Monday Mentors with Houston Fiduciary Litigator Kathleen Tanner Beduze

Fiduciary Litigator Kathleen Tanner Beduze

Kathleen Tanner Beduze, a fiduciary litigator and shareholder at Crain Caton & James in Houston, joins us on today's show. Kathleen talks about showing confidence and curiosity, turning interviews into conversations, and of course, Free Britney!

 

Her firm/practice

  • Her practice focuses on fiduciary litigation and guardianship work
    • 2015 revamped guardianship code
    • legislature is generally against full-blown guardianships, preferring things like power-of-attorneys instead (and less court supervision)
    • Impacts the planning attorneys in trying to figure out what should be in the general estate planning documents
  • Firm
    • 45+ attorneys
    • firm handles almost everything except for family and environmental
    • Has grown over the years
    • Pros/cons to being midsize firm
      • work/life balance
      • not the same rates as large firms (but this can lead to more business as well)
      • quality of work can be the same as Big Law
  • What's up with "Free Britney!"?
    • Go read/listen to her letter to the court
    • Recognize that California is much different than Texas when it comes to guardianships
    • How is her father getting a % of her gig money in his capacity as conservator as opposed to business manager/agent?
  • Covid Update (7/1/21)
    • Courts - completely depends on where you are.
      • She had an in-person jury trial in Galveston in May
      • jurors were six feet apart and split between the jury box and the gallery
      • Montgomery was holding in-person hearings as well
      • Harris County not in-person yet (early fall setting for an in-person trial)
      • Has done trials by Zoom so it can work
    • Clients
      • Their clients are all over the nation, and the rise in video calls have
    • Advice for Zoom hearings/trials/depos/etc.
      • You have to be prepared
      • One of the biggest complaints from judges is lawyers taking things to casually/informally; treat it like you are in person
      • Remember that your face is always on camera and someone may be looking at you when you don't realize it

Advice to lawyers in practice

  • Have confidence in yourself; not necessarily in specific areas of the law that you haven't learned yet, but in your abilities to write, research, speak, strategize, etc. This isn't ego or arrogance; there's a difference.
    • Be willing to pitch a new idea or something that other may not have thought of yet
  • It is okay if your personality and a client's personality don't exactly jive; don't worry about it.
  • Ask questions of partners and more senior lawyers; admit if you don't know something; communicate
    • Ex. if you are overloaded with work from other partners and you get a new assignment from a new partner
    • If you don't understand, repeat the instructions
    • Take notes! Don't show up without a pen/paper! You will forget!
    • (Daniel refers to Jim Chester's DDB (Deadline/Deliverable/Budget))

Advice to lawyers on the lateral market

  • On paper
    • Academics do matter
    • Beyond that, extracurriculars/interests matter to her. She wants to know what the person is like. Use your documents to show your unique path to where you are today.
    • Show why you are different
    • Show why you are looking to move and why you want to work here. A lot of bouncing around raises questions and doesn't look great.
  • In an interview
    • Exhibit calmness; don't show your nerves
      • Practice the interview beforehand to try to help with this
    • Come with good/specific questions that show you have prepared and are familiar with the firm and the interviewers
      • A conversation is better than straight Q/A

Final Thoughts

  • Be comfortable with who you are, what you are doing, and what you are wanting to do; find the right level of work/life balance that works for you.
  • Everything comes in waves/stages in life, so just recognize that.
    • (Daniel) Don't feel stuck in something if your life circumstances change and don't judge yourself to harshly if you make changes
  • Never meet a stranger; build and maintain your network

Rapid Fire Questions

  1. Name one trait/characteristic you most want to see in an associate: communication
  2. What habit has been key to your success: perseverance
  3. Favorite app/productivity tool: iTimekeep
  4. What would be listed first on the interest line of your resume: family
  5. Favorite legal movie: Legally Blonde (Podcast) / The Firm

Thanks again to Kathleen Tanner Beduze for joining us on today's show!