Looking Forward

The initial plan for my summer internship was for a six- week immersion into the inner workings of the Boston law firm, Donavan Hatem LLP.  The primary objective was to ascertain through exposure whether pursuing a career in law was a match for my skills, interests and passions.  My internship quickly turned into an extraordinary eleven -week experience and, given the opportunity, I would almost certainly have extended my term even further. The last few days at work were filled with associates and partners alike asking why I was leaving so soon and if I could just stay one week longer! Their words helped me recognize how thoroughly successful my internship was for all parties involved.  Clearly, I found the beginning of my professional path in life this summer and I am deeply grateful for the helpful people and illuminating experiences at Donovan Hatem. Engaging in this internship and pursuing the available opportunities revealed to me that I truly do want to attend law school and eventually become an attorney. I loved nearly every facet of the environment I was working in, the topics I researched, and discovering how important the language of law really is. After my fourth day at the office instead of going home, I headed to Barnes and Noble and the library to pick up as many LSAT books as I could carry so I could begin studying for the next chapter in my life.  I also decided that I would work for a year after UR graduation so I can properly study for the exam and assess the landscape of institutions that might suit my needs. It is honestly difficult to believe how effective the internship experience was in helping to crystalize my plans and ambitions. My time at Donovan Hatem could not have been more successful and I am now unbelievably excited to pursue a career in law so I can continue doing the work I enjoyed so much this summer.

Much of the work I did at Donovan Hatem consisted of claims management rather than direct litigation. A number of the cases I assisted on had local defense counsel retained by Donovan Hatem on behalf of the client, but the bulk of the work Donovan Hatem does on these cases is preparatory and research based. Several of the lawyers I was working under, including Laura, handled direct litigation as well as claims management so I participated in numerous experiences on both sides and was able to assess which area I found more interesting. In addition, I also worked with Jennifer, an Associate who specializes in contracts, and assisted her in reviewing over twenty contracts during the course of my internship. Reviewing these documents takes a very discerning eye, and this experience helped me to become a more analytical and thoughtful reader. These contracts are comprised of several documents and they need to be sound and consistent throughout. Although this was a time consuming and difficult task, it became one of my favorite challenging tasks at the office. One of my initial goals at the outset was to become a more critical and thoughtful reader in order to better analyze and process information, and reviewing contracts allowed me to do that while also learning more about the importance of contract law.

In addition to enhancing personal skills and edifying career goals, this internship also provided me with an unparalleled opportunity to observe the leadership behavior at a dynamic law office.  Given the nature and structure of this law firm, the leadership theories I saw in practice were often impersonal theories that were reinforced through intimidation. Much of the case work is self-directed and although lawyers work together, they handle different aspects of the case with little collaboration. Intra-office Meetings of this nature aren’t billable, so they are viewed as a waste of time as far as the lawyers are concerned. Due to this disincentive, most interaction between lawyers is limited to a five-minute conversation in the hallway or an email. This ‘keep your head down and bill more than the person next to you’ motto made observing leader-follower relationships significantly more difficult and I had to rely on overhearing those quick conversations or asking questions myself to gain more insight. Although all of the attorneys work under the same firm name, a great deal of the lawyer’s success is dependent on their individual work and ability, so there is little perceived need for intra-office meetings when all they do is diminish the amount of billable hours and the possibility of making partner. I found that because of the organizational culture of the firm, I had to cross boundaries the get tasks. Internships at this firm are almost exclusively for law students, so I was always at a disadvantage in obtaining projects, because the summer associate was often asked first. I had to put in far greater effort to get lawyers other than Laura to give me tasks, but because of this I became much more comfortable self-advocating, asking for work and seeking help when I needed it.

Once I received a new task, I was able to put the skills I learned in Critical Thinking to the test. Writing in Dr. Flanigan’s class was free of fluff and pretty sounding sentences. Each word in every sentence had to be necessary in making the argument for it to be included in the final paper. The same requirement applies in writing status updates or producing court documents. They must be clear and cogent, but short and very directed to the point. In legal writing, there is a prescribed way to saying anything and everything, which at first I found to be wordy and confusing. Once I began writing documents myself however, I understood the importance of clarity and directness in producing a sound and complete argument. Each interrogatory, request, objection, and response must be able to stand alone and still make perfect sense. This writing style leads to what I originally considered to be a wordy and repetitive document, but it is actually a necessary approach to producing a document that is free from loopholes. Making an argument map out of these documents would actually be quite easy and quick because each phrase is necessary to the argument so the map would be a simple activity of copying and pasting.

One interesting additional takeaway about the leadership dynamic that I was not expecting was how unimportant gender and other personal attributes were among the lawyers. Position and title are paramount and exclusively confer status to the individual leaders. Gender, race and ethnicity seemed to have no bearing on relationships within the culture as the hierarchy governs all. There was however a schism between professional and administrative staff as lawyers seemed respect other lawyers fairly equally but showed considerably less regard for the support staff simply because they did not possess law degrees.

By observing the culture, reading contracts and researching claims backgrounds, I truly received a crash course in what it takes to actually run a law firm, from billing and marketing to file management and litigation. One of my primary goals at the outset was to decide whether to attend law school and pursue a career in law in light of this experience, and due to this internship, I could not be more certain that law school is in my immediate future. I also identified several specific objectives that I enumerated in my personal plan paper and I believe the experiences I had at Donovan Hatem this summer helped me to attain those goals more efficiently and with greater clarity. I was able to enhance several skills and abilities including critical reading, cogent writing and the ability to identify alternative courses of action. One case in particular was an unplanned eviction that left the tenants without a place of business 48 hours after the court decision. I worked with two partners, researching statutes and case law to come up with as many alternative defenses as possible to push back the eviction date and get the judgement overruled. This case in particular helped me to see the importance of a solid contingency plan and pushed me to be creative in developing a course of action that would help our client.

This case as well as others, pushed me to become a more creative problem solver and to think outside the box in coming up with innovative solutions. There is no one way to win a case so I was strongly encouraged by numerous lawyers to research multiple different facets or several areas of pertinent case law in order to create a strong defense.  I was able to assist in research which allowed me to see how associates and partners build a case against opposing counsel and all the paperwork involved in filing court documents to ensure the client is properly and effectively represented. One of my first days at the office an Associate, Sean, told me that “only the stupid and ridiculous civil cases go to court” so most of the work they put in is actually leading to mediation and settlement. Their goal is to resolve conflicts better and more effectively and I got to see first-hand how important the initial production and analysis is in setting up a case for settlement. Sean’s insights alleviated many of my fears surrounding becoming a lawyer in civil law because I now know that going to court is much less frequent than I anticipated and the times you do appear, there can be years of preparation leading up to the trials.

Finally, this internship addressed another concern I had about pursuing a career in law: the time commitment and pressures of being a lawyer. These concerns were confirmed, with most associates and partners working well past five o’clock each night and coming in at least one day of the weekend. Although I do not look forward to the prospect of a weekend work and long nights at the office, I believe that the first several years of any career will require longer hours and that the investment will be worthwhile as it is highly important to build an excellent career foundation. Overall, working at Donovan Hatem this summer provided me with clarity regarding my career as well as tangible skills that I will use in my final year of undergraduate studies and beyond as I pursue a law degree and begin my career as an attorney. I am deeply grateful for this experience and am excited for the future.