This week on the Law School Insider we had the opportunity to have on Valerie Newman who is an Assistant Defender with the State of Michigan's Appellate Defenders Office and Criminal Defense Resource Center and today she is talking to us about her journey and how you have to keep an open mind, be structured and believe in yourself to find success in your career.
She is known for her work as a criminal defense attorney but this was not always where she thought she would start when she started law school. When she started law school she first thought she wanted to go into Environmental Law. As she took classes in law school she figured out that she did not want to study statutes all day and instead was more of a people person.
In her second year in law school Valerie Newman went to New York City where she worked in the Legal Aid Division within the city and that was where she got the criminal law bug.
Valeria Newman mentioned that even though the people that she worked with were over worked and underpaid they were the most dedicated people she had ever worked with and this was truly inspiring to her.
Valerie Newman says that when you go to Law School you need to keep an open mind, shadow lawyers in different areas to see what they do and to get an idea of what to expect in the area. She also mentioned the importance of having an interest in learning something more daily as well as having civility in your dealings with others. As she said, you have to learn to disagree without being disagreeable.
By learning this you open yourself to building further relationships and you then must maintain these relationships as well as building boundaries for yourself along the way. As setting boundaries will help you find balance in life in a busy practice.
Valerie Newman also explained that in the field of law you have to move at a comfort level that is comfortable with you. She mentioned that others may thing you are doing too much but only you know you. You also have to take care of yourself to be any good to anyone else, For Valerie Newman she learned civil discourse by getting involved in issues she cared about and where she got connected to others that were passionate about the same things. As she stated "when you can sit down with people and hash out the differences together you can make substantive change to the entire system."
Valerie Newman mentioned that it is also important to find balance, but it is not easy. In the legal profession you could carry your job with you 24-7 if you allow it, but you cannot. The key is being focused and structured.
Being structured in law school and in your career is important as it will help you to set things up to allow you to find balance. If you are not a structured person give yourself the time to figure out what you need to do to complete the work in law school.
Also Valerie Newman said that you cannot be afraid to ask for help in law school. Find a faculty member or someone in student services to help you if you are struggling.
In the end Valerie Newman said that you have to believe in yourself and believe that you can get things done!
Did you like this interview? Do you have a question for Valerie Newman? Leave a comment below to let me know!
Are you a practicing lawyer? A law student? Would you like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Law School Insider? Send me an email at lawschoolinsider@cooley.edu