ANASTASIA HUVELLE
Recruiting & Professional Personnel Manager
Kelley Drye & Warren
This month WALRAA is proud to feature Anastasia Huvelle. Anastasia started her career in human resources in Chicago before taking on roles that combined recruiting and HR at law firms in Washington, DC. She has been a member of WALRAA since 2017 and credits the association for the opportunities it has provided both for her and her firm. Find out why the French-Algerian war is important to her, what motivates her, and more in her own words below.
1. How long have you been a member of WALRAA? What has been your favorite experience so far?
I have been a member of WALRAA for about three years. I have found the monthly lunches to be great networking opportunities and the programming at the Education Conference in March was fantastic.
2. How has WALRAA helped you in your field?
WALRAA has given me the opportunity to connect with law firm counterparts and professionals in career services. The support and guidance from the WALRAA community has been an asset to my professional life. A connection I made at a WALRAA lunch last year led to the hiring of a fantastic summer associate that will be joining the firm after graduation.
3. How did you first learn about and get started in Attorney Recruiting/Career Services?
In 2013, I started working in HR at Dentons Chicago. I loved the law firm environment, and I thought legal recruiting would be challenging and a lot of fun. My fiancé (now husband) and I moved back to the East Coast and I subsequently took on positions at MoloLamken and Kelley Drye that combined HR and Legal Recruiting. I get the best of both worlds!
4. What is your favorite moment of your career so far?
I am incredibly proud of the Summer Program the Kelley Drye Recruiting/Professional Development team developed and executed this past July. It was probably the biggest challenge of my career as we wanted to maintain the connections and relationships developed during an in-person program and translate them virtually.
5. What is it that challenges you most in your job?
In 2020, the biggest challenge has been developing ways to connect with new/summer associates in a virtual environment. I look forward to some good old-fashioned social events one day.
6. How do you balance your career and personal life?
I have never understood this question - I don't think there is such a thing as balance. My career and personal life constantly overlap - an ebb and flow. Sometimes my children play work, and I overhear them pretending to call my colleagues or partners. I hope that I set a positive example for them with my career.
7. What professional goals have you set for yourself this year?
I am proud to work for a firm that supports a wide-range of D&I initiatives. As a recruiter, it is my job and pleasure to continue to hire people from diverse backgrounds and support them in their law firm careers.
8. What is the best professional advice you have received?
You can have it all, but you can't have it all at once.
9. What do you like to do for fun?
My husband and I have two children, Charlie (4) and Lily (2). On the weekends, we like to spend as much time outdoors as possible.
10. Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know?
In a previous life, I wanted to be a History Professor and wrote my master's thesis on the cultural impact of the French-Algerian war on the metropole.
