About DMS Consulting
Presentations and personal advice for your students
As a former career counselor with a degree in psychology, Debra Strauss enjoys meeting with students one-on-one as well as large presentations to law schools, legal organizations, and the judiciary. Having worked in a career development office and setting up the programs at Yale Law School and Pace University School of Law, she can work with your office as a consultant at every level to evaluate and improve your resources and programs.
Debra Strauss is a national expert in judicial clerkships. She is the author of the definitive handbook -- Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships! (See especially Appendix F, "Law Schools: The Ways You Can Help Your Students.")
Currently a tenured full Professor of Business Law at Fairfield University Dolan School of Business, Professor Strauss teaches courses in the Legal Environment of Business, International Law, and Law and Ethics. In addition to articles on judicial clerkships, the courts and diversity issues, her scholarship includes notable publications on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), food safety, and global security.
Professional expertise
A graduate of Yale Law School with a degree in psychology from Cornell University, Debra Strauss has more than a dozen years of experience as a Federal law clerk for two clerkship terms (former Chief Judge, Southern District of New York); in private practice at a prominent New York law firm; and as Director of Judicial Clerkship Counseling & Programs at Yale Law School. She founded the judicial clerkship program there, which resulted in a record number of Yale students obtaining clerkships.
As a consultant, Debra Strauss served as the Project Director and author of the National Judicial Clerkship Study, on behalf of the National Association for Law Placement and the American Bar Association.
Previously affiliated as an Adjunct Professor and Director at Pace University School of Law, she helped to establish, taught and administered the Federal Judicial Extern Honors Program.
See more on sample programs and resources available from DMS Consulting.
Testimonials
- According to Kimm Walton: “The wonderful Debra Strauss ... is without question America's judicial clerkship maven. She has a new book coming out on judicial clerkships, called Behind the Bench: The Guide to Judicial Clerkships and if you're going to be doing a clerkship (or you're thinking about looking for one!) I strongly urge you to read it. Debra not only conducts seminars around the country about judicial clerkships, but she's a former federal judicial clerk herself. If there's anything to know about judicial clerkships, she knows it!” -- in Walton, Kimm Alayne, What Law School Doesn't Teach You ... But You Really Need to Know: (Harcourt Legal & Professional Publications, Inc. 2000), pp. 431-432.
- Praise from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP): “Special appreciation is extended to Debra Strauss, formerly Director of Judicial Clerkship Counseling and Programs at Yale Law School, who was employed as the Project Director and author of the study. A former law clerk herself, her commitment and expertise turned the study from a good idea into a valuable product and provides the opportunity for NALP to render a service to all stakeholders in the clerkship arena.” – in Courting the Clerkship: Perspectives on the Opportunities and Obstacles for Judicial Clerkships, Report on the 2000 National Judicial Clerkship Study (National Association for Law Placement, October 2000), p. 2.
- Law school rave reviews: “Again, I want to thank you for your information packed presentation . . . our students have had nothing but good things to say about it!” – Steven Coker, Assistant Director of Career Services, Syracuse University School of Law.