Gerald M. Slater
Assistant Dean
 
Jerry joined the office as our first Assistant Dean of Professional and Career Development in October 2012.  He has had a distinguished 13-year tenure at Northeastern University School of Law's Office of Cooperative Legal Education. Since 2005, Jerry served as Director of Administration of the Co-op Program, administering the school's signature legal internship program.   Prior to his years in academia, Jerry worked in private practice at Seyfarth Shaw and at the former Day Berry & Howard in the areas of business law and labor and employment law. Prior to his legal career, Jerry worked for B'nai B'rith International in the areas of membership, lobbying, and fundraising. Jerry is a 1994 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and holds both an MA and BA in Political Science from McGill University.

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Mary Karen Rogers
Alumni Professional and Career Development Officer

Mary Karen has established her career in legal higher education over the past three decades, starting in the Admissions/Financial Aid Office, Registrar’s Office and recently earning the leadership role in the Career Development Office at Suffolk University Law School.

Mary Karen was appointed to the position of Executive Director in the Career Development Office in 2007. She served as the Associate Director of the Career Development Office at Suffolk University Law School from 1986-2007, as well as the Budget and Program Coordinator for the Rappaport Honors Program in Law and Public Service from 1999-2002. She has been meeting, counseling and following the careers of innumerable Suffolk students and alumni in the Career Development Office over the past twenty years.

Her educational background includes a Masters in Counseling and Human Resource Development, which she received in 1992. Ms. Rogers is a member of The Association for Legal Career Professionals, American Counseling Association, Massachusetts Law School Consortium, the Boston Lawyers Group and The Northeast Law Consortium. Ms. Rogers served as co-director of the Northeast Law Consortium from 1988-2001. Mary Karen has previously participated in career related panels for the Boston Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Legal Recruitment Association.

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David Merson
Associate Director

David joined the OPCD team as an Associate Director in September 2012.  David has had a deep and diverse legal career, having served as a Lieutenant & Judge Advocate in the US Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps; as an Assistant District Counsel & Special Assistant US Attorney for the US Immigration & Naturalization Service; and as an immigration lawyer in private practice for several years, including as a partner in his own firm. Prior to joining Suffolk, he was a Prelaw Advisor and Instructor in the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University, and volunteered in the law career services offices at both Northeastern and UMass law schools. David is a 1993 graduate of Cornell Law School and holds a BA in History and Biomedical Ethics from Brown University. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Counseling at Rhode Island College.

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Brian Vaughn Martel
Assistant Director

Brian joined the OPCD team as an Assistant Director in October 2012. Previously, Brian was a Litigation Associate at K&L Gates, LLP, where he was also a summer associate. In his practice, he represented corporate and individual clients in matters involving commercial litigation, bankruptcy, health care, class action defense, mortgage banking, and government enforcement. His internships during law school included Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.; the law firm of Petrucelly, Nadler & Norris, P.C.; and, the Honorable Raymond J. Brussard of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Prior to his legal career, Brian worked for Columbia Management Group (a division of Bank of America) as a trainer in career, leadership, and management development. Brian is a 2008 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law and holds a BA in Psychology (along with concentrations in Sociology and Music) from the College of Holy Cross. 

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Margaret Talmers
Associate Director for Judicial Clerkships and Internships

Margaret received her A.B. in Linguistics from the University of Michigan and her J. D. from Northeastern University School of Law.  After law school, she clerked for the Honorable A. David Mazzone of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts forseveral years.   Her former private practice focused on civil litigation and included special education advocacy. Margaret taught legal research and writing as an adjunct professor at Northeastern University School of Law, and served as a Co-op Advisor in their Office of Cooperative Legal Education. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  She is a member of the American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association and Women’s Bar Association.   She is an active member of  NALP’s Judicial Clerkship Section.

Prior to attending law school, Margaret worked as a canvasser for a state-widecitizen actionorganization, a research assistant at Harvard University and a paralegal and later adatabase administrator at Mintz Levin. She joined the Career Development Office in January 2008.

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Elizabeth (Betsy) Armour
Director of Employer Relations

Betsy has an extraordinary background and a national reputation that has spanned more than 25 years of experience in law school career services and the employment of law school graduates in private law firms. Betsy served as Director of Career Development at Boston University School of Law from 1992-2004. She is also a former Director of Legal Recruiting at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge (2006-2008), and held similar positions at Foley Hoag LLP, Goldstein & Manello, and Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander & Ferdon (NY). Betsy joined the Suffolk Law CDO team in the Fall of 2008.  Among her many duties at Suffolk Law, she cultivates opportunities and relationships with private employers and alumni on a regional and national basis on behalf of the Law School. 

Betsy is a former President of NALP (The Association for Legal Career Professionals) and twice served on NALP’s Board of Directors. She serves (and has served) on several national commissions and committees for NALP that have set standards and practices for the legal recruiting industry. Betsy has also served on the Executive Board of the Student Services Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and is a frequent speaker at NALP, AALS, and ABA conferences. She is a past President of the Massachusetts Legal Recruitment Association (MALRA) and an active member of the Boston Lawyers Group. Betsy is a graduate of Smith College with an A.B. in Italian Language and Literature.She is an avid sailor and Italofile.

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Michelle Dobbins
Associate Director for Recruitment and Marketing

Michelle has a B.S. in finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and an MBA from Suffolk University. Michelle has worked in the Career Development Office at Suffolk University Law School since 1988 and has held various positions including career development assistant, recruitment coordinator, recruitment manager, and assistant director. She was promoted to Associate Director for Recruitment and Marketing in the summer of 2006. Michelle is an active member of the Massachusetts Legal Recruitment Association, where she currently serves as treasurer; the Massachusetts Law School Consortium, where she also currently serves as treasurer; the Northeast Law School Consortium; the American Bar Association; and the National Association for Law Placement.

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Andrea McIsaac
Office Coordinator

Andrea joined the OPCD as Office Coordinator in September 2012.  She had previously worked as the Department Coordinator of Academic Services and Study Abroad at Brandeis University.  Andrea was a Graduate Intern for the Colleges of the Fenway Consortium, and held previous administrative positions including for the City of Newton Education Center, OfficeTeam and Professional Staffing Group, the Spanish Language Center of Newton, and Elderhostel (now Road Scholar).  Andrea holds a BA in International Relations from Boston University and has completed course work in Higher Education Administration at Northeastern University.

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