A career services advisor can be an amazing resource in law school as you navigate OCI, externships, clerkship applications, and more. However, it’s important that you find the advisor who can best help you reach your personal goals! To do so, follow along with this new series to learn about each CSO advisor at Boston College Law School. Here is our interview with Michelle Grossfield.
What was your path to the CSO, and why did you choose to go into career advising?
After law school, I practiced child welfare law at the public defender’s office in Massachusetts. It was an incredibly rewarding and challenging experience to represent children, families, and legal guardians in the Juvenile and Probate and Family courts in Plymouth and Worcester counties. The stakes in care and protection matters are incredibly high for families, given the fact that parental rights can be terminated, and parents may have no ability for future contact during a child’s upbringing. I was fortunate to have excellent mentors, colleagues, and training early on in my career, and was honored to advocate for the children, mothers, fathers, and parental figures appointed to me as they navigated incredible societal barriers and multiple complex systems.
I transitioned from practice to working in career services over twelve years ago. A friend who was working in career services at the time encouraged me to apply for an opening in their office, noting that it was important for students to work with former lawyers who enjoyed their work and could bring that enthusiasm for their careers to those entering the profession. Although it was never a path I imagined for my own career, after meeting the folks working in the office and noting their genuine dedication to helping students find fulfilling careers, I recognized that many of my skills, values, and experiences would translate well to assisting students navigate law school and beyond. As the first person in my family to attend law school, and as someone who pursued a public interest career, I also realized how important it is for students to have informed and dedicated administrators supporting them.
What’s something that students might not know about you?
I truly experienced what it means to “hit the ground running” when you begin your career as a public interest lawyer. My very first case as a new lawyer wound up being argued before the full bench of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. It was a whirlwind that no amount of new-lawyer training can prepare you for, but it was also incredibly exciting. We established precedent that impacts child welfare cases in the state to this day, and my clients were reunited with their family. I also had the opportunity to work with some of the most experienced trial and appellate attorneys at the office who had dedicated their entire careers to this work. The experience reinforced for me the huge impact public interest lawyers can have from day one. Over the years, it has also been fun to receive occasional excited notes and calls from recent graduates who discover I was the lawyer for the case they just learned about in their training.
What do you like best about your job?
The students! Boston College law students bring incredible energy, experience, and dedication to our law school community and in their service to communities off campus. They’re advocates on and off campus from the moment they arrive, and it’s a privilege to be a part of their journeys and to keep in touch with them as their careers and lives evolve. It’s also wonderful to work with administrators and faculty who are devoted to providing students with the knowledge, training, and community that’ll provide a foundation for their careers.
What do you like to do for fun?
Going on day trips and exploring the many cities, towns, and landscapes across Massachusetts and New England is always a favorite for me. Whether by car or train, you can pretty easily visit so many different communities. Right now, my family enjoys going to the many beaches, lakes, and mountains we’re fortunate enough to be in close proximity to. Each season changes even familiar destinations so drastically that I never tire of a short road trip to a favorite place. Let me know if you need a recommendation!
Tess Halpern is a third-year student and president of the Impact blog. Contact her at halperte@bc.edu.
BC Law: Impact 