Administrative

Alumni Spotlight on: Ashley Ludovicy, Class of 2005 and 2006

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ashley ludovicyWhat is your current position?
Assistant Chief of the Career Program for the Army’s Legal Career Program.

What year did you graduate from UConn? 2005, BS in Business, 2006 BA in Classical Languages

Where did you go to law school? How did you choose that school?
New England School of Law. When I was looking at law schools, I knew I wanted to stay in the Northeast and at an accredited university. I took the LSATs with a less than stellar result but had good grades at UConn. I was accepted to a school in California, Albany Law School and New England. New England was in the center of Boston and I wanted to live in a city.
What year did you graduate from law school? 2009

UConn Experience

Major: International Business and Classical Languages

How did your major help you prepare for law school and for practice?
When I was in law school, I wanted to study International Law. Luckily I took most of the courses or preliminary courses at UConn so I felt more comfortable in the work I was doing. Also, I took eight years of Latin, which was not necessary, but helped decode some legalese in my reading assignments.

What organizations and activities (e.g., clubs, sports, study abroad) did you participate in while at UConn?
Delta Sigma Pi, Study Abroad (Paderno del Grappa), Colleges Against Cancer (Relay for Life and the Cancer Society) and the Classical Languages Fraternity.

What jobs or internships did you have while at UConn?
I worked with Sodexho (at the concession stands) during the year, along with the Career Placement Office in the Business School. I also did an internship with Casey Fuel in CT for my small business class. I also worked at the library during my first few semesters in the circulation and map departments.

Did you take any time off?
No.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to a current UConn student?
I would suggest picking a major that you love! When students say they are studying pre-law or political science, unless that is their passion, it is unnecessary. Law school will teach the law, study what moves you. You can then translate those skills and that knowledge into a legal career later since almost everyone and every topic needs an attorney. Also, the more you love a subject, the more work you will do in that class and the better your grade (which is really the way that you are getting into law school). If you can start your legal career in college by taking classes in compliance or regulations, I would! Being more familiar with law allows you the freedom in law school to take a course that you might not have thought of.

I would also STUDY ABROAD! I was lucky enough to study abroad in law school again between jobs, but not everyone has that luxury. Most law students take internships between their two summers so they do not have the ability to pick up and go to another country. If you know that you want to attend law school, start networking now so that you can get the job in that law firm or office before you start law school. Also, get a start on the LSATs. I know I waited until my last year and I was “stuck” with my poor LSAT score.

Law School Experience

What programs did you participate in during law school?
I was a law student at night so I worked during the day, clerking at a local firm.
During my first two years of law school, I worked as a recruiter for a local masters program and then my final two years at a medical malpractice law firm. I studied abroad in Malta and was part of Phi Alpha Delta.

Were you active in any student groups? Which?
Phi Alpha Delta

Did your involvement with those specific programs or organizations help you in your career path or in any other ways?
No, they did not. However my career was not a traditional one. I met my husband in law school and he was commissioning in the Army that following year. I followed him to DC and found a job with the Army as a civilian.

What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before law school?
Work your hardest and get the best grades you can, but NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK. Even if you cannot get a job through that network, you will feel less alone in your job search.

Work Experience

Describe your practice setting.
Government Agency (US Army)

Area(s) of practice.
Administrative,Civil Litigation,Consumer,Family Law,Personal Injury,Torts,Tax,Trusts & Estates

How did you choose this area of law?
It choose me through my marriage with my husband. In the Army, we do a little bit of everything to prepare our soldiers for deployment.

Is there a typical day? How would you describe it?
I am the Assistant Chief to the Army’s Legal Career Program. The Army created Career Programs to train and retain their civilian employees. I also work under the Labor & Employment Office where I maintain the military spouse resume database. It is a new initiative to attempt to place military spouses in open legal positions within the Army. Due to my wide range of tasks, every day is different. Today I have been preparing for our yearly conference where we will decide what type of training is necessary for our workforce and how we can obtain those goals with our budget. Tomorrow I might be on a teleconference with spouses to see how their skills would fit the needs of the Army.

How many hours per week do you work? What is your schedule?
Around 50 – our hours of operation are 730 to 430.

Describe your work/life balance.
Currently my husband is stationed at Camp Casey, Korea so my balance is skewed with more work than life. After work, I normally attend an attorney function sponsored by the Army, Congress, the American Bar Association or my local bar association, Military Spouse JD Network. The weekends are meant for catching up with work and household chores.

What do you like most about your job? What would you change?
I would not change a thing. Every day is a new challenge and has different clients/topics in it. I could not be happier (or prouder) to work for the U.S. Army.

If you couldn’t be a lawyer anymore, what would you do? If you had a career before becoming a lawyer, what was it?
I would become a career counselor. I loved counseling students at UConn in the business placement office and I enjoyed it when I worked for the masters degree program. I mentor young attorneys now so it would be a natural transition for me.

Roughly, how much are you student loan payments?
$1000

How long do you expect to be paying your student loans?
For the full 20 years that are required (or possibly ten if I qualify for the Public Service Student Loan Program).

Have your student loans impacted your career choices or other life choices in any way? How?
They have not, I have been rather neglectful of my student loans otherwise they will tear you down and make you question your life choices. There is enough uncertainty in the U.S. Army lifestyle so as long as I can make my payments, I keep moving along.

Just for fun: If you could have dinner with any lawyer, real or fiction, living or dead, who would it be and why?
One of the supreme court justices (any one!) – their decisions were such a large focus in law school and have such a bearing on our lifestyle choices that I would love to pick their brain. Not to mention, who doesn’t want to be a Supreme Court Justice themselves?

