Shimel ’19, 3+3 Grad, Enjoying Head Start on Legal Career | Student Spotlight | Albany Law School
  • About
    • Overview
    • ABA Required Disclosures
    • Administration
    • Board of Trustees
    • Campus Policies and Notices
    • Employment
    • Events
    • Fact Sheet
    • General Directory
    • History
    • News
    • Our Affiliation with UAlbany
    • President and Dean Ouellette
    • Staff Directory
    • Strategic Plan
  • Admissions
    • Overview
    • J.D. Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Special Programs
    • Accepted Students
    • Check Application Status
    • Connect with Admissions
    • Make A Deposit
    • Financial Aid
    • Office of Admissions
  • Academics
    • Overview
    • Courses
    • Areas of Study
    • JD Program
    • Graduate Programs
    • Special Programs
    • Pathways Program
    • Experiential Learning
    • Learning Outcomes
    • Registrar
    • Academic Resources
    • Academic Partnerships
  • Careers
    • Overview
    • Students
    • Employers
    • Alumni
    • Connect to AlbanyLaw Link
    • Employment Outcomes
    • Where Our Graduates Work
    • Career and Professional Development Center
    • Contact the Career and Professional Development Center
    • Women's Leadership Initiative
  • Student Life
    • Overview
    • Campus Resources
    • Commencement
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Health and Wellness
    • Living and Learning in Albany
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Spotlight
    • Veteran Services
  • Centers
    • Overview
    • The Justice Center
    • Government Law Center
    • Center for Excellence in Law Teaching
    • Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Center
    • Center for Judicial Process
    • Institute for Financial Market Regulation
    • Center for Continuing Legal Education
  • Faculty
    • Overview
    • Faculty Directory
    • Faculty Achievements
    • Faculty Scholarship and Research
    • Faculty Spotlight
    • Endowed and Distinguished Professorships
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Overview
    • Upcoming Events
    • Giving
    • Search Directories
    • Regional Alumni Network
    • National Alumni Association
    • Reunion
    • Class Notes
    • Volunteer and Mentor
    • Shared Interest Groups
    • Kate Stoneman
    • Institutional Advancement Team
Turn on more accessible mode
Turn off more accessible mode

COVID-19: Community Updates and Resources

Albany Law School

Calendar
|
Portal
|
Contact Us
|
gift box Donate
Calendar
Donate
Contact Us
Alba
ny
Law School
Back
Sign In
This area will be filled in by content you create in your page layouts.
Skip Navigation LinksHome/Student Life/Student Spotlight/Shimel ’19, 3+3 Grad, Enjoying Head Start on Legal Career

Shimel ’19, 3+3 Grad, Enjoying Head Start on Legal Career

By Shannon Gorman | 5/24/2019 |
View Archives »
Facebook | Twitter | Email
ContentImg01_250w
Alison Shimel with her grandmother at Albany Law School's 168th Commencment on May 24, 2019.
MainContent

Alison Shimel '19 has a pretty significant head start on life after law school. She graduated with her Juris Doctor on May 24 and already has a job at a law firm. In fact, she was hired before the Fall 2018 semester and worked for them part-time while she finished her classes online.

She also bought a house with her longtime boyfriend and just before graduation they welcomed a new golden retriever puppy, Maya. "She'll be my study companion while I prep for the bar exam," Shimel laughed.

The 3+3 program with the University at Albany saved her an entire year of college—both the time and the tuition—plus she received a SUNY Legal Fellowship, which comes with a substantial scholarship, for going from a SUNY school to Albany Law School.

"I'm so glad I found this program," Shimel said. "For someone like me who knew the path I wanted to take and that I wanted to be an attorney, the 3+3 program helped me get to that point in my life in a more efficient manner."

Efficient indeed. At age 24, she has two degrees, an excellent job in her chosen field, a house, and a dog—and significantly less educational debt thanks to the 3+3 program and the SUNY Legal Fellowship.

Shimel spent her first three years in the 3+3 program at UAlbany, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in Psychology. "I really like to write, and I love reading and thinking critically, which is what drew me to the law." She got to start studying the law in her fourth year, when she enrolled at Albany Law School. She especially enjoyed Trusts and Estates and Business Organizations, which opened her eyes to corporate and business law, areas in which she would find her first professional job.

Originally from Massachusetts, she set her sights on the Springfield area for a summer job. She landed a position as a law clerk for the Springfield City Law Department, returning the next summer. Her most memorable cases included working on a federal civil rights trial stemming from an excessive force incident and a mediation in federal court concerning police brutality.

She stayed with the department for an internship in her third year of law school in conjunction with the Semester in Practice program. "It was really interesting to apply the rules of professional responsibility and see how they play out in actual practice."

The position also provided a great opportunity to network with other attorneys in the area where she wanted to live. In fact, a conversation with a local lawyer about her newfound interest in business law led to a job offer—starting upon completion of her Semester in Practice—with Springfield law firm Cooley, Shrair P.C.

So she moved back to the Springfield area with her boyfriend, who had completed an accelerated master's at RPI, and began working part-time in the corporate and business division of her new firm, handling commercial real estate matters and doing research in other areas of law including personal injury, estate planning, and bankruptcy.

The firm has given her time off to prepare for the bar exam. She will be devoting many hours a day to the BARBRI review course through the bar exam at the end of July. But first, Shimel and her family are having a graduation celebration—which is doubling as a birthday party for her grandmother, 89, who was able to travel to her granddaughter's commencement. When Shimel asked her grandmother what she wanted for her birthday, she said, "Your graduating from law school IS my birthday present."

ContentImg02_250w
MainContent02
ContentImg03_250w
MainContent03
ContentImg04_250w
MainContent04

  • Student Life
    • Campus Resources
      • Bookstore
      • Housing
      • Information Technology Services
      • Office of Student Affairs
      • Students with Disabilities
      • Students with Families
      • Transportation and Security
    • Commencement
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Health and Wellness
    • Living and Learning in Albany
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Spotlight
    • Veteran Services
This area will be filled in by content you create in your page layouts.
This area will be filled in by content you create in your page layouts.
This area will be filled in by content you create in your page layouts.

Albany Law School Building Logo

Albany Law School

Better Opportunities. Bigger Impact.
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208-3494
PHONE: 518-445-2311
  • Consumer Information (ABA Required Disclosures)
  • Events
  • Employment
  • News
  • Fact Sheet
  • Law Library
  • Faculty Directory
  • General Directory
  • Staff Directory
© Albany Law School | Site Map | Campus Policies | Privacy Policy | Contact Us