WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.453 If you could give one advice to a legal professional, 00:00:03.454 --> 00:00:06.266 maybe that was where you were, five or six years ago, 00:00:06.267 --> 00:00:07.480 maybe coming out of private practice, 00:00:07.481 --> 00:00:09.980 or maybe looking to move the steps that you have, 00:00:09.981 --> 00:00:11.280 what would that advice be? 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.840 So I'm going to give some advice to a very specific narrow set. 00:00:15.841 --> 00:00:20.160 And those are the young lawyers right now that maybe 00:00:20.161 --> 00:00:24.000 are a little bit nervous about some of the changes that are happening, 00:00:24.560 --> 00:00:27.680 some of the economic challenges that are coming about. 00:00:27.681 --> 00:00:30.700 They have some fear that they won't be able to develop 00:00:30.701 --> 00:00:33.980 their career the way that they want want because of those challenges. 00:00:33.981 --> 00:00:36.666 So I graduated law School in 2009, 00:00:36.667 --> 00:00:40.799 which was obviously the spring, right after the 2008 economic collapse, 00:00:40.800 --> 00:00:44.366 famously a terrible time to graduate with a law degree 00:00:44.367 --> 00:00:46.540 and start looking for your first legal role. 00:00:46.541 --> 00:00:48.220 And I was impacted by it. 00:00:48.221 --> 00:00:52.780 And so, I had an offer before all of that happened 00:00:52.781 --> 00:00:57.420 to start at a law firm and to do employment litigation. 00:00:57.421 --> 00:01:01.770 And I thought that's what I was going to do and I was going to love it. 00:01:01.771 --> 00:01:04.170 And then everything fell apart. 00:01:04.171 --> 00:01:06.970 And when I showed up at that law firm, the answer was, 00:01:06.971 --> 00:01:10.010 we don't have enough work in that area for you to do. 00:01:10.011 --> 00:01:14.010 You have a job and your job is to just do whatever comes through the door. 00:01:14.011 --> 00:01:17.050 So from day one, a generalist. 00:01:17.690 --> 00:01:19.210 And I never stopped. 00:01:19.211 --> 00:01:24.370 And so as a result, when a decade after that, it came time for me 00:01:24.371 --> 00:01:30.060 to enter into an in-house role, I was perfectly equipped for it. 00:01:30.061 --> 00:01:31.900 And I did not know that at the time. 00:01:31.901 --> 00:01:35.820 And so what I would say to young, early-stage lawyers right now, 00:01:35.821 --> 00:01:40.620 who maybe think that their career is set in a different way 00:01:40.621 --> 00:01:42.833 because of some economic challenges 00:01:42.834 --> 00:01:45.299 or some other shifts that are happening, 00:01:45.300 --> 00:01:49.133 is to not lament that which you might have lost and instead 00:01:49.134 --> 00:01:52.220 look at what is in front of you and what it can become. 00:01:52.221 --> 00:01:54.780 I leaned into it, it worked out great for me. 00:01:54.781 --> 00:01:58.100 And who knows, maybe I wouldn't be in this role today, 00:01:58.101 --> 00:02:00.041 had not all of those things happened.