The Career Counselor Who’s a ‘Professional Friend’ to Law Students Exploring Public Interest Jobs

This story is part of Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that celebrates the beloved figures, unsung heroes and dedicated Hoyas who make our campus special.

Lauren Dubin is the director of Public Sector Careers in the Office of Public Interest and Community Service.

In 1988, career advisor Lauren Dubin was on the hunt for a new job herself. She was expecting her first child, and was looking for a part-time position that would give her more flexibility as a new parent.

A friend pointed her toward a job-share opportunity at Georgetown Law's Office of Career Strategy(OCS). While she had worked as a career counselor at a government agency and a small liberal arts college before, she knew almost nothing about law school and legal careers at the time. Even so, she hit it off with the interviewer and was offered the spot.

"Lawyers scared me. Same with law students. I was intrigued, but didn't think I had much to offer! And here I am, 35 years in," she says.

At OCS, Dubin was assigned to work with students interested in government and nonprofit careers. This area has always been a strength for Georgetown Law, but the school did not yet have a team specifically dedicated to that cohort. Then, in 1996, the Law Center became one of the country's first law schools to establish a separate career services office for students focused on public interest.

Dubin became one of three founding staff members of the Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS). Today, the OPICS staff has grown to 13, and Dubin offers career guidance to students as director of Public Sector Careers. She's also a facilitator for Lawyers in Balance, a program that introduces students to mindfulness and stress reduction practices.

"It really says to students that this school takes public interest law and social justice seriously. It's not just a motto on a wall," Dubin says of Georgetown's investment in OPICS over her time at the Law Center.

Photo by Brent Futrell.

Learn more about how she and her colleagues took on the challenge of creating a whole new approach to career advising - and why she thinks magic played a role.

Why I became a career counselor: I was seeking a career that was going to allow me to do what I do best. And that's always been interpersonal work. But not teaching, not nursing, and I didn't want to become a therapist, because I wanted to be able to participate in the conversation, and therapists have a very distinct code of conduct and ethics. I was like - I think I want to find a career where I can be a professional friendto students. So I figured out - with a little bit of side detour here and there - that I should go to grad school to focus on counseling with a higher ed population.

How I learned to work with law students: When we were starting OPICS, there was no architecture, no blueprint, nothing. There weren't a lot of models for how to structure a public interest office. So we made it up as we went along. But one thing I knew for sure is that I could connect with students and be an enthusiastic and supportive partner with them in the journey toward meaningful and fulfilling work.

How I dealt with imposter syndrome as a non-lawyer advising future lawyers: The fact that I don't have a law degree, which was in many ways a liability, was also my superpower. There was a period of time when I wanted to leave Georgetown; I was feeling like a fish out of water. I confided in a couple of students and they said, "That's why you need to stay, because we feel a different energy, we have a different relationship with you, and we can trust you." And that was really powerful for me. You want to have an impact? You don't need to be like everybody else. Be your own person - and give students permission to be that too.

Photo by Brent Futrell.

Why we help students pursue public interest career paths:Students feel pushed and pressured into the private sector from their parents, from society, for financial reasons, for prestige. But OPICS offers a counter message that says: "The public sector is viable and real too. What is meaningful to you? What are your values? What compels you emotionally, intellectually?" We're saying to them: "Your public interest dreams really matter. How can we help you to advance those?"

Fellow facilitators for the Lawyers in Balance program at their annual facilitator training in 2023.

Why I teach students about mindfulness: In 2008, Michael Goldman (L'69) from Campus Ministrypulled me aside and said, "We're going to pilot a meditation program for law students. I think you'd be a great facilitator." I was not a yogi. I did not have a meditation practice, but I've long been committed to creating spaces at Georgetown that are compassionate and caring. Our program was initially based on a program at the medical school, but over time we have created a more law student focused curriculum that we call Lawyers in Balance.

What we say to students is this is an opportunity to step outside of the cerebral classroom and lean into what your inner voice and heart are saying. We teach portable mindfulness practices - such as guided imagery and breathing techniques - to reduce the frenzy, the stress, the competition. We expose students to practices that include gratitude, kindness, deep listening - and definitely joy. A lot of students sign up for LIB motivated to find stress reduction techniques now before the pressures of practice kick in. It's a wonderful opportunity for students to support one another.

The time I realized we had built something very special at OPICS: I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. I was out of the office recovering from surgery for several months, and at the time, Barbara [Moulton (L'89), former assistant dean for Public Interest Programs] was arranging for the adoption of their second child, and had to go to Guatemala for about six weeks. So there was no one to support students in OPICS. A group of public interest 3Ls created a volunteer schedule to provide advising to the 1Ls. They didn't want the students to miss out on the support they had received. It was powerful and poignant.

Photo by Brent Futrell.

I think part of the magic of OPICS is our commitment to fostering community. If you were to say to me: "If you were retiring tomorrow, what's your legacy?" It would be contributing to the creation of that magic.

How I stay in touch with students after they graduate: I do it with intention. Part of it is they come back for career advising throughout the years. Part of it is they become employers that work with our office to hire current students. Part of it is simply that I got really close to a lot of students and they just sort of stayed in my life. I see their updates on LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram. I'm curious about their lives. I'll say, "Hey, I saw on LinkedIn you got a new job. How are you doing? I miss you!" Then I invite them to speak or to mentor. Or the alums say, "I need to hire an intern. Can you suggest somebody?"

My relationship with students has been, I guess, originally "sister," then "aunt," then "mother." It was a long stretch of "mother." Now, gosh, I hope not "grandmother"exactly - but maybe, if I'm 40 years older than a lot of students?

What helps me stay young: I'm known for my love of music. Mostly seventies soft rock. I also love Broadway musicals. I spend a lot of time making playlists, thinking about music, analyzing lyrics, feeling, singing. It keeps me feeling very tapped into my 16-year-old self. It's even in my online bio: If you want to sing, just bring it up, and we could sing. Students often say, "I read your bio. Can we actually sing something from Rent?" I say yes every time.

I think part of why I still thrive in this role is that I can say with deep sincerity, that sending students out into the world to be changemakers still compels me and because my work has allowed me to deeply connect with thousands of students over the years.

Photo by Brent Futrell.

My favorite spot on campus: It's in the OPICS suite, sitting on our couch and seeing students laughing, resting, talking about TV or sports, not professors or exams. We had a really small budget when we opened our doors, and I made sure that we bought an inexpensive couch, put art on the walls, and made sure there was candy, hot chocolate, and tea. It was important to me that the space was welcoming and homey. So it's my favorite place because I know that the office we created all those years ago is the public interest hub we dreamed of.

One word that comes to mind when I think of Georgetown: Home.So corny! I am married, I have two kids, I have my family and my community and friends, et cetera. But Georgetown has just played an enormous role in my deep joy and fulfillment, career and life. So it's always been a home for me.