RALEIGH, NC, OCTOBER 27, 2017 – Last Thursday, Poyner Spruill welcomed sixteen students from the University of North Carolina School of Law’s Center for Banking and Finance for their annual Career Trek. UNC’s Career Trek program seeks to give law students firsthand experience of what it is like to work in the legal realm of the banking and finance industry.
The Center for Banking and Finance’s director and Burton Craige Distinguished Professor, Lissa Broome, had great things to say about the 2017 Career Trek hosted by Poyner Spruill LLP. “This has been a terrific experience,” she says, “we really appreciate all of the effort Poyner Spruill put into helping our students learn how to get a job and how to be successful in it, including how to deliver value to clients. They’ve really gone above and beyond in helping our students get a jump start on their careers.”
Erika Heyder-Seeley from Parker + Lynch Legal joined Poyner Spruill attorneys Paul Fogleman and Kevin Ceglowski to speak with the students about how to strengthen their resumes. All of the students sent in their resumes to the panel beforehand, and their resumes were returned to them with handwritten feedback and suggestions. The students showed great appreciation for the level of attention the panelists put into helping them; Rebecca Floyd, a 2nd-year law student in the program, said that “Poyner Spruill set a new standard for the Career Trek and we could see the effort they put into it.” Many of the students shared similar sentiments about the day.
Possibly even more well-received than the resume-building panel was the panel of Poyner Spruill attorneys, Bardin Simmons, Kelsey Mayo, and Brian Corbett, who talked to the students about bullet proofing their practice. Floyd spoke specifically on this portion of the program, saying “It was the first time people have talked to us about building our business, and it’s nice to know long term. Many of us already have summer associate positions lined up, so while building our resume is still important, it was nice to hear about what we can do now to bullet proof our business in the future.”
In addition to Heyder-Seeley, several other guest speakers took the time to speak with the students over lunch, during smaller round-table discussions, and finally forming an in-house counsel panel for the last session. Katherine Bosken, the North Carolina Deputy Commissioner of Banks for Legal Affairs, Michael Choy, Elizabeth Ostendorf, and former Poyner Spruill litigation attorney, Carrie McMillan, from First Citizens Bank, and Lori Mahmoud and Lisa McDougald, from BB&T, all joined to speak with the students about working with in-house counsel. Mahmoud had this to say about the 2017 Career Trek program, “In addition to their gracious hospitality in hosting the Career Trek, the attorneys and staff at Poyner Spruill did an excellent job planning a well-rounded agenda, providing invaluable advice and counsel to the students, and making the event a true success enjoyed by all.” Fortunately, the students were not the only ones to benefit from the in-house counsel panel as all attorneys from Poyner Spruill’s Raleigh office were invited to attend.
The firm would first like to thank our guest speakers who took the time to come to our Raleigh office and invest in this group of law students. We would also like to thank the Director of the Center for Banking and Finance and Burton Craige Distinguished Professor, Lissa Broome, and the Director of Employer Outreach in the Career Development Office at UNC School of Law, Shawn P. McKenna, for allowing us to host them and their students. Poyner Spruill hopes the information and experience shared during the program will be beneficial to the students as they begin their legal careers.
