The Record: Would you tell us a bit about yourself and what led you to become a career development professional specializing in the law?

Mandie LeBeau: I was born and raised in southeastern Massachusetts. I am a lawyer, and I understand what it means to be a first-generation professional as I was the first in my family to attend law school.

I initially wanted to pursue a career in the law because I was interested in employment law. Through my internships and practical work experience, I found out that what I was most interested in was creating access to opportunity. Serving as a career development professional with law students allows me to do that meaningful work.

I’ve spent the last 17 years working with law students and helping them to begin their legal careers. Initially, I worked for the Boston Lawyers Group with a focus on diversity, helping the large firms in Boston recruit diverse students. I then went to work at New England Law in Boston as director of career services, and I have been able to help hundreds of students over the past 13 years.

The Record: What guides your philosophy as a career development professional, and how does your experience inform your approach?

Mandie LeBeau: My philosophy on career development is that access to opportunity and a satisfying legal career should be available to all students, regardless of their background or their class standing.

What defines a satisfying career is unique to each student. Some students may be interested in working with a large law firm and handling corporate contracts, while other students may have come to law school because they’re interested in pursuing access to justice and helping underserved populations that can’t necessarily afford legal services.

Every student comes to career development with a different dream in their heart, and I see my job as being in a place where I can help students achieve those dreams. I love working with students. I love hearing their stories.

The Record: Is there anything in particular that drew you to Boston University School of Law?

Mandie LeBeau: BU Law enjoys an outstanding reputation in the legal community. Years ago, when I coordinated job fairs for the Boston Lawyers Group, I would work with hiring partners and legal recruiters from those firms. The BU Law candidates were always highly sought after.

When I’ve been invited to BU Law to speak to students or to visit the law school for different meetings, I have always been impressed with the high caliber and professionalism that the students demonstrated.

I personally find success working with students who are motivated and excited about their legal careers, and I’m looking forward to getting involved with those students at BU law.

Additionally, I’ve spent more than a decade working at an independent law school, so I’m really looking forward to working in a university setting and being able to take advantage of all the resources that the university setting offers students.

The Record: As you’ve mentioned, students come to law school with a wide variety of interests. Can you share some insights about how you provide career development support to students pursuing careers in public interest, government, nonprofit, or other sectors?

Mandie LeBeau: I have worked with law students seeking to launch their careers for many years; essentially, that’s my specialty. I can tell you that taking the time to gain practical legal experience in the practice area of interest will help a student find a postgraduate job in that area. In fact, some employers require that students have this prior experience before they’re willing to hire them.

For example, the district attorney’s offices in Massachusetts have a preference for students who have interned at a district attorney’s office, whether it’s in their county or another. In fact, they prefer that those students be 3:03 certified. So, a student who is able to get this experience, either through an externship opportunity or through an internship opportunity over the summer, is going to jump ahead in the list of candidates that are being considered.

Similarly, nonprofit organizations like to see that a student has had prior experience working with a nonprofit or public interest organization. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that same organization, but they want to see someone who is sincere and passionate about helping the populations they serve.

For students interested in working as in-house counsel, it is important to take the time to learn about the industry. For example, a student who plans to go work as an attorney in the insurance industry should spend some time interning with an insurance company. That’s certainly going to help elevate them in the job search process.

So, my particular strategy is to make sure there are plenty of opportunities available for students to gain practical experience to build their legal resume.

When it comes to how I approach my work in career development across all sectors of the legal profession, relationship building is the name of the game. Reaching out to recruiters and hiring partners, getting to know lawyers and other key individuals across a broad range of firms, agencies, and organizations, and, in particular, getting to know alumni is very important.

While some BU Law students decide to stay in the Greater Boston area because of the robust legal job market here, there are thriving legal job markets to explore outside of the commonwealth. I have experience in helping students to find employment in many cities, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Denver, and Houston. Building connections with legal employers and alumni in other desirable job markets helps make in-roads for students to access opportunities within that market.

It takes some time to build those relationships and reach out to people to extend that invitation, but that is something I have quite a bit of experience doing. I’m really looking forward to meeting our BU Law alumni and seeing who can help open doors for our students.

The Record: Are there any particular ways that you approach working with students from underrepresented backgrounds to help elevate their career success?

Mandie LeBeau: I don’t think it’s any secret that students from underrepresented backgrounds often have a more challenging experience navigating law school and seeking legal employment. It’s no fault of their own—I experienced this as well when I was a law student. When your parents aren’t lawyers, you don’t have someone to guide you through the process, and sometimes you miss out on certain things.

When you look at the legal profession and you don’t see people who resemble you it can feel a little intimidating, but with the right amount of support and guidance, this can be overcome.

I’m excited that there are groups of students at BU Law, such as the first-generation professionals and all of the affinity organizations, that take on this challenge and support each other.

I would like the CDO to work in conjunction with these groups to partner on career-related programming and events that will help to support students, such as mentoring programs or events featuring local and national representatives from all of the affinity bar groups. Actively encouraging students to participate in diversity job fairs and LGBTQ+ job fairs is important as well.

I’m prepared to help work with all student groups because I think that this is very important. And to me, it’s very personal. I want to see every student feel supported and to succeed in their career.

The Record: Back in April, we spoke with Interim Assistant Dean Victoria Behr about the early impacts of the global pandemic on the legal industry and career prospects for our students. Much has changed since then, including recent uprisings fueled by violence against people of color. Do you foresee any resulting trends that may impact the market for legal professionals?

Mandie LeBeau: I can recall, early in my days as a law student, walking out of class and starting to see the law all around me. It was always there in everyday life, but when you’re a law student and you’re hyper-focused on learning the law, suddenly you see that the law is intertwined with every aspect of life.

I can only imagine how law students must feel right now living through the COVID-19 pandemic and the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement we’ve witnessed over the past several weeks. The demands for justice in this country will require lawyers to help bring about change.

History is changing right before our eyes. We can’t say that every day, but certainly in 2020 we’re seeing a lot of it.

So, how does that impact law students? I encourage law students to think about where lawyers can be effective in this struggle and how they can help people who are being disenfranchised. For example, the opportunity to get involved with pro bono services are now plentiful. There are resources online targeted to law students about the pro bono projects that are going on, whether it’s protecting voting rights, providing legal services for people who have lost employment due to COVID-19, or helping people access the justice system.

Students who take advantage of these pro bono opportunities will have a chance to build their legal resume, to build their practical skills, whether they want to go down the path of litigation or they see themselves going to work for legal services organization. These are really important skills that can be used later on, and that will be a big benefit.

The Record: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our community as you prepare to join BU Law as the next assistant dean for career development & public service?

Mandie LeBeau: I realize that the academic year ahead is going to be very unusual for all of us. Recruiting timelines have been adjusted to January and February of 2021. I want to reassure you that the CDO team and I are going to do everything that we can do to keep you informed of these changes and help you to prepare for the recruiting season so that you can make the most of it.

Also, I want to hear from students. My door is always open, whether it’s a real door or a virtual one. I definitely want to hear what students are interested in, so I can learn how the CDO can best serve them.