Upper School Students Learn from Alumnae in the Law

On February 27, Upper School students had the opportunity to chat with distinguished alumnae who have built successful careers in the law. 

Courtney Cannon ’06, Allison (Fitzpatrick) Weir ’91, Amy (Todd) Klug ’98 P ’29, Beth Oliva ’97, and Jachele Vélez ’07 talked about their experiences, offering students a unique perspective on professions spanning corporate, entertainment, sports, media, and regulatory law. 

In an intimate round-table setting, Deysi Rodriguez-Valdiviezo ’25 and Jacquelyn Reig ’26 moderated the conversation, posing questions that had been collected ahead of time.

Asked about her inspiration to pursue a legal career, Allison — who is a partner at her firm, specializing in the digital media space — said she became interested in law at Kent Place, in history class with Mrs. Jacobus.

Asked about the advice the group would give to aspiring young lawyers, Beth, also a law firm partner, said, “Take advantage of ‘Kent Place for Life.’ Find the connections who are doing what you think you want to do and pick their brain. And don’t be afraid of left-hand turns during your professional journey.”

Students gained insight into the legal world, guided by the experiences of those who once walked the same halls. Read more about the featured alumnae below.

Courtney Cannon ’06: Senior Counsel, Legal Affairs, NBCUniversal Entertainment
Courtney is senior counsel, legal affairs, for the NBCUniversal Entertainment group. She provides legal counsel for Bravo, E!, NBC, Peacock, Syfy, and USA development, production, and marketing teams in connection with docu/occu-series, reality, competition programming, and events. She advises and coordinates with all internal divisions (creative, business affairs, labor, finance, ad sales, marketing, publicity, and network operations) to provide risk analysis and solution-oriented guidance throughout television series production cycles. Prior to NBCUniversal, she worked in business and legal affairs at FilmNation Entertainment; public finance at McManimon, Scotland, and Baumann; and higher education at Stevens Institute of Technology. Courtney earned a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from New York University.

Allison (Fitzpatrick) Weir ’91: Partner, Davis+Gilbert LLP
An established thought leader in the digital media space, Allison brings to her clients a thorough understanding of the power of social media, influencer marketing, native advertising, and other forms of emerging media. She has witnessed the explosive growth of influencer marketing on social media and as popular bloggers transformed themselves into social media influencers — with marketers signing them to lucrative contracts — she was instrumental in shaping those contracts and developing her clients’ social media policies. Whether dealing with “micro” influencers in niche categories or with major celebrities representing national brands, she helps clients navigate the rapidly evolving social media landscape.

Children’s marketers — as well as operators of child-targeted apps and websites — look to Allison for guidance in their online marketing efforts. Knowing the unique power digital media has over children, she routinely reviews websites, apps, privacy policies, and marketing campaigns to ensure compliance with the Children’s Advertising Review Unit’s Self-Regulatory Guidelines, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and other laws.

Having worked on some of the industry’s most successful promotions, Allison bore witness to digital media’s dramatic transformation of the promotions industry, as she helped her clients transition from their traditional reliance on print and direct mail promotions to the social media world, where she advises clients on their sweepstakes, contests, free offers, loyalty rewards programs, and other promotions.

Even as she keeps a close eye on emerging media platforms, she knows how to adapt the traditional principles of truthfulness in advertising to all aspects of her practice, whether advising clients on endorsements and testimonials, price advertising, claim substantiation, negative option marketing, or any other legal issue where those principles apply.

Allison received her BA cum laude from Georgetown University and her JD from Fordham University School of Law.

Amy (Todd) Klug ’98 P ’29: General Counsel and Secretary, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
Amy is the general counsel and secretary and head of legal and corporate affairs at Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. DSI, headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group and focuses on the development and delivery of oncology and specialty medicines. Amy joined DSI in 2016 and held several roles of increasing responsibility in the legal and corporate affairs organization, most recently leading all U.S. litigation, legal operations, and legal support for the corporate functions of DSI. Before joining DSI, she worked as a consultant attorney engaged at DSI through Axiom Law, as well as a litigation associate in private practice at McCarter & English, LLP and Connell Foley, LLP. She holds a BA from Georgetown University and a JD from Emory University School of Law.

Beth Oliva ’97: Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
Beth handles a wide range of regulatory issues before federal and state agencies, among them the Food and Drug Administration. She frequently counsels tobacco industry clients regarding FDA compliance and premarket review requirements. She also has extensive experience with state and federal government affairs and with scientific issues, and has worked with scientific and medical personnel in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. She identifies and reviews relevant literature within different fields of medicine and science to advise product manufacturers on regulatory and duty-of-care issues. Beth has also worked with scientific consultants, expert witnesses, and scientific literature both to support regulatory submissions and to prepare defenses in domestic and international product liability litigation.

In addition to her client work, Beth runs the litigation department of the New York Fox Rothschild office and serves on the Partnership Advancement Committee and the Women's Initiative Steering Committee. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Food and Drug Law Institute, a nonprofit membership organization that provides education to more than 30,000 stakeholders, including manufacturers, distributors, consultants, academics, lawyers, government employees, nonprofits, and students. She is also a member of Chief, a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and then keep them there.

Beth is both a founding member and on the Board of Directors of OWNiT (Organization of Women in Nicotine and Tobacco), which empowers and fosters the advancement of women in the nicotine and tobacco space.

Pro bono, Beth has taken on matters for Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), providing free representation to immigrant and refugee children facing deportation proceedings. She has achieved state letters of guardianship and had a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Application approved on behalf of a client. She is currently working with the Last Prisoner Project to secure early termination of supervision for first-time marijuana offenders.

Beth graduated from Johns Hopkins University and earned her JD from the Tulane University School of Law. She is the President of the Kent Place Alumnae Association.

Jachele Vélez ’07: Deputy General Counsel, WNBA
Jachele is as the #2 lawyer for the Women’s National Basketball Association, working to grow women’s basketball every day. She, along with the general counsel, is responsible for the W’s legal affairs, including board of governors and ownership matters, investigations, legal issues arising from the league’s various commercial relationships, player matters, and team and arena issues. As of this year, she was tasked with leading the league’s expansion effort, adding the W’s first international team, in Toronto, this past May; and Portland, in September. She is working with the W’s Expansion Committee to bring in team #16 by 2028. Bargaining and governance for the NBA’s G League is also in her portfolio.

Before joining the NBA, Jachele was a senior associate at Covington and Burling, LLP, in Washington, D.C., where she maintained a sports and antitrust practice, working primarily with sports, technology, and media clients. She is a dean’s list graduate of Columbia University, completed her master’s in sports industry management at Georgetown University, and graduated from Columbia Law School, where she was a named Scholar all three years. 

After splitting her time between D.C. and the tri-state area for the past 12 years, Jachele is happy to be living back in New York City. She is a classically trained pianist and a plant mom, and is attempting to dine at as many of the World’s Top 50 Restaurants as she can.