Vanessa Johnson, J.D. ’06 |
Dec. 16, 2014 -- Vanessa Johnson takes education to a whole different level. She has earned three degrees, is working on two more, and will begin teaching legal studies at the University of Houston – Clear Lake School of Business this spring.
She is currently a candidate for LL.M. degrees in Tax and Health Law at the University of Houston Law Center, adding to her J.D., an M.B.A. from New York University - Stern School of Business, and a B.S. in management from Tulane University.
With a special interest in employee benefits and executive compensation, she will be teaching courses at UH-CL on Legal Environment of Business, Property Transactions, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and Legal Concepts for Business Professionals.
It won’t be her first stint in the classroom. “This semester, I served as adjunct faculty for the University of Houston - Downtown's School of Business, teaching a diversity management course,” Johnson said.
“I've spent most of my career as a human resources professional with various organizations,” she said, “but I practiced law as a staff attorney for Texas C-BAR for a couple of years after my graduation from the J.D. program at UHLC.” Texas C-Bar provides free legal assistance to Texas nonprofits working to improve the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods.
“Vanessa is a consummate professional who will command respect from her students and her career trajectory will go straight up,” said Paul Asofsky, director of the tax LL.M. program.
What does she plan to do with her wall full of degrees? “I hope to land a tenure-track position teaching law,” she said, “either at a business school or law school.”
