This essay by Amanda Sonis Glynn was first published in Lauren Stiller Rikleen's Success Strategies for Women Lawyers (Ark Group, 2010, page 82); subsequently, that book was updated and published as Ladder Down – Success Strategies For Lawyers From Women Who Will Be Hiring, Reviewing And Promoting You (Thomson Reuters, 2016, page 143). Excerpt presented here with permission.
By Amanda Sonis Glynn
High school to college. College to law school. 1L to summer associate. 3L to first-year associate. Associate to partner. The path is clear, straightforward, and, while not always easy, predetermined in a comforting, I-know-what-I’m-supposed-to-do-next kind of way, isn’t it? Maybe not – and maybe it shouldn’t be.
When I made the transition from legal practice to higher education in August of 2005, I did not anticipate that within the first week of work, a young woman would find her way to my office, sit down across from me, and promptly burst into tears. Having come from the world of legal services work, I was not unfamiliar with the situation at hand; people – often facing dire and extremely stressful circumstances – cried in my office on a regular basis. My mind started to race, considering the various concerns that could be facing the young woman sitting across from me. ‘I’m going to be a senior,’ she said, taking off her glasses and wiping away her tears, ‘and I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.’
Upon hearing her words, I immediately relaxed. No one was going to be deported, no one was going to go hungry, and no one was going to be homeless based upon her revelation. Instead, a 21-year-old woman, a woman who seemingly had every opportunity available to her, was not confident that the next 50 years of her life had been planned appropriately.
It’s easy at first to chuckle at this story, to imagine an overachieving young woman placing too much pressure on herself and her future career. But, after a minute, is it possible that the position this woman finds herself in, one in which she second guesses her decisions and is anxious about the unknown, is one that we have all experienced?
When I was in law school (and for years before it) I knew that I wanted to do work relating to social justice, to child advocacy and to the public interest. An internship with the Medical-Legal Partnership while in law school (then called the Family Advocacy Program) at Boston Medical Center confirmed those passions, and I could not have been happier about receiving a Skadden Fellowship to work with the Medical-Legal Partnership after law school. The fellowship quite literally gave me the opportunity to develop my dream job description, to work with my supervisors to devise and implement a project that would allow me to meet legal needs within the community while also learning a tremendous amount. Bringing a legal clinic to the Adolescent Center allowed me not only to practice law but also to work with a population – adolescents – that was of particular interest to me.
While working at the Medical-Legal Partnership, I, like other attorneys in the program, supervised student interns and spoke on university campuses about our work; in addition, I served as a liaison to a college student volunteer program based at the hospital. I began to request the opportunity to supervise additional interns and to visit college campuses more frequently. None of this was planned; it wasn’t strategic. Over time, however, I started to realize that the moments during my day when I felt most relaxed, most enthusiastic and most competent were not the moments when I was doing the legal work itself; instead, those moments came when I was advising and supporting student interns and volunteers.
How was this possible? Over the years, my parents had suggested that they could see me pursuing a profession in which I worked with college students – and over the years I dismissed them, sure that working with college students wasn’t the right fit for me. I still cared deeply about the mission and work of the Medical-Legal Partnership. I still believed that the law was an incredible tool that could be used to make a difference in individuals’ lives while also making systemic change. My belief in justice remained unchanged. But my understanding of how I fit in, how I could make the biggest impact, and how I could best use my passion, education and skills evolved. I realized that I wanted to be in a position where I could support young people who shared my passions and could advise them as they pursued careers and volunteer experiences in the public interest.
Working as a Skadden Fellow and Staff Attorney with the Medical-Legal Partnership was transformative for me, both professionally and personally. I remain deeply committed to the mission of the Medical-Legal Partnership, and I don’t believe that I would be on my current path had I not had that experience. Moving to something unexpected – and coming to the realization that I wanted to do something unexpected – was risky, but I don’t doubt for a minute that I use my legal degree and training every day. I’m grateful to be a lawyer, even if I might not be on the path I planned.
Pursuing a legal career is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. High expectations about each step in the process can leave little time for reflection. The time and energy needed to be a successful attorney can, at times, hinder your ability to step back and ask difficult questions: am I moving toward the next step because I truly want it, or because it is expected of me?
This is all easy to say, easy to write – but it’s not always easy to do. What can help you in your thinking about your legal career and what you want it to be?
Find a mentor
A good mentor – a real mentor – will give you the space you need to consider possibilities, even if they are unexpected. Finding a mentor who has experience in an area in which you are interested and who can guide you on your path is important, but it’s also important to find a mentor (even if it’s not the same person) who asks questions, listens, and doesn’t judge.
Talk to peers you can trust
Having others to talk to about both the exciting and challenging aspects of your career is critical. Hearing that others also wonder about what their lives as attorneys will look like can validate your feelings and can provide you with an outlet to get outside of your own head. If nothing else, it’s cathartic.
Network
You may not even know what opportunities exist both within and outside your firm if you don’t talk to and stay in touch with a broad network. Find time away from your desk to share ideas with others, join professional or alumni/ae groups, sit on a nonprofit board and utilize social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to stay in touch with people across disciplines.
Take pride in your work
I know I’ve written about carving time away from the office, but it’s also important to do your job well. Building a solid reputation for yourself as someone who works hard, collaborates well, and cares about her work will translate to whatever is next and is critical in ensuring that others think of you when opportunities arise.
Explore
Spend time learning about areas of the law that you haven’t yet explored. Take on a pro bono case, attend legal workshops, or read journals about areas unrelated to your current work. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know.
Be open
It wasn’t until I was practicing law that I discovered that I had a passion for higher education. Don’t be afraid to step off your path. As I said to that young woman who came to meet with me in August 2005, life would be terribly boring if at 80 years old we looked back and said, “Yup – everything went exactly as I planned.”
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