Elizabeth Klassner ’19 smiles when she recounts having her best academic semester in the same semester she was hospitalized for a complex surgery.  In addition to earning her highest GPA of her law school career that semester, some of her other activities included teaching assistant positions for Property and Constitutional Law, being vice president of the Women’s Rugby team, and interning for the Attorney General’s Real Property Bureau.

Elizabeth’s hospitalization during her second year of law school provided her insight to the helplessness one can feel when undergoing medical procedures.  She remembered this feeling during her summer internship at the firm Pattison, Sampson, Ginsburg & Griffin PLLC, where she helped draft advanced directives, such as healthcare proxies and power of attorney forms.  She recalled the gratitude she felt during her own hospitalization when she was able to control the scope of her medical procedures.  She believes this gratitude translated into passion for drafting the proper legal documentation, such as a power of attorney forms, for those who cannot take charge of their own procedures.

“If you can’t advocate for yourself, the law helps to provide you with people who can,” she said.

In addition to her internship, Elizabeth’s job as a teaching assistant is one of her favorite experiences of her law school career. “I always thought that in a different life, I could have been a teacher, and it was great to explore this by helping students with areas that they struggled in.”
She used her internship at the Attorney General’s Real Property Bureau to provide insight for her property students, who sometimes questioned her about the real life applications of the topics they were learning, such as eminent domain. 

She used her internship at the Attorney General’s Real Property Bureau to provide insight for her property students, who sometimes questioned her about the real life applications of the topics they were learning, such as eminent domain. 

"I was able to use my experiences from work to show them that by mastering eminent domain, you can defend people against the state’s appropriation of their property,” she explained. “There were many great examples for students who wanted to see the law play out in the real world.”

She is from Scranton, Pa., known for its fictional setting of the paper company in NBC’s “The Office.”  She was drawn to Albany Law School because of its small and personable environment. 

“At Albany Law you’re part of a community.  I feel comfortable reaching out to any professor or administrator because they want to help you and make sure you succeed,” Elizabeth said.   The accessibility of Albany Law’s community is best highlighted by her participation in an appellate advocacy travel team last year, in which she was personally coached by Albany Law President and Dean Alicia Ouellette.

This year, she looks forward to planning and hosting the Albany Government Law Review’s symposium, which will take place in the spring and will focus on disability rights.

Despite her hometown’s notoriety, she sees herself remaining in Albany after she graduates next year.

“I look forward to practicing law after I graduate, and finally putting to work everything I’ve been preparing for,” she said. “There are a lot of professional opportunities that excite me in this region.”