Five graduates of the NIU College of Law shared their work experiences at a roundtable discussion in Swen Parson Hall Wednesday night.

Katherine Brown is a 1986 graduate who now works as a trust officer at the National Savings and Trust Bank of Sycamore. She said, “I do a variety of things, from the strictly financial end of things to commercial real estate transactions, including the drafting of wills and trust agreements.”

Brown said she began working as an associate trust officer during her third year of law school. “The work experience was very valuable to me because I got to meet a lot of people and see if I liked the work.”

Jan Tupi, who graduated in 1979 and is currently a partner in the DeKalb law firm of of Tupi & Tupi, gave some practical pointers on practicing law.

“Don’t be afraid to use what you know, but also get to know the clerks of the circuit courts and the court reporters. The clerks are compendiums of gossip, and they really know what’s been filed. Also, they can help you find files and transcripts,” she said.

Diane Klock, a 1985 graduate who is currently an associate with the Rockford firm of Connelley, Oliver, Close & Warden, said her experience as a law clerk for 2nd District Appellate Judge Adolph Reinhardt “really benefited my research and writing skills.”

Klock also said the only disadvantage of her clerking experience was that it “put those I graduated with two years ahead of me in terms of in-court experience.”

Barbara Shurr, a 1985 graduate currently engaged in private practice, said she had to rearrange her family life in order to survive law school.

“I was thirty-something when I started and had a 10 year old daughter. I made it very clear that law school was my priority, and this meant a lot had to be forgone.”

Diane Walsh, a 1985 graduate currently working as an assistant state’s attorney in Cook County, said her job involves “reviewing all the transcripts in cases where the state loses and deciding whether or not to file an appeal.”