Alumni Spotlight on: D. Zachary Champ, Class of 2005

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zac_webWhat is your current position? Government Affairs Counsel

What year did you graduate from UConn? 2005
Where did you go to law school? How did you choose that school?
Syracuse University College of Law. A large reason I selected Syracuse was the opportunity to also attend the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs to pursue a Master of Public Administration jointly with my JD. To clear my name, I set up a UConn Alumni Chapter to brave the Carrier Dome with me each time the Huskies came to town!
What year did you graduate from law school? 2010

UConn Experience

Major: Political Science

How did your major help you prepare for law school and for practice?
At its core, the Poli-Sci major has a large focus on writing and utilizing multiple sources to support a stated position. The major also attracts a large number of debate-prone, students not unlike what you’ll find in you 1L sections! Finally, the concepts of governance, ethics, and how the various legislative, regulatory and judicial arms work together as studied in the classroom inform my practice daily.

What organizations and activities (e.g., clubs, sports, study abroad) did you participate in while at UConn?
UConn Model United Nations
Habitat for Humanity
WHUS
Study Abroad: Rhodes, Greece

What jobs or internships did you have while at UConn?
Connecticut General Assembly
HuskyTech

Did you take any time off?
I took off just over two years before entering law school. I would highly recommend taking time off before taking the plunge into three years of law school. Between UConn and Syracuse I worked in e-commerce and marketing for a sporting goods outfit.

What is one piece of advice you’d give to a current UConn student?
Two specific points. First, only a very small number of attorneys practice in the area of constitutional law. It doesn’t mean you won’t be litigating the next great civil liberties case, but the odds are lower. Second, if you like technology, like I do, and you have an interest in intellectual property and patents you should think about getting a bachelor of science degree to be able to sit for the patent bar or at minimum take the type of classes that would prepare you to take the exam before the exam.

Beyond these points, I would say take as many writing classes as you can. And while there are a number of different types of attorneys, those that are writers and not lecturers, I would still advise you to take up opportunities to boost your confidence level when speaking to groups. If you’re not speaking before a jury or a judge you still would have to talk to your client, or an experienced partner.

Law School Experience

What programs did you participate in during law school?
Moot Court as a participant, coach and now judge. I wrote for a journal as an associate editor and served as the Editor-in-Chief my 3L year. I was also a student member of the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Were you active in any student groups? Which?
Throughout law school I was highly involved with the Communications Law & Policy Society, serving as president my 3L year. This group sponsored panels and conferences at the law school bringing the experts from the field to our halls to discuss the issues of the day in communications law.

Did your involvement with those specific programs or organizations help you in your career path or in any other ways?
Yes. All of these participation helped me either hone the skills I needed as an attorney or provided opportunities to interact with those that work in my field though not in the most obvious ways. Being on a journal helped me to be a better writer, but as Editor-in-Chief I also got experience in managing a team of peers. With the Communications Law & Policy Society I learned a lot about an area I was interested in, but I also met mentors and made friends that I am still in touch with today. Be active but be focused and let your involvement take you where it leads. If you do something you are passionate about not only will you put more in but others will notice it in you.

What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you before law school?
One is too limiting! Follow around a lawyer for a while before you commit to a three years, and significant debt to the process. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have followed the legal market and its debt burden with some focus over the past couple years—read up! Internships, and casual conversations with practicing lawyers is a good way to start. Also, work before going straight into law school. It was amazing to see new 1Ls that had never lived on their own struggle with paying bills as well as trying to keep up with the rest of their section. Also the more real life experiences you have the more understandable the coursework will be. Finally, don’t take too seriously the comments and postings from Above the Law and the other blogs out there about school status and rankings. While I’d advise you to go to an ABA accredited school, beyond that the school has to meet your needs and your focus first.

Work Experience

Describe your practice setting.
I work for a national trade association representing the wireless infrastructure industry.

Area(s) of practice.
Administrative Law, Telecommunications, Technology

How did you choose this area of law?
I had a fascination with technology and the Internet specifically and what it enabled. I felt that the laws and policy that existed when I decided to enter into law school had not kept pace with the technology that they were being matched to. They still don’t!

Is there a typical day? How would you describe it?
Sort-of. As a trade association, our clients are our dues paying members from industry. On any given day I am working to ensure that our members are up-to-date on the issues happening in Washington, meeting with those at the FCC, White House, Congress and other federal and state agencies to discuss pending regulatory changes or policy changes. There are also a lot of interesting government counsel type discussions happening internally as related to how our association is run.

How many hours per week do you work? What is your schedule?
It’s hard to say, it really depends on whether we have a regulatory filing due. If we have a filing due, we sometimes will not submit until very late in the evening. Also, D.C. is a bit of a workaholic city, but with that said I would say my schedule is fairly typical. 50-60 hours is probably about where I’d land.

Describe your work/life balance.
As a younger attorney earning more and more responsibility, it’s a struggle. It’s something you have to work on and find a way to put aside your phone.

What do you like most about your job? What would you change?
I like the freedom I have to set the course for how to tackle problems as they are presented to me. I enjoy that I have the ability to work with smart people every day both in government and in industry. I work on projects that can improve the lives of Americans through greater access to broadband and all that it enables. As far as what I’d change, it may have been interesting to have worked in government earlier in my career in a more direct way.

If you couldn’t be a lawyer anymore, what would you do? If you had a career before becoming a lawyer, what was it?
I would have moved out to Silicon Valley and bounced from start-up to start-up.

Just for fun: If you could have dinner with any lawyer, real or fiction, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Ralph Nader because his story of how he rallied public opinion regarding transportation safety is fascinating.