CBA Record March-April 2023

YOUNG LAWYERS SECTION: ADVICE FOR YOUNG LAWYERS

because they would not be graded on accuracy. We are not born knowing laws of exponents, but some students have dif ficulty grasping their potential to learn a new concept if they do not pick it up immediately. The same can be said, pos sibly even more, about attorneys. We have made it through years of higher education and a grueling bar exam only to make a mistake in Year One that triggers feelings of imposter syndrome. Mistakes often teach us much more than success. Growth happens when we remember to keep early hiccups in perspective, take steps to pre vent reoccurrence, and lean on colleagues with similar experiences to adjust. Collaborate Planning group activities and projects gave students the opportunity to learn while developing social skills. Ideally, those activities would broaden a student’s understanding as they learn different ways to approach a problem from their peers. Our profession offers frequent oppor tunities for collaboration. Input from your colleagues and clients will influence the strategy with which you approach a matter, and often the collaboration nets positive results for everyone involved. Do not Reinvent the Wheel As any teacher will say, there is no shame in borrowing a veteran teacher’s lesson plans or units to use as a framework for your own plans. As a new attorney, I also relied on sample work product and templates either on my firm’s database or drafted by

my colleagues to compose new briefs and work product. Reinventing the wheel will only end in frustration for you and the client until you have the experience and confidence to make something your own down the line. Of course, always properly cite and attribute your sources according to the Rules of Professional Conduct to avoid the risk of plagiarism, but for struc turing a brief or finding caselaw to sup port an argument, existing work product typically provides useful models. Establish Expectations Conflicts in classrooms between students and teachers often arise from communica tion breakdowns. Specifically, the teacher’s failure to adequately convey their expecta tions for students (e.g., due dates, materi als, or behavior). When communicating with colleagues or clients, I always find it beneficial to remain in the conversation until we establish clear expectations. For example, knowing when and what format a partner would like your work product completed eliminates the potential for misunderstanding down the line. You may also find that different partners have different expectations and specifications for the work you complete. Tomorrow is a New Day Student behavior tends to be the most unpredictable variable of teaching. As a teacher, it was important to approach each day with a clean slate for all stu dents. Holding a grudge today because a student’s behavior presented a particular

challenge yesterday does little to promote improvement. Students and teachers have bad days. In the practice of law, while you should learn from your mistakes, it does not pay to obsess over a particular loss or misstep. Every day is a new opportunity to work for the present. Even under less favorable circumstances, you must main tain your client’s trust and respect by learning but also by moving on. Feedback is Your Friend Having the patience to accept that you can grow and improve requires an under standing that feedback from others with more experience or knowledge accelerates the process. Beyond the cold feedback inherent in issuing letter grades, when I was teaching, I often offered more forma tive suggestions to students throughout units to reinforce skills they had grasped and redirect those they had not. As a young attorney, you may have to ask for the feedback. You may find it in other ways – a finished brief compared to the draft you submitted to the partner, for example – but seek it out if necessary. The perspectives your colleagues offer is invaluable to professional growth early in your career.

John Anders represents K-12 school districts in all areas of education law as an associate at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP; he is also a licensed educator in Illinois.

The Young Lawyers Section’s Majestic Masquerade Social raised $25,000 for the CBA Lawyers in the Classroom Program. Pictured from Left: Tiffani Watson, M.Ed., Director of Education & Corporate Engagement of the Edward J. Lewis II Lawyers in the Classroom Program; YLS Public Service Manager Margaret Mendenhall Casey, City of Chicago Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability; and YLS Chair Daniel Berkowitz, Aronberg Goldgehn.

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