fulfilling our - Alumni - DePaul University

College OF
LAW
Legal profession rules in favor of DePaul’s
practical approach
When Michael Zimmerman (JD ’94) needs to hire a lawyer for his
firm, the first place he turns to is DePaul University’s College of
Law and its Career Services Office. He knows that there he will
find candidates who are “hardworking, down-to-earth and
well-prepared,” he says.
Zimmerman, managing partner with Raysa & Zimmerman Ltd.,
knows firsthand the unique value of a law degree from DePaul,
where the scales are carefully balanced between legal theory
and hands-on experience. In a nutshell, he says, DePaul grads
“come out knowing what to do.”
Long known as “Chicago’s law school,” DePaul’s College of Law
has gained a national reputation as a place where a challenging
theoretical curriculum is supported by a practical approach
to professional skills training, taught by an exceptional faculty
that includes practicing attorneys and judges. The Law Career
Services Office provides comprehensive support, including
job postings, mock interviews, formal recruiting programs,
a resource library and individualized career counseling.
“Our job is to bridge the gap between law school and practice,”
says Associate Dean Howard Rubin, director of the school’s field
placement program. Rubin’s office helps prepare students for
“life after law school” by placing them in real-world externships
where they work under the supervision of lawyers and judges
in a variety of government and nonprofit agencies.
For some students, that real-world experience may come
through working at a DePaul legal clinic providing pro bono
legal assistance to clients facing issues related to asylum
and immigration, civil rights, criminal appeals, death penalty
convictions, divorce and domestic violence, or intellectual
property. The experience of helping actual clients with real-life
problems gives the students insight they simply could not gain
in a classroom and a potential “foot in the door” for jobs
after graduation.
“When they’re learning the law, students find it interesting
but think, ‘How do you make it work? What is it like when it’s
actually being applied to real people, to real situations?’ That
all comes together when they enter into an externship or clinic
experience,” says Rubin.
For Michael Jacobson (JD ’94), co-hiring partner for new
associates in the Chicago office of Katten Muchin Rosenman
LLP, a law degree from DePaul is a strong endorsement.
“Our recruiting efforts focus on finding individuals with diverse
backgrounds, dynamic and well-rounded personalities and
interests, practical mindedness and a strong commitment to
excel,” he says. “We consistently find them at DePaul.”
Mike Zimmerman (JD ’94), managing partner for Raysa
& Zimmerman Ltd., knows that graduates of DePaul’s
College of Law are “hardworking, down-to-earth
and well-prepared” — characteristics he finds valuable
in any new hire.
7