by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Florida Coastal School of Law students have it pretty good these days: a brand new campus, a faculty that many consider one of the best and most down-to-earth around and a new director of career services that came to the school with serious credentials.
Ellen Sefton was hired for the newly-created position in May. She came from Florida Community College at Jacksonville where she was the director of marketing and recruiting. But, it’s her previous job that should get an FCSL student’s attention.
“I was the national director of business development for Foley & Lardner,” said Sefton. Foley & Lardner is based in Milwaukee, but has 17 offices in the United States and one each in Brussels, Belgium and Tokyo. “I traveled all over the country. It was a fabulous job. Their lawyers are bright and creative.”
Sefton’s travel is down, but her job these days still covers the entire country. Sefton doesn’t recruit students, rather she and her staff help guide the aspiring lawyers through school and graduation. They also work on getting Florida Coastal’s name out in the national legal community and work to make big firms aware of the school’s quality, work-ready graduates.
“We all roll our sleeves up and we all wear many hats,” she said. “Our biggest job is to prepare the students to enter the legal marketplace. We do one-on-one counseling, we hold workshops and give presentations. We try to provide the students as much exposure as possible.”
Sefton said there are currently students from 43 states enrolled in class as FCSL. While many will stay in the Jacksonville area after they graduate, many will also return home — and they’ll need jobs. That’s where Sefton and her three staff members and two work/study students come in.
“We work to develop name recognition for Florida Coastal in those markets,” said Sefton, who enjoys her job at FCSL because she’s back in the legal industry. “I love what I do. Academia is different because the focus is on helping individuals achieve their potential. The rewards are greater and we are really affecting people’s lives.
“I think what we do is help students become prepared for the legal market.”
Numbers-wise, FCSL grads are succeeding in the workplace. Sefton said 90 percent of FCSL graduates are employed within nine months of graduation and a majority of them have jobs in the legal field.
“I think that’s probably comparable to the University of Florida,” said Sefton, who credits the FCSL faculty for much of the students’ and school’s success. “I think we do a fabulous job of producing practice-ready lawyers. Our graduates start earning money for their employers right away.
“I have never seen professionals at the beginning of their careers less pretentious and willing to do anything than Florida Coastal graduates. I think that’s because we have the most unpretentious and down-to-earth faculty and staff.”