Monday Mentors with Amarillo Eminent Domain Lawyer Tyler Topper

SHOW NOTES

COVID-19 Update

• All staff/employees can work from home
  • helps with lack of school/daycare
• Business clients are dealing with PPP loans, company policies, so employment lawyers are very busy
• Judges and legal community have done a good job working together to find solutions
  • phone hearings
  • Zoom hearings
• Hopes that going forward remote working can become more available

Tyler's firm/practice

• Firm is 35 years old and is full-service
• Do everything except criminal and family law
• He practices in eminent domain and administrative law
  • represents landowners exclusively
  • when government or government authorized utility needs land to build out infrastructure, he helps landowners get compensated fairly and negotiates terms of any easement
  • Small group that practice in the area so you develop relationships with most of the people on all sides of the issues
  • High-speed rail project
• Amarillo
  • He grew up in the Texas panhandle so it was home for him
  • 200,000 population
  • People are great
  • Small legal community that allows you to build relationships with colleagues and opposing counsel; bar treats each other with respect
  • Great place to raise a family
  • Diverse economic base with multiple industries
    • oil/gas
    • farming/ranching
    • government
    • medical/health
  • Diverse topography - hills/canyons/water

Advice for lawyers

• Worked for two different partners as a young associate, and key lessons he learned were
  • attention to detail and
  • the business-side of practicing law
• Be organized
  • translates into work product
• Bring work back to the partner finished (or very close to finished), and ask specific questions instead of general
• Don't be arrogant; always be willing to learn
• Don't bad mouth former employers
• Prioritize your health and taking care of yourself

When they are hiring

• No typos
• Grammar/mistakes
• Personalize cover letters (not just changing the names)
• Highlight ties to the area
• Bad answer to the question why you want this job? "I'm just looking for a job"...need to show you want THIS job
• Be prepared for the interview; know something about the interviewers
  • (if you don't know who your interviewers are going to be...ask! Shows you are getting prepared)

Rapid Fire Questions

• Most important trait in an associate - dependable
• Key habit - organization
• Favorite app/tool - Excel
• Favorite social distancing activity - running
• Favorite legal movie - A Few Good Men