Advice to Young Lawyers

Adviceto Young Lawyers

Our legal mavericks featured throughout this magazine share advice that they either found beneficial as a young lawyer or wish they had known back then.

BLAKE BILSTAD Never be too proud to take on any project that comes your way. Every project is a learning opportunity, so make sure you are devouring everything because everything you learn is another tool in your toolbox. Trust is the most important trait that you can establish with your clients. I do that by trying to be the most approachable attorney possible. People want someone who they feel they can approach with anything—even their secrets. So I do a lot of little things to make sure my colleagues and clients know me as a person and I know them as people. You have to remove all the pretension and all of the things that turn people off of attorneys, and build the walls of trust and connections so that you can be effective.

DAVID DJAHA I got this advice on my first day of work: Make yourself indispensable. If your job is to lay the folders out on the closing table, make sure there is not another person at this firm who could lay the folders out for that closing better than you. Whatever your job is, you have to be indispensable.

AMBER HAREZLAK Find mentors and advocates early and often because no matter what you decide to do, it’s just absolutely critical that you have those people on your side. If you want to go inhouse or follow a different career path, it’s important to have people who can help you think those things through and understand the implications. I think that’s really key. Be reliable and always come with your best effort. It’s hard to get people to want to work with you or be on your side if you’re not reliable. And as a young associate, you don’t know a lot, so it’s even more important to show that you’re really doing the best you can with every single task that you’re given.

GLENN MCKEOWN As a lawyer you should never forgo an opportunity to expand your base of knowledge and have new experiences. If you have a chance to delve into a new area of law, don’t ever view it as an impediment to the advancement of your career. Relish the opportunity. You never know whether it will be something that furthers your personal as well as professional development and expands your job prospects in the future. Also, don’t be afraid to consider opportunities that differ from the paths taken by your peers. Make an honest assessment of your interests and goals and remain true to them. There are lots of really interesting opportunities out there. Don’t close yourself off from them.

TAKAMIKI NISHIKAWA Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Except a few items, such as dates, identities and money, there are hardly any items in a contract that cannot be corrected at a later date, so it is not worthwhile to worry too much about the details.

CHRIS PARSONS Assess fairly early on what you are doing and whether this is definitely what you want. Do what you are passionate about. I think too many of us fall into a career because it’s the thing our parents point us toward or we thought it would be impressive. We’re all living older and can carry on working for longer, so reflect at a stage where you have a good sense of the role and decide if it’s actually the right thing for you to be doing. Step back and decide what you are really passionate about.

KIM UPSHAW Learn and absorb as much as you can—even the stuff that feels like totally useless information. You never know what you are going to need in the future. When I was a claims adjuster, I worked on claims for a tour line that we insured. While adjusting a vehicle accident involving the tour line, I had to learn how to rebuild cars. Years later, when I was working on a case, the gentlemen in the room were talking about building cars. When I started chiming in, they heard me as an equal in the room and that helped build our relationships. Therefore, I’d advise any young lawyer to take those jobs where the skills do not feel like they are ones you want to have. You never know how it’s going to work out in your career.

BOB WEBBER Everybody wants something different out of their career. You have to figure out what you want and then pursue it actively. Be proactive. If you are not sure what you want early in your career, just work hard and pay off all your debts because then you will have the flexibility to figure it out.