Employee Benefit Lawyers Tag Team Texas for Law Student Outreach Programs at Two Texas Law Schools

For the fourth year in a row, Employee Benefits Committee members took time to visit law students to hold a panel discussion on careers in employee benefits law as part of an outreach effort the Committee has organized as part of its annual Midwinter Meeting. This year's law schools included Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas and the University of Texas Law School in Austin, Texas.

In Houston, an enthusiastic and overflow group of Thurgood Marshall law students heard Employee Benefits Committee members Simon Torres of the PBGC, Yolanda Montgomery of SEIU Benefit Funds, and John R. Harney of O'Donoghue & O'Donoghue LLP, all of Washington D.C. They were joined by Houston-based lawyers Mark Bodron and Krisa Benskin of Baker Botts L.L.P. and the Honorable Stephen W. Smith, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas as well as Thurgood Marshall SOL ERISA professor. This distinguished panel discussed the range of legal careers in the employee benefits law practice. Thurgood Marshall students heard about pension appeals, litigation and compliance issues facing attorneys practicing with trust funds, employers, unions, and government agencies. Simon Torres and Mark Bodron also provided information on the writing competition sponsored by the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and mentor opportunities available to students interested in learning more about careers in employee benefits law.

In Austin, the Texas Law students met with former Assistant Secretary of Labor, Phyllis Borzi of the Employee Benefits Security Administration and Employee Benefits Committee members Marcelle Henry of Cohen Weiss & Simon from New York, Claude Cazzulino of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers and M'Alyssa Mecenas of Paul Hastings LLP, both from Los Angeles, and Michelle Roberts Bartolic of Roberts Bartolic LLP from Alameda, California. This panel spoke about the breadth of the employee benefits practice from Government, Management, Plaintiff, and Union perspectives. Students learned about the broad spectrum of issues that ERISA practitioners face in their practices and how ERISA impacts other areas of the law including labor and employment law, family law, trusts and estates, and health law. Former Assistant Secretary Borzi spoke about her career path through government service and private practice and encouraged law students to consider public service. Other panelists discussed their career paths, current work, and the challenges of balancing work and personal life.

The Labor and Employment Law Section helped underwrite this diversity effort by providing transportation, lunch, and raffle prizes in the form of flash drives with the LEL logo and ABA logo items. The panelists wish to thank the Career Services staff at both schools who devoted their time and resources. The Employee Benefits Committee intends to continue to make law student outreach part of its Midwinter Meetings in the future with a special focus on reaching out to minority students. Panelists look forward to organizing a similar panel discussion for law students in the Tampa area for the Committee's next Midwinter Meeting scheduled in February 2018.