With locations in Carlisle and University Park, PA, Penn State Dickinson Law offers a rigorous legal education grounded in practical training and what it means to practice greatness. The program equips students to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world legal practice.
Career Services plays an essential role in this mission, guiding students through every step of their professional journey—from resume building to networking and job placement.
The Challenge
When Brenda Smith Porter joined Penn State Dickinson Law as Assistant Director of Career Services, Legal Insights (formerly Leopard Solutions) was already available through another department, but it wasn’t being fully integrated into the Career Services toolkit.
Like many career advisors, Brenda faced a familiar set of obstacles:
- Limited visibility into firms beyond regional OCI (On-Campus-Interviewing) contacts
- Students are unsure how to begin networking or conduct geographically targeted job searches
- A fast-changing legal recruiting landscape, with firms hiring earlier than ever
Additionally, students from out of state or with less traditional career paths often struggled to identify potential employers or tap into the right alumni networks.
The Solution: The Legal Insights Advantage
After discovering Leopard Solutions through a colleague, Brenda began integrating its tools into her daily workflow. Over time, she transformed how Career Services supports both students and alumni, leveraging Leopard’s tools in several ways:
- Firmscape reports to generate customized firm lists based on practice areas and geography
- Alumni tracking for targeted outreach and networking opportunities
- Salary database to help students approach offer negotiations with confidence
- In-house counsel reports to support graduates exploring lateral searches
- Custom Excel workbooks including multiple tabs: firm targets, law school alumni, university-wide alumni, and undergraduate networks
Brenda and others at the law school also provide training on how to interpret and use the data, helping students feel confident and proactive in their search.
“I can’t image doing my job without it. Legal Insights makes my life easier—with real, accurate, up-to-date data I trust.”
The Results: Earlier Placements and Stronger Networks
Legal Insights has become a cornerstone of Penn State Dickinson Law’s student success strategy:
- Increased student confidence and direction: Students leave Career Services with personalized lists and action steps.
- Earlier student placement: Some 1Ls have secured summer 2L positions as early as February of their first year.
- Alumni engagement: Career Services supports graduates seeking to lateral or move in-house.
- Interdepartmental demand: Other university offices regularly request Leopard Solutions data for their own initiatives.
“Students come in feeling lost. They leave dancing out of my office with something tangible to do.”
Why It Matters: Turning Data into Career Success
In today’s ultra-competitive legal job market, access to timely, accurate data can mean the difference between a missed opportunity and a meaningful career connection. Brenda sees Leopard not just as a resource, but as a game-changer—a tool that enables her to meet students where they are and help them get where they want to be.
Equip your students with the tools for career success.
