Before I practiced law, I taught at a university—I have a masters degree in saxophone performance. After a few years, I had a decision to make: did I want to get my doctorate or did I want a career pivot? Reflecting on what I liked about teaching, I realized that I like problem solving. I like identifying challenges, breaking them down to their component parts, and piecing them back together again as a form of sense-making. This process is very similar to law school and to practicing law. I decided to take the LSAT.
Michigan Law provided me with an exceptional education, but most importantly: the network is vast and the goodness of the people in it is real. The best piece of advice I received from the Career Planning Office was to talk to Michigan Law alums. The vast majority of the people that graduated from the law school are just good people who are happy to help.
Now that my law career is underway, I’m very fortunate to be at a firm that values pro bono work. Investing in the public good is an important part of my practice and it helps me strengthen my skills. To be successful in my career, I need to acquire and digest new information quickly. This really motivates me—it’s probably my favorite part of the job.
