Monday Mentors with San Antonio Litigator Lauren Valkenaar

Lauren Valkenaar, a partner and commercial litigator with Chasnoff Stribling in San Antonio, joins us on today's show. Lauren talks about having an internal standard, being honest and authentic in your job search, and developing business best practices.

Her firm/practice

• Boutique litigation firm
• Business/commercial litigation
• Broke off of a large firm and wanted to maintain the same level of quality but get a little more autonomy
• Flexible/nimble
• Cases deal with Breach of Contract, Tortious Interference, Fraud, etc.
• COVID has changed the way they practice
  • Not physically in the courtroom, but they have adapted well
  • Zoom hearings will likely stay
  • Their clients get sued all over the country, so Zoom is a positive
  • Zoom depos are a different thing and in-person is more important there
• COVID also impacting their clients
  • How to deal with their employees / working remote or in-office
  • Everyone is an employment lawyer now (Daniel)
  • Don't get complacent with your technology (Daniel) / Don't be a cat!
• San Antonio
  • Very collegial bar
  • All the amenities of large city but a smaller town feel
  • Great mentors because lawyers are close and kind
  • As a young professional, many more opportunities to get involved in the community and make an impact at a high level

Advice to lawyers in practice

• Create an internal standard / desire to get it right / goes beyond checking the box / when you know that you are likely the only one to know whether or not you "ran an issue to ground."
• So much of being a lawyer is internal motivation
• Surround yourself with great people who keep these high standards
• You are the average of the five people closest to you (Daniel / Jim Rohn)
• Think about the business aspect of the law firm
• Learn from people who are different from you
• Be a team player; that shows up immediately and makes a big impact
  • Are you offering to help on other cases when you are done for the day but others are still working?
• Focus on the work product / the words / the documents
• Have an intellectual curiosity; think/learn beyond the discrete task you are working on; try to get a handle on the larger picture and how your piece fits in
• Don't be a jerk
• Don't have sloppy work product
• Communicate, especially if you are doing work for multiple partner with different deadlines. Don't just be silent.
• On business development:
  • Plant seeds and build relationships with zero expectations they will turn into business
  • Your law school classmates can become your clients or referral sources; stay in touch with them!
  • Do great work
  • Get involved in the community
  • Don't do something for the sole purpose of developing business: rarely does that work
  • Over time, business will come in more from referrals based upon the work you have done for someone; but that takes time to build up

Advice to Lawyers On The Lateral Market

• No typos in the resume!
• Connection to the type of work should show through in the resume
• Continuity and not a lot of jumping around firm to firm
• The more specific you can be on the resume the better in order to show what they've done and accomplished in their prior/current roles. Helps you to stand out, but also for the interviewer to know how to slot you in if they do hire you. How much training will you need, etc.?
• Come to the interview prepared with questions
• Avoid arrogance/entitlement; that's a turnoff
• Honesty and authenticity shines through

Final Thoughts

• Be honest and self-aware in what you are looking for in a firm; those are critical to making a good match in the hiring process.

Rapid Fire Questions

1. Name one trait/characteristic you most want to see in an associate: Grit (book by Angela Duckworth; Ted Talk)
2. What habit has been key to your success: Never assuming; always go back and double check
3. Favorite app/productivity tool: Remarkable
4. What would be listed first on the interest line of your resume: Travel (Italy; Cambodia)
5. Favorite legal movie: A Time To Kill

Thanks again to Lauren Valkenaar for joining us on today's show!