Jonathan S. Beane '98

Segment Synopsis: His parents raised him in North Carolina shortly after he was born in Rochester. His mother was an educator, and it provided him with an insight of teaching. Also there, he was focused on sports and fishing, and attended Dartmouth College. He didn't know lawyers growing up, but media inspired him and sparked an interest. After graduating college with a major degree in American history, he wanted to find experience serving. He worked for the Center for Peace Education for about a year and a half in Carboro, NC. After he traveled through China and worked with a nonprofit for six months. He loved the time spent there and he felt he needed it to gain background. Some schools didn't care for his experience there, but Buffalo did. He would have never gone to Buffalo if it wasn't for the MBA school. It taught him how to negotiate with people and learn certain intangible skills. He got into the MBA program, and waitlisted for the law school. He committed to George Washington, and a week before classes began, the UB business school called him and offered him a scholarship with M&T Bank. He ended up getting into the law school and he committed to Buffalo.

Keywords: Academic vs. Career Success; Career / Early; Choice of Law; Choosing UB Law School; City of Buffalo; Dartmouth; Family; MBA; Public Education Law; Relationship with UB Law; UB Law School general; UB Preparation

Subjects: EDUCATION; FAMILY HISTORY; LAW; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Segment Synopsis: Even though he went to a great undergraduate school, he felt as if he didn't know how to study well; Shawn Hopkins taught him how to. He felt no competition, just support when he went to UB. He lived off-campus, but was still always on campus. He had a lot of reading and material to analyze and comprehend. This taught him how to think differently and adapt to difficult perspectives (ex: thinking like a lawyer, thinking like a civilian). Professor Mangold was his favorite there; she was assessable, a great listener and very influential in his journey. He also really liked Professor Macau, who was very supportive. I feels that he owes UB a lot because the university has provided him with so much.

Keywords: Choosing UB Law School; Graduate / Professional Training; Law Professor; Law School History; Legal Community; Legal Education; Undergraduate Education; Value of Education

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; EDUCATION

Segment Synopsis: He worked in a large firm in Buffalo during his second year summer. He liked the work, but he had a challenging relationship with one of the partners. Fortunately, it didn't hamper his later opportunities. He applied for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and got the position. After, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for about four years in their international tax and mergers acquisitions Department. He receiving great training and mentoring, however, he did not like the work. At that point, he was looking for other work and got a huge break. The company Johnson Controls saw his resume and offered him the head of strategy for their automotive group position.
He always felt that Buffalo was less focused on grades, and more focused on developing individuals. He didn't feel intimidated because he was trained to practice law in unique ways. He was able to leverage his MBA and transition into the business world.

Keywords: Choice of Law; Graduate / Professional Training; Relationship with UB Law; Specialized Training

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; LAW; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Segment Synopsis: He started his career as a ta attorney and now he is a diversity practitioner. After work with PwC and Johnson Controls, he took the role of director of continuous improvement for seeded plants. He built things, found ways for efficiency, and worked with plants. Currently, he works with Time Warner and is responsible for diversity, inclusion, and corporate responsibility in NYC.

Keywords: Academic vs. Career Success; Career / Professional Experience; Choice of Law; Ethnicity / Diversity

Subjects: CAREER: LEGAL; LAW; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE; TEACHING

Segment Synopsis: Him and his wife met at UB, and are still heavily involved. They support the school financially and feel a huge commitment to giving back.

Keywords: Law School History; Laws; Relationship with UB Law; UB

Subjects: FAMILY HISTORY; LAWS; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE