Cardozo careers are defined by their impact across a wide variety of practice areas and employers. We work year round with students and graduates to secure internships and post-graduate opportunities. Students can make an appointment here.
Careers with Scope and Versatility
Our students and graduates take opportunities with District Attorney’s offices, international law firms, and corporations. They handle impact litigation with some of the best-known non-profits in the country, and work for high court state and federal judges. Cardozo graduates are public defenders and corporate partners. The Office of Career Services is proud to work with students and alumni who are so impactful across such a wide variety of sectors in the legal industry.
Meet Our Dean of Career Services
Carey Bertolet Grand is honored to call Cardozo’s Office of Career Services home. Grand started her career as a commercial litigator at a large Texas firm. Always an active participant in the firm’s recruiting activities, Grand then moved into legal recruiting on behalf of large law firms and multi-national corporations. Joining Cardozo in 2015, Grand was already passionate about and experienced in guiding lawyers to more fulfilling careers and is always excited to introduce Cardozo students and graduates to employers in the legal community. Grand is a proud graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Emory University School of Law.
We tap into our 14,000-strong global alumni base, develop new working relationships with firms, companies, and other organizations, and create new skills-building opportunities for our students. Our experienced counselors are able to match the interests and skills of our students with the growing job market for lawyers in all fields, from the largest law firms, to corporate law offices, to public sector law, and from small tech-startups to major media and entertainment businesses.
A Versatile Team of Professionals
Cardozo’s career counselors are all former practicing lawyers. Our mission is to serve Cardozo’s students and recent alumni in a wide variety of fields. We help our students find the right individual approach for their needs based on their strengths and goals. From career-planning skills and job-search strategies, to market knowledge and introductions to organizations large and small, we invest our resources in the bright futures of Cardozo students. We provide multiple recruitment opportunities, including on-campus recruiting as well as networking events, to help Cardozo students and graduates make connections with firms, agencies and businesses.
Office of Career Services Staff
Carey Bertolet Grand
“Large law firms are attracted to Cardozo students because they are ready to work and understand that law firms are businesses. I never get tired of hearing how well our students and graduates do when they are working in BigLaw.”
David Adams
"I'm the point person for our big Fall On Campus Interviewing Program. I work with all the big law firms and public interest organizations on one end and all the students on the other end. Never a dull moment!"
Perri Birnbach
“Judicial Internships and Post-Graduate Clerkships are rich and rewarding professional employment opportunities and we work to educate students about their possibilities and develop application strategies that work for them.”
Alissa Bernstein
“Working with our students as they become the next generation of public interest lawyers is both meaningful and exciting. Their passion to do good continues to pave the way for a more fair and just society.”
Leila Faridi
“We strive to build lasting connections with our employers and introduce them to our students and recent graduates. The most rewarding part of our work is guiding small and medium size firms and corporate legal departments to make their very first hires.”
Sherry-Ann Smith-Gomez
“OCS works continuously to connect our students, student organizations, and alumni to intellectual property employers and professional associations with networking, internship and externship, and career opportunities. We also provide individual counseling to help students and alumni develop the skills and job search strategies to ensure that they are taking advantage of these opportunities and ultimately achieving success in their chosen career paths.”
Chaula Shukla
“A rewarding career in public interest lawyering starts here. Our students are justice-minded, client-centered, and extremely devoted to their work. Through the variety of public interest programming and funding opportunities at Cardozo, our students are able to forge a unique public interest pathway and gain valuable experience, becoming strong advocates and agents of change.”
Kateryna Kuntsevich
“Helping our students identify a career path that can last a lifetime and secure relationships with employers who fit their specific goals and ideals is so rewarding. And the employers we work with benefit from hiring sophisticated, engaged and eager-to-learn young professionals.”
How Did Your Cardozo Education Prepare You For the Legal Workforce?
Associate Kirkland Ellis
Lekha Menon '18
Associate Kirkland Ellis
"My three years at Cardozo taught me how to think creatively about complex issues and to be comfortable with the unknown. The learning curve as a new associate is very steep, so I think back to these lessons often and am so grateful for my experience at Cardozo."
Associate, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Joshua Wright '17
Associate, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
"The personal connections I made with Cardozo students and alumni during law school helped me to find a legal job that I truly enjoy. My Cardozo education allowed me to hone the skills I use daily to think critically about legal issues faced by corporations in the for-profit and nonprofit spaces."
Associate, Pasich LLP
Stephen Wah
Associate, Pasich LLP
"Cardozo’s Securities Arbitration Clinic and ADR Competition Honor Society granted me the opportunities to take the law I learned in the classroom and apply in practical ways. My experiences allowed me to refine my legal writing, engage in complex legal analysis, and validated the importance of providing excellent service to my clients."
Assistant Solicitor General at Utah Attorney General's Office
Daniel Day '15
Assistant Solicitor General at Utah Attorney General's Office
"Cardozo's impressive faculty and supportive student community were critical to my academic success. Cardozo's active alumni network in New York City provided me with a platform to succeed in interviews and helped me get my foot in the door and gain valuable legal experience in a diverse range of legal internship and employment opportunities."
Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow, New York Legal Assistance Group
Elizabeth Wu '18
Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow, New York Legal Assistance Group
"There is no place like New York City to start a career as a public interest lawyer. There are so many different communities here to serve and learn from, and Cardozo is on the cutting edge of providing high-quality, pro bono representation to the city's most vulnerable residents."
Head of Intellectual Property, FIFA, Zurich, Switzerland
Daniel Zohny, '06 LL.M.
Head of Intellectual Property, FIFA, Zurich, Switzerland
"Getting an LL.M. specializing in IP at Cardozo gave me the skills to practice IP law. I honed my legal and English skills to a level that allowed me to pass the New York bar and land an associate position in IP in private practice in NYC. It also introduced me to a network of people that I often deal with professionally, many of whom I call true friends."
Employment Summary
Information on employment outcomes for the Class of 2020 may not reflect a particular law school’s typical results in this area. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, bar admission exams were canceled or delayed in many jurisdictions, thus making it more challenging for graduates to secure employment by the annual Graduate Employment Status Date of March 15. Please reference the 3 years of employment outcome data posted on the ABA Required Disclosures webpage of each ABA-Approved Law School or at www.abarequireddisclosures.org.
All accredited law schools submit employment data to the American Bar Association (ABA), which reflects the employment status of law graduates as of March 15 following their graduation (10 months post-graduation). The ABA provides definitions and instructions for how to complete the placement questionnaire and a summary report for each law school after it submits its data, posting the reports for all law schools on the ABA website. The ABA has posted the employment summaries on its website, and you can find the summaries for Cardozo as well as all law schools by going to the ABA website, americanbar.org.