August 2002

For Karmela Malone, law school was a homecoming. A graduate of Miami Norland High School, Karmela moved to New York to attend Long Island University on a track scholarship. She started college as a communications major and graduated with a degree in political science. Like many political science majors, law school was the natural next step and Karmela wasted no time taking that step. In May of 1989, she was awarded her BA degree Cum Laude and three months later she reported to orientation at UM Law.

Fast forward thirteen years to the spring of 2002 and Karmela was back in Miami, this time as a polished attorney and alumna of UM Law. She wasn't in town on business, but rather for a long overdue vacation. She stayed out on the beach with an old friend and former classmate from law school. "My fondest memories of law school are of the friends I made. Law school is like boot camp. It is difficult and at times it can get discouraging, but there are 350 other students in that first year class with you and everyone is struggling and suffering together. Under those circumstances you make some strong and lasting friendships."

During her third year of law school, Karmela saw some flyers around the law school from the Black Law Students Association and the Career Planning Center promoting a legal career fair in Atlanta. Karmela applied for some of the positions and then headed up to Atlanta to interview at the fair. In retrospect, it was one of the best trips she ever made. She landed a job that brought her back to New York to work for the Office of the District Attorney in the Bronx.

In 1996, after three years of successfully trying cases as the Assistant District Attorney, Karmela made a career move into insurance defense with the Hartford Insurance Group and she's been there ever since. A couple of years ago, her experience and success in the courtroom earned her a promotion into her current position as Managing Attorney of Hartford Insurance's central New Jersey law office.

Karmela encourages current law students to get experience in as many different areas as possible and to do an internship at a firm that allows its interns to try cases. "Florida has a great policy that allows interning law students to handle their own cases. I never considered practicing criminal law until I interned in the Public Defendants Office during my third year of law school and I discovered that I loved it!"

As her career continues its ascent, Karmela hasn't forgotten where it all began. "UM Law does a great job of creating an atmosphere for the students by offering them so much more beyond the law classes and the case books and that's what makes the school unique. The longer I am out of school, the more I appreciate the education that I received in law school. Although my career track is taking me away from the actual practice of law and more into management, I have gotten a lot of mileage out of my law degree."