will be prepared for lifelong learning, personal achievement, responsible leadership, service to others, and engaged citizenship in a global society.
Our Community
W&L is the ninth-old...est institution of higher education in the U.S. and is located in the scenic Shenandoah Valley. We are a modern university located on a beautiful and historically significant campus.
Our most valuable asset is the quality of our vibrant and welcoming community. Our faculty are devoted teachers and scholars who uphold the highest academic standards and take a personal interest in the lives of their students. Our staff takes pride in knowing that each individual makes important contributions to the success of the university. Our alumni are extraordinarily loyal and generous to their alma mater.
Washington and Lee is a welcoming, friendly, and mutually supportive community. Our students, faculty, and staff prize the trusting, respectful, and civil environment on our campus. We are united by our mission, diverse in our thinking, perspectives, and interests, and devoted to each other and to W&L. The university is committed to the recruitment, enrichment, and retention of faculty and staff who embody many experiences, backgrounds, points of view, and interests.