Dorothy Brackett, Class of 2007
When Dorothy Brackett joined Michael Best & Freidrich in Chicago as a litigation associate in 2007, after serving as a summer associate with the firm in 2006, she was well-prepared to begin her career as a litigator.
In addition to serving as Notes Editor of Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law and on the boards of the American Constitution Society and the Women Law Student Association, Brackett, who earned her undergraduate degree in Russian language and literature at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, had served pro bono internships through Vanderbilt's student-run Legal Aid Society and spent a summer as a clerk with the American Bar Association's Commission on Immigration in Washington, D.C.
"The law school awarded me a public interest stipend for my work for immigrant civil rights, which provided me with money to live on in D.C.," she said. "And Vanderbilt reimbursed my travel costs of attending the Equal Justice Works public interest career fair in DC. Lisa Doster in Career Services is an amazing resource for public interest and government employment."
Brackett believes that Vanderbilt collegial culture helped to mitigate the stress inherent in the law school experience. "The culture at Vanderbilt is friendly," she said. "That's a lightweight word, but I use it seriously. Everyone – faculty, staff, and students – treats each other with kindness and respect. This is a serious benefit during stressful times, of which law school has many."
