Monday Mentors with Dallas Litigator Gwen Walraven

Gwen Walraven, a litigator and partner at Bell, Nunnally & Martin in Dallas, is today's guest. Gwen talks about the positives of remote hearings, the practice of law, and putting those interests on resumes.

Her firm/practice

• Went to Bell Nunnally straight out of law school and has grown up in the firm and become partner
• General commercial business litigator. Does a lot of creditor's rights and probate work, business divorces (LAUGH AT 1:20 THAT I NEED TO EDIT OUT OR ADD MY OWN IN)
• They are full-service to provide nearly all of a businesses' legal needs

COVID update (as of 1/28/21)

• Firm has been at the forefront of being back in the office and open since May 2020 (not mandated/required); most of the partners like to work in the office, so they have taken advantage of being 50% in the office to adhere to the governor's orders
• Lots of plexiglass in the office to protect people; temperature checks; other protocols
• Clients have been asking lots of questions about how they can open back up, protect employees, etc.
• With economic downturn there are always breaches of contracts, leases, as well as force majeure litigation
• Firm has continued to be busy, and they have hired five new lawyers during the past year
• She hasn't been back in the courthouse since last year, and every hearing, etc. has been online
  • There is a time/place for remote hearings and they aren't all bad
  • Wouldn't want to try a case, or do all hearings that way, but it can give younger lawyers the chance to be more involved (no extra expense of travel/wasted time)
  • Stories from virtual hearings (judge not turning on his video/black box only; getting sworn in to attest to information being shared on screen to save time/money)
• Foreclosure suspensions have an impact; bankruptcy is a wild ride

Advice for lawyers in practice

• It is called the "practice of law" for a reason; it is always evolving/changing. You will make mistakes, and when you do, don't hide it/bury it. Come up with a plan to fix it and don't do anything until you tell the partner what the mistake was and your plan to fix it.
• There are very few things in law you can't fix (except perhaps statute of limitations).
• The practice of law is hard, and so young lawyers need to show enthusiasm and devotion to it.
• It's not about a big personality. Follow up on emails. Don't wait to be told to do the next steps if you know what they are.
• Ghosting on email is a bad plan - it sends a signal that the sender is not important. Even responding that you received the message and will get back with them soon is better than not responding.
  • The best associates are the ones who, when the partner wakes up in the night thinking about a client matter, realizes that the associate is working on it, and can go right back to sleep.
• Email is the main source of communication and its important for archiving, etc. But they are finding that texting is a useful way to ping/remind people of things, even to say that there is an email to respond to

Advice for lawyers who are job seeking

• Keep resumes to one page if at all possible; they see so many resumes there isn't time to read multi-page resumes
• Law school still matters if it is someone who has only been out a couple of years
• Cover letters can help highlighting the real stuff you've done
• She loves to see interests/hobbies; wants to know you are a real person. Maybe even add "Covid hobbies."
  • Wants to practice law with people they like
  • Especially in small/mid-size firms, one person makes an impact on the culture
  • This can backfire depending on what the interests are!

Final Thought

Advice she didn't get that she wish she had: Start thinking about building your own practice and your own clients, even from day one. Even if your firm is telling you it isn't expected or even wanted, you can get involved in organizations, make contacts, have lunches, etc. Building relationships is the heart and soul of the practice of law, and it takes years. Start early.

Rapid Fire Questions

• Name one trait characteristic you most want to see in an associate: enthusiasm
• What habit has been key to your success: hard work
• Your favorite app/productivity tool: Intapp (timekeeping app)
• Favorite social distancing activity: golf
• Favorite legal movie: Anything Sorkin (American President through West Wing)

Thanks again to Gwen Walraven for joining us on today's show!