Lawyer in Athletic Department
Name: Frank Kara
Major: Political Science
Law School: University of Minnesota
Description of your job: Work
with the athletic department in terms of compliance with NCAA and
Conference rules. This includes education, monitoring and enforcement
actvities.
Is there anything in particular that you did
during your undergrad that benefited you more than anything else in
getting through law school and/or transitioning into the legal
profession? Completing the honors program and the writing required
for that thesis paper was very valuable in terms of the writing
required in law school.
If you had a chance to go through law school all over again, is there anything you would do differently? I
would focus more on sports law type topics, contracts, business
organizations, etc. Look for internships or senior seminars that may be
more helpful in building a career before leaving law school.
Is being a lawyer what you expected it would be? Why or why not? I
am in one of those "alternative" law careers. It is much different, as
I understand, from practicing laws but uses many of the skills learned
in law school.
Is there anything students should know about the legal profession before they decide to commit their life to it? Make
sure it is what you want to do in terms of a career, otherwise seek one
of the related careers that uses the skills learned.
<>What does a typical day look like for you as a lawyer? In
compliance we spend most of our day answering questions for coaches and
staff about how rules should be applied to specific situations. We also
create a lot of educational materials to help teach the staff how to
recognize compliance issues and possibly the rules associated with the
issue.</>Do you have any final advice? Get as much intern, volunteer or other experience as you can while still in school
