Guest Chapter 12

Name: Robyn T. Williams

Current Position: Co-Chair of the Trademark Practice Group at intellectual property boutique Devlin Law Firm headquartered in Wilmington, DE

Legal Practice Area: Intellectual Property and Business Law.

Law School and Year: Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University, 2016

Time between undergrad and law school: Four years. I continued working in risk analytics after completing my undergrad degree.

One or two books I recommend: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I've read this book a few times and it's an interesting account of how being in the right place at the right time with adequate preparation can catapult you into your mission. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the thorough rationalization of seeming random success and events. The book sheds a wonderful light on the concept of “the flow” and how finding your “flow” and being adequately prepared can transform your seeming simple existence into something monumental. Bonus: Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast is equally interesting and enlightening.

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela. I found this book at Half Priced Books. Oddly enough, after my initial purchase I did not think I would get through the nearly 700 pages for at least a month or so. To my surprise, I ended up reading the book in one weekend. The book is an account of Mandela's life, which I found to be extremely rich with experience and eye-opening. He touched on many topics, including propaganda and media spin, political masquerading, the delicate nature of race relations, and perseverance from his heart and wise eyes. Once I finished the book, I passed it on to a missionary. The gift of knowledge is its ability to be spread.

Short background on why I went to law school

I went to law school as a second option to medical school; it was always a toss-up between the two.

What frustrated me most about coming out of law school and/or what frustrates me with regards to people I work with or hire who are newly out of law school

The culture that surrounds law school. Law school does not teach students to work cohesively toward a common goal. Instead, it fosters highly competitive behavior that carries over past graduation and into the workforce.

Students leave law school with a hyper-competitive frame of mind and then are expected to work together on matters and research and be “collaborative” in the workforce. The workforce essentially becomes a breeding ground for brownnosing and competitive overachieving. In essence, it's law school over again—except this time the stakes are higher.

There is a substantial difference between the pressure of getting grades and (for example) saving a criminal's life or a company's assets. The practice of law can be a pressure cooker. When one adds competitive behavior with the overachieving pick-me-ism to the stress of being a lawyer, an unnecessarily contentious work environment with monumental stress is created—a breeding ground for disaster. I think we need to more educate educators on how to change this culture.

How have you used the core concepts of lawyering as this book proposes: Empathy, Listening First, Asking Questions, Giving Advice?

The core concepts of lawyering outlined in this book apply to many of life's other pursuits.

Empathy

Empathy, and intuition led me to the practice of law. I have always been an advocate for whomever I felt had the lesser advantage in any situation, the David and Goliath-type situation. Be it the smallest kid in the lunchroom or the least intelligent person in a discussion, I have tended to always advocate for the person seeming to need a little push or a helping hand.

My innately empathetic nature translated well to my legal practice. A substantial portion of the people I work with are looking to protect or defend ideas and creations that are uniquely their own. There is a special significance that people and entities seeking to protect or defend have about their connections with this thing—if you will. Whether an idea springs up overnight, or it is someone's life's work, these ideas and creations are special.

It is my position that you cannot truly be of complete service if you are not empathetic to the plight that led them to you. The path to seeking legal representation typically starts with hard work, dedication to a craft or task, sacrifice, large time and monetary expenditures, and investments in what they hope materialized from the thing that is unique to them for which they are seeking protection and/or defense. All these things must be taken into consideration to facilitate a reciprocating dedication to the client. Simply stated, empathy is paramount.

Listen First, Talk Second/Ask Questions

Part of being an empathetic creature involves receiving the information coming from the person on the other side of the conversation. Actively listening is a good way to receive the information.

While listening, it is best to be attuned to what is being said and communicated as well as what is not said. I have found that the things that are omitted usually turn out to be equally important. Keying in on the omitted parts of the conversation will allow you to ask pointed questions and give feedback that solicits further dialogue by way of a statement.

If you've listened effectively, the conversation should blossom into a productive dialogue where you, the attorney, have gathered information that facilitates questions and feedback that will help the client fully communicate the crux of the matter. The back and forth of listening, and then talking, should go on as long as is necessary to make sure you fully understand your client, their position, where they are truly coming from, and what led them to you.

Always/Usually Give Advice

This advice step can be tricky. I have identified a full spectrum of people in my practice. The range includes the person who has done their research and knows more than you and ultimately will not take your advice or has to be convinced; the person who knows their thinking or position is incorrect but still want you to fit a square peg into a round hole and is willing to take your advice under advisement; and the person who has done no research at all and dumps facts in your lap and just wants you to give advice on how to fix everything.

As a counselor of law, part of your job is to give advice. A therapy almost as you will. If you practice steps 1 through 3 outlined in the core concepts of this book, you will be able to advise all three of these types of individuals.

Bonus Concept: Be Objective—Must Seek Balance

Some of us geeks started our educational journeys in the fields of math and science. Unlike humanities and other subject matters that are highly subjective, math and science-related degree courses are fundamentally rooted objective concepts and established methods for problem-solving.

Taking an objective position leads you to root your advice in facts and factors beyond just examination of the other side of the argument in litigation and helps to remove any subconscious bias you might have otherwise.

Biggest mistake(s) you made while in law school

A person entering law school without help or mentorship is truly in uncharted, shark-infested choppy waters. The biggest mistake I made in law school was not tapping into the many academic boosts and supplemental mechanisms that some of my counterparts were utilizing. I was already several steps behind from the get-go.

I was unaware of the scores of supplements and treatises available on the market. I tried the traditional approach of listening in class and studying the material. This works with math and science—show up for class, do the work, and study hard and you're good to go. This did not work so well for me in law school.

