Career Strategy

Biography - Elaine Petrossian

Elaine joined Villanova in August 2000, after 6 years in private practice as a commercial litigator at major firms in Philadelphia. After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1994, she joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, where she had been a summer associate. In February 1998, Elaine joined the Philadelphia office of Reed Smith Shaw & McClay LLP.

At Morgan and Reed, Elaine was active in attorney recruiting, hiring, training, and mentoring. While maintaining a practice focused primarily on financial services, intellectual property, and health care, she managed summer associate programs, served on the firm hiring committee, and chaired a mentoring program for new associates.

Elaine remains active in the Philadelphia Bar Association. During the Year 2000, Elaine served as a member of the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention and Co-Chaired the Women’s Rights Committee. She also was a member of the Executive Committee of the Bar Association’s Public Interest Law Section. Most recently, Elaine has Co-Chaired the Law School Outreach Committee of the Public Interest Section.

Elaine is admitted to the Supreme Courts of the United States of America, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. She is also admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

At UVA Law, Elaine was a Quarterfinalist in the William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition and a Director of Student Funded Fellowships, a student-run foundation that raised funds and awarded grants to meritorious students pursuing careers in public service. Elaine also helped form a Student Placement Committee, which worked with Career Services to plan programs, panels, resume critiques, and mock interviews. While an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, Elaine was a group leader, trainer, and volunteer for Open House Hotline, a crisis intervention hotline serving the University and Charlottesville-Albemarle community.

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