Our Staff
Stella Boswell
Senior Career Counselor and Public Interest Advisor
Stella works with students and alumni. Having received her undergraduate degree from Duke University, Stella earned her law degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. After law school, Stella was in a litigation practice in Durham. She then served as the Legal Affairs Counsel for the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers where she ran the amicus curiae program and worked as a lobbyist. She is a long-time board member and Past President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys.
Kelly Briggs
Financial & Information Specialist
Kelly is responsible for maintaining Career Center financial records. In addition, she tracks various information critical to the Career Center's success. She also assists the recruiting director with various Duke Law School recruiting programs, such as Spring and Fall OCI. Kelly attended Vanderbilt University and William Smith College. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics. She moved here from Upstate New York with her husband and son in 2006.
Cassandra Creekman
Career Counselor
Cassy works with students and alumni, especially those interested in private practice and/or transactional work. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Economics and Comparative Area Studies from Duke, Cassy attended law school at NYU and began her career practicing international commercial arbitration and cross-border M&A in New York with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Cassy then returned to the Triangle area and joined the corporate practice of Wyrick Robbins Yates and Ponton LLP, where her practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and general business representation of entrepreneurs.
Gail Cutter
Director of Employer Relations
A graduate of Barnard College and Columbia Law School, Gail began her career at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York as a corporate real estate associate, where she was extensively involved in associate development and recruiting. After five years in practice, Gail made the transition to career counseling as the Senior Assistant Dean for Career Services at Hofstra Law School. She subsequently joined NYU Law School, where she served for nine years as the Director of Career Counseling and Placement. Moving to law firm administration, Gail took on the newly-created role of Chief Officer of Associate Development and Recruiting at Dechert, a major international law firm. Immediately prior to joining Duke, Gail worked for five years in legal recruiting in New York, placing attorneys in law firms throughout the U.S. Gail has written and spoken widely on recruiting, career development and the legal profession.
Alan Dickinson
Director of J.D. Advising & Professional Development
A graduate of Wake Forest University and Duke University School of Law, Alan began his legal career serving as a law clerk to The Honorable Susan Harrell-Black on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Following his clerkship, Alan joined the litigation department of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. in Charlotte, North Carolina, focusing primarily on business and labor disputes, and later associated with Comerford & Britt, LLP, one of the region's preeminent plaintiff's firms. Immediately prior to returning to Duke, Alan served as in-house counsel to the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, currently the 94th largest school district in the nation.
Bruce A. Elvin
Associate Dean and Director
A graduate of Stanford University and Duke Law School, Bruce worked for the two years following graduation at the University of Munich, Germany where he also earned a Magister (Masters) in German Law. Upon returning to the United States, he practiced law for two major international firms in New York, Baker & McKenzie and later White & Case. Subsequently, he took on business roles at two high-tech firms. Immediately prior to coming to Duke, Bruce did consulting and recruiting for large law firms and corporate legal departments with Heidrick & Struggles in New York City. While working in New York, Bruce created and taught a course certified by the State for CLE credit on “The Business of Law and Developing Relationships” for law firm associates. Bruce currently co-teaches the “Business & Economics of Law Firm Practice” for 2Ls and 3Ls in the law school.
Oleg Kobelev
Director of International Career Development and Special Projects
Oleg is responsible for advising students on international career opportunities in the U.S. and abroad. Oleg joins Duke Law from the National Association of Attorneys General, where he served as tobacco counsel, supporting 52 attorneys general in enforcement and implementation of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which ended states’ Medicaid litigation against tobacco companies and governs annual multi-billion dollar payments from tobacco companies to cover states’ costs in caring for people with smoking-related illnesses. He also has served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and as an associate with Sidley Austin in New York. Oleg is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he was editor in chief of the Journal of Law and Technology.
Emily Sharples
Career Center Coordinator
Emily came to the Career Center in July, 2010 after receiving her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from NC State in May 2010. She received her B.A. in History from UNC-Asheville in 2006, and spent time in England and Colorado before heading back to graduate school. Emily works with all aspects of the Career Center, including counselors, students, staff and faculty, and she is responsible for maintenance of the day-to-day activities. She and her dog, Piper, live in Cary.
