Holt Beats the Challenge
Up to a challenge, Jeff Holt (J.D. '13) entered law school at Georgia State University during a recession.
Three years later, Holt finished with a job thanks to networking through Georgia State Law events. Previously at the helm of a nonprofit, Holt aspired to attend law school for years before he entered in 2010. Doing his homework on law schools, the job market and legal careers, he found a key ingredient helped — networking.
"When I began at Georgia State Law, economic conditions were pretty bad," says Holt, who was one of three incoming law students featured in National Law Journal magazine in 2010 and in 2013.
Networking came easy for Holt, a former collegiate golfer whose then-day job was serving as the head of Atlanta Junior Golf, a nonprofit that organizes tournaments for kids.
"I worked closely with a lot of corporate lawyers during my time in golf and I found their work interesting," says Holt, who later worked as a summer associate with Burr & Forman LLP in Atlanta. Now, he is an associate with the firm's corporate and tax practice group and the only one of the three students featured in the National Law Journal article to have a job three years later. He will be sworn into the Georgia Bar Friday morning.
Holt passes along this advice to those thinking about Georgia State Law and others still in school facing uncertain job prospects in a tight job market.
"I knew I didn't want to graduate with a lot of debt," Holt says. "Of the many things I got out of Georgia State Law, the economic value and the world-class legal education was key, and I did not take on a mountain of debt."
Holt says that in addition to the on-campus interview process, Georgia State Law offered other opportunities to network and meet attorneys, including through on-campus seminars and panels, moot court team and summer internships.
"My advice is get involved and take advantage of opportunities that the school offers," Holt says.