My co-convenor and I were talking at the clinic yesterday about various things, but mostly her forray into OCI and our mutual realizations that we were not the kind of people who wanted the jobs we were being pushed to covet. That we didn't want to be firm-drones or law clerks. That we didn't want the benefits that come with having law review firmly placed on our resumes. I love that moment of realization when I really let go and realized I don't have to go that route, as enticing as the money seems. But more practically, that's what I don't want: how's about some positivity?
What personal professional strengths do I most value?
1. My ability to listen deeply, read between lines, read emotional cues, and respond empathically without becoming consumed in my interlocutor's position.
2. My ability to juggle multiple points of view and arguments simultaneously.
3. My ability to communicate complicated ideas in simple, understandable forms.
4. My organizational skills in crafting novel arguments from existing precedent and ability to approach problems from different out-of-the-box angles.
5. My tendency to make multiple connections between subjects, to research them efficiently and to compile powerful mental databases.
6. My ability to de-escalate heated emotional situations, ask challenging questions without appearing confrontational, reframing past wrongs into future goals, and help people figure out their own options and best goals.
What weaknesses most present challenges to my success?
1. My impatience with networking and self-promotion.
2. My tendency to overlook the smaller details (typos!!)
3. My hesitancy to seek help from or offer valuable input to superiors (until I am comfortable with them, which can take a while).
4. Procrastination when it comes to projects requiring some of these things.
What moments from practical work experiences have been the most rewarding:
1. Concluding my first mediation, watching the parties walk out of the room laughing and joking. Feeling that we had created something amazing together.
2. Composing a memo that explained very clearly that our organization was not subject to certain very expensive limitations that we at first appeared to be, something that required a lot of practical fact-specific inquiry and some complicated legal analyses. It was not only fun, but the vice president of the organization sent my memo out to everyone and thanked me for my excellent work. Catching a violation of due process regulations in a procedural manual that was promptly fixed.
3. Ok, I'll admit it - filing all of the papers into order with stickers and everything so that for one beautiful day, *everything* was put away.
4. Revising two extensive educational CLE plans for subjects I was not familiar with into - in my opinion - fantastic presentations.
5. That turning point moment in my longest and hardest mediation, in which two parties that even our supervisor swore would never settle and recommended that we simply send home found a space for agreement and walked out of the room two hours later with a signed document.
6. My research project re: adoption law into new areas that really question what defines a family, a parent, a child, etc. and cataloguing the myriad ways in which these are changing, even as I was doing the research. Particularly, outlining briefs for the chapter involving the defense of marriage act and surrogacy contracts.
What do I want most from a career:
1. Financial security, decent health insurance, etc.
2. An opportunity to build experience and potentially segue into ADR either via simultaneous volunteering or collaborative law.
3. An opportunity to help people.
4. Work that challenges and hones my abilities.
5. Work-life balance and flexibility.
What features contribute to my ideal work environment:
1. A chance to work independently, but sufficient support and oversight to ensure that I am developing my skills and serving my clients.
2. Room to make mistakes and learn from them.
3. A manageable and consistent staff of coworkers with whom I am comfortable, and an office community that does not revolve around heavy drinking or high competition.
4. Hey we said "ideal" - a window in my office with a nice view.
5. Proximity to good eating, excercise, walking areas, and stores.
6. Ideally, a commute that does not require (too much) driving.
What do I most value in my life outside my career
1. Family - granted I'm not close to my extended family, but my immediate family is incredibly important to me and I would like the opportunity to build my own family in the coming years.
2. Friends and Community - I take a very long time to make friends, but the ones I keep are the most amazing, brilliant and hilarious people and they make my life fantastic.
3. Personal alone-time to rejuvenate - introvert (need I say more).
4. Time spent moving/dancing/experiencing physicality with other people.
5. Eventually resources and time to travel - to visit my friends and to experience adventures
6. Time and resources to go to the ballet, the opera, museums etc. from time to time
7. So really: Weekends!
What do I want from the place I live:
1. Friends, family, etc. up above
2. Mountains, ocean, fresh air, and greenspace.
3. Good grocery stores
4. Preferrably, a Fred Meyers and a Target, while we're at it.
5. Safe and quiet streets after sundown, but some approximation of a mild nightlife.
6. Mountains, ocean, fresh air, and greenspace.
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