Class of ’22 Career Placements Show Outstanding Opportunities

Reflecting strong academic records, impressive research, and competition credentials, the class of 2022 Law School graduates have a vast spectrum of opportunity and are highly sought after for positions in government, nonprofit, and business organizations, as well as law firms, in the United States and abroad.

Emerging career trends for this year’s class reflect public interest law in general—with specific focus on environmental and access to justice concerns—and business. Federal, state, and academic placements, including clerkships, honors attorneys positions, in-house agency council, and prestigious post-graduate Fellowships are also well represented. Below are career notes and comments from some of 2022’s graduating class members.

Akriti Bhargava ’22 is joining Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program as a Legal Fellow. “This job is an extension of the skills I’ve built at law school in the last two years, and I will have significantly more opportunities in this role as it focuses on US climate policy, both domestic and international,” she commented. “I’ll be working on federal climate policy work—analyzing regulations, litigation, executive actions, and administrative progress towards clean energy and environmental protection outcomes. This is the post-grad role I’ve been dreaming of for the last two years—bringing together my interest and expertise in environmental protection, economics, politics, and sustainable energy systems.”

Monet Gonnerman ’22, who was a part-time evening student, will be the sole Clerk for an Oregon Supreme Court Justice. “During law school, I largely worked in criminal defense at the Office of the Federal Public Defender and in civil rights litigation with the Supreme Court and Appellate Program at the MacArthur Justice Center…[it] is an amazing opportunity to learn more about the legal system, to understand how decisions are made, and to participate in the judicial process.” After her Oregon Supreme Court Clerkship, she will clerk for a Magistrate Judge in the District of Oregon.

Additional clerkships include Kate Shepherd ’22 who will begin a Federal Clerkship with the US District Court of Oregon, and Ariandne Arujo Alves ’22 who will clerk at the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Dara Illowsky ’22 will be clerking for Justice Peter J. Maassen on the Alaska Supreme Court, and is excited about the opportunity. “I’ve had my eye on this role since before even starting law school—some attorneys at my prior job at the Sierra Club who had clerked in Alaska encouraged me to pursue it—so needless to say I am thrilled,” she said. “It’s also a particularly exciting place to clerk: since it’s such a new state, I’ve been told issues of first impression come up unusually often still, so it’s an exciting opportunity to really help shape the legal landscape there.”

Bijal Patel ’22 will be an Honors Attorney with the Oregon Department of Justice, spending two years gaining experience in public service under knowledgeable state attorneys. “I do not yet know where I will be placed, but my interests are in criminal justice and civil litigation. I will handle my own caseload and hope to gain more trial experience and continue to build those research and writing skills,” Patel said discussing her role. “I honed in on the Honors Attorney position in my 1L year, pursuing a variety of opportunities that build on lawyering skills…and while I worked hard to get decent grades, I focused my curriculum more on building real lawyering skills through taking practical elective classes. Being a government and trial attorney is my lifelong ambition so the Oregon DOJ is the perfect fit for me due to the diversity of work and opportunities.”

Iris Dowd ’22 will be a Misdemeanor Attorney for the Grant County, WA Department of Public Defense. “I will be defending the public—going to trial negotiating pleas, helping people navigate the court system, etc. This is the job that I went to law school to do, and I’m happy that I made it!,” she shared. “I’d like to thank Professors Yin, Parry and Klonoff—for teaching me the basics of Evidence, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure that I will be using every day—as well as everyone else who helped me learn to research, write, and think like a lawyer. I’m also grateful that I was able to get credit for my externship at Metropolitan Public Defender (MPD), because hands on experience, at least in criminal law, is really the best way to learn the job.”

Jake Larson ’22 accepted an attorney position with Metropolitan Public Defender providing public defense; his assignment to either Washington County or Multnomah County is pending Bar passage. “I came to law school intending to become a public defender, so this role is a perfect fit…I tried to tailor my studies by taking relevant classes, becoming a certified law student after my 2L year, externing with a public defense office, and doing a relevant clinic,” he stated. “I’m excited to be able to apply everything I’ve learned in the last three years, especially what I’ve learned outside of the classroom, in my representation of people who can’t afford to pay for an attorney. I’m excited to fight for peoples’ rights, to fight to have their stories told, and to be in court on a near-daily basis.”

Larson will be joined at MPD by Chloe Williams ’22, while Mathew Swisher ’22 will work for Vancouver Defenders in Washington State. Other public service positions across the state and nation include Lina Rodriguez Lancheros ’22 at Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Mallory Copeland ’22 as the Executive Director of the Portland Urban Debate League, Diehl Fellow Chelsea Stewart-Fusek ’22 at the Center for Biodiversity, Pegga Mosavi ’22 at the Center for Food Safety, Kelly Chang ’22 at Crag Law as a Staff Attorney, Austin Starnes ’22 at the Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project as a Staff Attorney, and Skye Walker ’22 at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office as an Environmental Law Fellow.

Bryce Brown ’22 will join Marten Law, a boutique environmental firm, as an associate, developing a practice in environmental litigation and compliance. “When I came to Lewis & Clark, I wanted to practice transactional environmental law and work in regulatory compliance. While in law school, I developed a passion for litigation so I am excited to join a firm where I do both transactions and litigation, all with a focus on environmental law,” Brown offered. “I couldn’t have picked a better school to prepare me for practice at Marten as I continue learning the nuances of environmental law.”

Mariam G. Yousif ’22 will be a Senior Associate-Attorney in the Global Mobility Unit at Canadian firm Vialto Partners, LLP (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers), working on the US Private Client team to provide immigration services to Fortune 500 companies. “Law school and the Lewis & Clark Law Review gave me the foundation and skills to take on such high volume work; it requires utmost attention to detail as well as strategizing for our clients. My externship experience last year at a boutique Canadian-facing immigration law firm and my US Practice of Immigration Law class were incredibly helpful preparation for this position.”

Sadie Wolff ’22 will be an Associate Attorney at Parrilli Renison LLC (which operates under the trademark ENTRYLAW®) upon acceptance to the Bar, assisting clients with non-immigrant visas, permanent resident visas, special immigrant visas, and other immigration matters. Wolff is excited about this role, and appreciates the opportunity to work and grow professionally. “First, it’s a remarkable firm. Partners Tifani Parrili and Brent Renison are well-respected and influential within immigration law and the legal assistants who work for the firm have a wealth of expertise. Second, I will be working towards securing visas for people from around the world. I find that to be incredibly meaningful work because of what it means for individual clients and because of what it means for our community.”

Other business or transactional positions across the state and nation include Shelby Long ’22 at Dunn Carney LLP, Miriam Wainwright ’22 at Immix Law Group PC, Michael Loy ’22 at Klarquist Sparkman LLP, Rachael Grey ’22 at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, Annamarie White ’22 at Perkins Coie LLP, Neal Alnajran ’22 at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt PC, and Brian Bollt ’22 and Victoria Muirhead ’22 at Stoel Rives LLP.

For additional information on previous years, please see the official 2021 class employment data reported to the ABA, and the Career Services office.