MORGANTOWN – The West Virginia University College of Law has appointed a new assistant dean to the West Virginia Continuing Legal Education program.
Amber Brugnoli will assume the assistant dean position in March when current Assistant Dean Jessica Justice Stolarik retires after 36 years with the university. Brugnoli is currently assistant dean for Career Services at the school and has been involved with the Veterans Advocacy Law Clinic and International Moot Court Team.
“I am excited to expand the programming and career development offerings I have been providing to students over the past few years to meet the needs of our practicing Bar,” Brugnoli told The West Virginia Record. “One thing I stress within the law school is that a legal career is a marathon, not a sprint, and you should be reflective and purposeful in your decision-making for both the short and long-term. This position will allow me to reach a greater audience within this message, as well as help attorneys with their day-to-day needs. It is a way to serve our bar and the state across more levels of experience and thus enhance the overall contribution of the legal community in West Virginia.”
The WVCLE program offers a variety of classes that are designed to educate lawyers through live courses, multimedia seminars and online credits. More than 2,200 lawyers from West Virginia and 20 other states participate in the WVCLE program that ensures attorneys get the continuing education requirements they need in West Virginia and other states.
Brugnoli will bring her experience from the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate Corps Reserve where she is a major and served a tour in Iraq from 2004 to 2008. She also has a master’s and an undergraduate degree from WVU and a master’s from Troy University in Alabama.
“I have been responsible for the training and education of others since college, when I was selected as the cadet commander of WVU’s Air Force ROTC program,” said Brugnoli. “Upon entering active duty, I immediately became responsible for the development of seven military personnel, all of whom had significantly more experience than I. I have learned over and over again throughout my career that you don’t have to know everything about everyone in order to be successful. What you do need to do is listen and be responsive to their needs. Styles may need to be adapted or approaches completely changed, depending on the situation. As we implement changes in the WVCLE program - in both course content and delivery format - I want to continue to listen to the needs of the Bar and our state to ensure we are doing things the right way. Change for the sake of change is not necessarily good, but changing for the purpose of meeting people where they live is.”
When Brugnoli starts her position as assistant dean of the WVCLE program, she hopes to expand its curriculum with new opportunities for the attorneys that are enrolled.
“We hope to expand an extremely strong curriculum by offering seminars and short courses that go beyond traditional legal education,” said Brugnoli. “We are exploring topics revolving around business development and planning, executive leadership education, generational issues within the workplace, and financial/investment planning for lawyers. We want to provide opportunities for lawyers to learn new information that will not only aid their practice, but also assist them in their daily lives.”
