The Career Development Office (CDO) at McGeorge provides students with tools and resources for lifelong professional development in the legal community. Whether you are a 1L still trying to figure things out or a recent graduate, the CDO is here to help you be your best when looking for a job. California is one of the most competitive states in the legal career field, and in order to succeed, students must take advantage of all resources available to them. Located in the state’s capitol, McGeorge is particularly well-suited for students interested in policy, advocacy, and government at the state, local and regional level. With an experienced team leading the way, the CDO gives students at McGeorge a leg up on the competition.

Molly Stafford is the Director of the Career Development Office, and is a 2002 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. She came to McGeorge from California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA), where she was a staff attorney and manager of the CRLA Rural Fair Housing Center (RFHC). During her 4 years at CRLA, she practiced civil litigation in many areas of law — wage/hour, landlord/tenant, real property, unlawful termination and special education — and provided state-wide fair housing litigation support to CRLA’s 21 offices.

She passed the California State Bar in 2003 and began practice at the AIDS Legal Referral Panel in San Francisco where she represented tenants relating to all aspects of their housing, presented training on fair housing law for clients, staff and major law firms. Molly taught practical legal skills to students in the Honors Lawyering Program as an Adjunct Professor at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco.

Leah Adams, a 2007 graduate of McGeorge School of Law, is the Assistant Director of Career Development & Communication and an Adjunct Professor of Global Lawyering Skills. Before returning to McGeorge, Leah managed her own practice as a criminal defense attorney and family law litigator in the Bay Area. Prior to that, she worked for a litigation boutique law firm in San Jose and as a volunteer attorney with the Pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley. Leah also has experience working for public agencies, including an Arizona public defender and the State of California.

In addition to general career advising and document review (for all McGeorge students and alumni), Leah is our go-to networking expert and is available to work with students and alumni to develop their individual career search and networking plans. She works with on-campus student organizations, professors, alumni, and outside legal organizations to plan and implement innovative career-related programming, and she also manages and oversees the CDO’s communications strategies.

Erin O’Neal Muilenburg is Assistant Director of Graduate & Capital Employment, and is a 1997 graduate of Stanford Law School. Prior to joining McGeorge, Erin worked as a federal civil litigator for a national law firm in San Francisco as well as a boutique law firm in Sacramento. Erin also has clerkship experience, having served as a judicial clerk for federal district Judge Jon P. McCalla in the Western District of Tennessee. Prior to attending law school, Erin was a California Senate Fellow in the office of Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Lockyer.

In addition to working with all JD and LLM students and alumni, Erin places emphasis on strategizing with those interested in McGeorge’s Capital Lawyering concentration, government and public interest employment, legislative work, judicial clerkships, and lobbying, and students in our MPP, MPA, and MSL graduate programs. Erin also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Global Lawyering Skills, and works to provide in-depth instruction on persuasive written and oral advocacy in order to enhance and deepen students’ experience in legal research, writing, and analysis and prepare McGeorge graduates to be practice-ready as they begin their careers.

Isabella Hannon came to McGeorge with more than 10 years administrative experience, primarily as the executive assistant to the CEO of Tesco Controls, Inc., an environmental controls systems and manufacturing corporation. She also has recent experience as a staffing recruiter for Spherion, Inc, making her ideally suited to help students prepare for interviews and learn the “do’s and do not’s” when meeting employers. At the CDO, Isabella manages the On-Campus Interview Program, handles job postings on McGeorgeCareersOnline, coordinates reciprocity, organizes major CDO events, and much more.

Rydder Kramer came to McGeorge from Corum Group, a technology mergers and acquisitions firm in Seattle, where he served as the Senior Marketing Coordinator focused on event coordination, digital marketing, prospect management, and staffing within the marketing department. He also brings large-scale project coordination experience from his time with Boeing, and has experience working closely with students as a Spanish tutor at Gonzaga University. Rydder joins McGeorge as a coordinator for both the CDO and Externships Program.

Come by Northwest Hall or make an appointment to start planning your career!