Syracuse University College of Law appoints Hughes as new head of career development

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse University College of Law announced it has hired Lily Yan Hughes, an experienced corporate executive, as its assistant dean for career development.

In this role, Hughes will lead the implementation of the college’s job placement and career-development strategy for law students, including expanding its national network of prospective placements and overseeing its externship program.

Hughes began in her position on Monday.

“I am thrilled that Lily has joined the College of Law to guide our students toward extraordinary legal careers,” Craig M. Boise, dean of the Syracuse College of Law, said in a release. “As a seasoned global C-Suite executive with a track record of successfully hiring and developing legal leaders for more than three decades, Lily will be a tremendous resource for our students and will raise the bar for our Office of Career Services. I am confident that her vast network of colleagues in the field and the College of Law’s own extraordinary alumni will prove a powerful combination for our students.”

Most recently, Hughes was senior VP, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary for Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW), a Fortune 500 company with nearly $30 billion in annual revenue. At Arrow, she was a member of the executive committee and led the company’s global legal, trade risk, and compliance teams.

From 2015-2019, Hughes was senior VP, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary of Public Storage (NYSE: PSA), a global self-storage company and member of the S&P 500 index. From 1997-2015, she served in roles of increasing responsibility, including her last role as VP and associate general counsel, corporate, M&A, and finance of Ingram Micro Inc., the world’s largest wholesale information technology and mobile-devices distributor.

Hughes received her law degree from the University of California (UC) Berkeley School of Law and also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley.

Virginia C. Robbins, an attorney at Syracuse–based Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, served as interim assistant dean of career services and helped the Syracuse College of Law with the search that led to the hiring of Hughes.