“My career path was a little different than most attorneys’ stories because I didn’t grow up in a household of lawyers. I didn’t know a legal brief from a report or a single Latin word when I entered law school. My parents graduated from high school, went to work in their small town, married each other, bought a house, and started their family. They wanted the best for their kids, and we were expected to get good grades and go to college. Their plan for us was a great start… but then we were on our own.
In law school, I was taught to “think like a lawyer;” the recipe, I believe, is to be one-part pessimist and another part competitive. This was not in line with my creative nature, and I considered quitting, but instead, I opted to do what any “normal” person would do… [she laughs]… I took extra classes and graduated a semester early. But while there, I learned an important lesson.
As a student, I was chosen to be part of a special program provided by a non-profit mediation institute in San Diego, where I received their complete mediation training at no cost. The nonprofit offered free mediation to parties appearing in small claims court matters. Generally, when a judge is making the decisions, no one leaves the courtroom happy (except for the lawyers). Contrastingly, our mediation parties would often leave with smiles on their faces – many times, they would even be engaged in friendly chatter.”