Introduction
Emory University School of Law is known for its deep commitment to student preparation and success. By combining structure, honesty, and personalized guidance, Emory equips students with the tools they need to navigate the legal recruiting landscape, often before they even realize what’s ahead.
When Natasha Patel, Assistant Dean for Career Development, introduced Flo Forward to the Class of 2028, her team saw an astonishing 78% of students opt to share their recruiting data with the school, well above the average. Amanda Bryant, Product Marketing Manager at Flo Recruit, sat down with Natasha to learn what made Emory’s rollout so successful and how they plan to use this data to enhance advising and outcomes.
Q: Emory’s Class of 2028 had an incredible adoption rate for Flo Forward—78% of students agreed to share their recruiting data. What made your rollout so successful?
Natasha: Timing and trust. As part of our 1L professional development course, we present a comprehensive overview of the legal recruiting landscape. In my first session, I explained what different career pathways look like and told them plainly, “If Big Law is what you want, you need to secure a summer associate position, and the process begins in December.” Then I give them clear action items, one of which is signing up for Flo Forward.
We keep it simple: five things to do that week. The clarity and timing, paired with the trust we build from day one, are what I believe led to our high opt-in rate.
Q: You mentioned the professional development course. Can you tell us more about that and how it supports Flo Forward adoption?
Natasha: It’s designed to help level the playing field for students, especially for those who are first in their families to attend law school. We cover everything from how to network to understanding the billable hour. By the time they meet with attorneys in the fall, they’re more confident and better prepared.
Flo Forward fits right into that structure. We use it to show students the pathways ahead and give them tools to start organizing their job search. And it works—we see the engagement numbers.
Q: How did you prepare students to engage with Flo Forward and share their data?
Natasha: We assign every student to a specific career advisor. That advisor stays with them through 1L and 2L years, helping them build a relationship and a foundation of trust. All of our advisors are former attorneys, so students feel confident in the guidance they’re receiving.
During orientation and the first week of class, we also introduce our background and show students how we’ll support them. We don’t pressure them into sharing their data, but I think the trust is there, and students understand the value of having us in their corner.
Q: Was your team already familiar with Flo Recruit before rolling out Flo Forward?
Natasha: Yes, our team has used Flo Recruit for years. We rotate monitoring the live dashboard during interviews, to monitoring events in real-time. If something seems off there’s an indicator letting us know we need to jump in, it’s a very intuitive system.
What sold everyone on Flo Forward was the accelerated timeline and the 1L job market, it’s tough, and this tool helps us and the students ditch the spreadsheets and get everything into one place. It just makes sense.
Q: Have you had a chance to dig into the data yet? If so, what stood out?
Natasha: Not yet, it’s still early in the cycle. So far, we’ve seen students signing up for events and firm mailing lists, which is helpful. But once applications start rolling in, we’ll be able to use the data much more strategically.
Q: When that happens, how do you plan to use the data?
Natasha: Our primary goal is to strengthen advising. If I see a student only applying to eight firms in D.C., I know we need to step in. That’s not enough for a competitive market. We’ll be able to use the data to coach students on application volume, timing, and firm fit.
It also helps identify when students are misaligned, for example, saying they want to do transactional work and applying to a litigation-only firm. We can have a conversation early and offer tailored guidance.
Most of our students already use our resume and cover letter templates, but eventually, we’d love to have visibility into more of their application materials to help them fine-tune their strategy.
Q: What advice would you give to other schools that want to achieve the same level of student engagement?
Natasha: Build trust early, and don’t pretend you have all the answers. Law students want structure, but they also want honesty. With the pace of change in recruiting, our job isn’t to guarantee outcomes. It’s to guide them through the uncertainty with the best tools and insights available.
Also, meet them where they are. Give them bite-sized, actionable takeaways, especially early in the semester when they’re overwhelmed. And create systems, like our professional development class, that make this work feel essential, not optional.
Conclusion
Natasha Patel and her team at Emory Law have created a model for success, grounded in structure, trust, and personalized support. Their high Flo Forward adoption rate is a direct result of early communication, clear expectations, and a deep investment in student development. As more data comes in, Emory is positioned to strengthen advising, enhance outcomes, and continue supporting students as they navigate today’s complex legal recruiting landscape.
Flo is proud to partner with Emory Law in this effort, working together to equip students with the tools, insights, and support they need to pursue meaningful legal careers. By combining Emory’s student-centered approach with Flo’s recruiting technology, we’re helping shape a smarter, more connected future for legal education.
Want to explore how Flo Forward can support your students and staff? Let’s Chat!