Imagine being in an ultra-competitive environment where the grades you earn have the potential to dictate your immediate future. (Sidebar: No one tells you that the grades you receive the first semester of law school typically dictate if and/or where you will be able to have a summer associate position.) Some of my classmates had been preparing for law school for a large portion of their academic careers. They'd been coached and prepared by their parents who were attorneys and judges or mentors who had shown them the ropes.

Not only were my peers aware of legal supplements, but they had also read, studied, and did all the fact patterns in anticipation of law school. I had not.

Then, there were the pre-law-school tutors. Perhaps, I should have known such a thing existed, but I was unaware. It had not occurred to me that I could have elicited a tutor before law school, which would have greatly increased the chances of avoiding the “deer in the headlights” feeling I experienced during my first week.

What classes do I wish I'd taken?

I was very deliberate about my law school career. I went to law school with a purpose and to achieve a goal. Because I was focused on what I intended to do after law school, I focused my coursework on what I intended to do—intellectual property and business law. I have zero regrets regarding my law school coursework.

It is my opinion that a person should be a lifelong student, and I continue to take classes and I seize every opportunity to learn. No regrets here.

Most useful classes in law school

The most useful classes in law school were the classes that deviated from the standard casebook and instructed from the perspective of the real world. Because my coursework was focused on intellectual property and business, I was fortunate not to spend too much time with casebooks.

I can recall there being two different criminal law classes taught in two different ways by two different instructors. One class was traditional and followed a casebook and explored the history of the model penal code and criminal law theory. I hated it at the time.

The other did not follow a typical course and instead taught from a practical perspective. The class was divided into two sides: the prosecution and the defense (they switched mid-semester). The students were required to prepare and argue a case from both sides. I always felt like this was far more useful than reading cases about criminal law.

I no longer feel that one was better than the other. I wish there was a blend. Having taken the traditional criminal law class has enabled me to be able to have policy discussions about changing criminal legislation. This is a useful skill when you are trying to effect change in the criminal justice system through policy reform. Although, I never had the opportunity to argue a case from the side of the prosecution or defense. I am confident this would have proven an equally useful skill set.

How did you decide what to do post-law school? With hindsight, how good of a job did you do?

I entered law school with a plan—I wanted a seat at the table. Because my undergraduate coursework focused on hard sciences, I knew I was going to focus on intellectual property. I did not know how the practice of intellectual property law would get me a seat at the table, but it did. It had not occurred to me that my experience in risk analytics coupled with knowledge of intellectual property and business law would make for a great due diligence skill set. It was around the deal table that I found my seat.

There is nothing that I would have done differently in hindsight. I made good career path decisions. However, had I been independently wealthy or of substantial financial means when I entered law school, I would have been a public defender. Not because I feel that all the accused are innocent, but due to the way the system is set up, laws being skewed in favor of lawmakers and prosecutors, and district attorneys having a plethora of resources at their disposal. Now, I focus a substantial portion of my pro bono practice on criminal justice reform and reducing the recidivism rate.

Biggest mistake you made at your first job

The biggest mistake I made at my first job was lacking the ability to read the egos in the room (real or electronic). It is my opinion that any legal associate must be able to read and cater to the egos of the people over them. Because I did not follow the typical path to law school, I was far past a twenty-something who was still wet behind the ears. In other words, I was a full-grown adult (redundancy intended). The problem with this is you cannot read the egos in the room because (to the point of my first legal-related job) it had not mattered.

I can recall making the mistake of hitting reply all on an email chain and criticizing the opinion of someone with more letters behind their name than my own. This person called me immediately and let me know that they were not to be criticized before the group and my reply was inappropriate. In my previous career, I was used to voicing my perspective without there being any hurt feelings. It didn't take too long for me to figure out that would not be the case anymore.

I am glad to have encountered that situation early. It taught me a lot about dealing with egos.

Best advice you have received or have given for those coming out of law school?

There is no advice that I have been given or received. All the advice that has come across my path has been situational. I consider no one piece of advice I received to be any better than the other. Rather than reflecting on a piece of advice, I'll reflect on what I've learned, which is to do what makes your heart happy.

I'm sure somewhere there is a quote by someone far more poetic than what I can communicate, but the short is, do what you love. Although no one has ever given me this advice, nor have I given it, until now, it is very important.

I had a colleague very early on who started down the intellectual property path with me. They too had a background in hard sciences. This person was very sharp and would have made an excellent intellectual property litigator. I saw them two years after we'd worked together and they'd switched practice areas from IP to civil rights law and they were beaming. When I asked about the reason for the switch, they told me that they felt more rewarded by this career path. I was so jaded at the time that I thought this was, for sure, crazy. Now, I know that it wasn't and in fact, I'm really happy that this person found their way to a practice that makes their heart happy.

Worst advice you have received or been given out of law school?

Referring back to my statement, I believe advice is a situation, so no one piece of advice is worse than the other. Rather than stating the worst piece of advice, I'll discuss the advice I wasn't given and that is to attend law school where you'd like to live.

While I was in law school, we engaged in many networking events, gatherings, and social things in service of getting to know people in the legal community. This is very helpful if you plan to practice in the community where you attend school; not so much if you don't. Unless you are moving back to a place where you're from and/or have connections to the legal community, it is good practice to go to law school where you intend to live and work.

How have you remained happy in your profession?

I have remained happy and satisfied with the fact that I am helping people and advocating for them when they need it. This carries me through the day and the rough patches.

The practice of law is difficult. It requires a lot of commitment and dedication for a substantial portion of your waking hours. There are also some things that you will not find favorable. For these reasons, it is necessary to find something that propels you and keeps you happy. Without it, you're doomed.

Younger self to old self about the transition?

Take a vacation between taking the bar exam and starting work. I wish I did this. It was a huge mistake. In hindsight, I should have taken 30 days off and tended to my mental well-being and fatigue.