After working as a legal extern with ASICS this summer, Stephanie Nelson (JD ’18) had an epiphany about her future: she is heading in-house.

“I always suspected that I wanted to be an in-house transactional attorney and this externship solidified it for me,” she said.

The variety of work that an in-house position offers was a major influence in her decision to pursue the opportunity in the first place.

“The great thing about externing in-house is the wide variety of interesting projects,” she said. “At ASICS, I handled anything from athlete agreements, researching data privacy law, analyzing clothing composition regulations, and working with any trademark issues,” she added.

Nelson located the externship opportunity after meeting with one of Fowler School of Law’s recruiting specialists in the Career Services Office.

“Law Recruiting Program Manager Michelle Nguyen called me, knowing that I was still looking for work, and told me about the position,” Nelson said. “She recommended that I apply right away,  and I followed her advice. I was quickly invited to sit for an interview.”

“This externship significantly increased my legal research skills. My supervisor taught me so many lessons — and not all just about the law. She showed me what it is like to be an in-house attorney and what the role requires on a daily basis.”

Her experience with ASICS was her first time working in transactional law in an in-house position. Nelson noted that two Chapman courses were extremely beneficial to her summer work: Entertainment Industry Contracts and the Entertainment Law Clinic.

“Both taught me vital information for this externship that I used almost every day,” she said.

Nelson appreciated the opportunity to work in a legal capacity in such a unique company culture.

“I knew about ASICS because my parents and I have worn their running shoes; but after researching the company in preparation for my interview, I learned a lot about their philosophy and Japanese heritage,” she said. “’Sound Mind in a Sound Body’ is the company motto, and it is very apparent working at ASICS that the company cares about their employees and customers. It has been one of the greatest places I have ever worked.”