The University of Maine School of Law, the state’s public and only law school, has hired Ann Parrent as director of Career Services.
A Michigan native, Ann received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Her legal career has included practice in a wide variety of positions, including large law firms, nonprofit advocacy organizations, an in-house corporate legal department, and public defender systems, where she has represented clients on death row.
Ann began her legal career practicing as a litigator with the law firms of Lindquist & Vennum in Minneapolis and Gaston & Snow and Morrison & Foerster in New York. The rewarding nature of pro bono opportunities in private practice ultimately led her to pursue a public interest career, which included positions with the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First), the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, the ACLU of Connecticut, the New York Capital Defender Office, the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, and the Division of Public Defender Services in Connecticut. On occasion, she returned to the business sector in contract positions, including an in-house litigation management position with the American Express Company.
Ann has spent the past ten years as an appellate public defender in Connecticut, where she also co-taught the Yale Law School Capital Punishment Clinic.
“From the vantage point of my own legal career, I’ve learned so much about how lawyers follow different paths to successful, satisfying, and stable legal careers. I believe a key component of that success is a good match between a lawyer’s particular aptitudes and personality traits and the nature of the legal work, the clients, and the practice setting,” said Ann. “At Maine Law, I plan to use those insights to focus on individual counseling that helps our students identify positions that fit well with their own talents and interests. I also want to foster a proactive and creative approach to career building that will continue to serve our students long after graduation.”
Ann developed a love of Maine after years of vacationing here and has long dreamed of relocating permanently.
“I feel fortunate that my own career path had led me to a position where I can be a champion for career success in a place I love,” continued Ann. “In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve been so impressed with the caliber of our students, the unwavering devotion of Maine Law faculty and staff to student success, and the warm welcome I’ve received from everyone I’ve met in the legal community. My goal is to build strong partnerships within the Maine legal and business communities to increase career opportunities for Maine Law students and alumni in ways that serve the legal needs of individuals and businesses throughout Maine.”
Ann has been working at the Law School part-time since August 1, and will assume her new position full-time on October 1.
