Young Lawyer Rising Legal Talk Network

Guest Mary Smith is an accomplished attorney and the first Native American woman to become president of the American Bar Association. In addition to a distinguished career in legal leadership for billion-dollar organizations, including CEO of the national organization Indian Health Services, she is also active in many civic organizations, including the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, dedicated to helping young Native American women forge careers in STEM fields.
Smith’s career took a long and winding path, including a stop serving in the White House and the Department of Justice, along with billion-dollar publicly traded companies. Smith said the key has been to remain curious and open to new opportunities throughout her career.
Being willing to take risks and face various challenges has driven her career to amazing heights. Smith explains how she never limited herself to any presupposed direction. Sometimes, you think you’ve selected a singular path, but if you remain open to new opportunities, that path can lead you to places you’ve never imagined and take you higher than you thought possible. 
As Smith says in this inspiring episode: “Be true to yourself. Believe in yourself. And seek help, mentors, and others who can help along the way.”

Resources:
“Asked & Answered: Mary Smith, ’91, President, American Bar Association,” University of Chicago School of Law
Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division
Native Americans: A Crisis in Health Equity
ABA President to Students: You Will Change the Practice of Law
Working to Ensure an Enduring American Democracy
ABA Task Force for American Democracy

As a new lawyer, have you ever considered a career in government oversight? It’s a broad, important field that ensures a wide range of agencies work as designed while protecting public funds and interests.
Guest Lucy Lang is a former prosecutor now serving as the New York Inspector General. She is charged with overseeing investigations into corruption, fraud, and abuse in the New York State government (more than 100 agencies) and has been a steady advocate of criminal justice reform. Lang shares her path and passion in this inspiring episode of Young Lawyer Rising.
The complex nature of Lang’s work depends heavily on her ability to lead, a skill she had to learn on her own and is now pressing the legal education field to include in law school curriculum. Seeking out mentors, learning on the job, and taking on new challenges were all part of her career growth. “If not you, then who,” she asks. “Be brave; take the bull by the horns.”
Get an inside look at the workings of government oversight, the value of public service, untangling difficult ethical decisions, and making a positive difference through leadership. It could be just what you need to help you take your next, bold step.
Resources:
New York Offices of the Inspector General
New York State Offices of the Inspector General, Job Postings
Lucy Lang, Wikipedia 
“Lucy Lang ’06: An Advocate for Criminal Justice Reform and Government Integrity,” Columbia University News
Lucy Lang, Selected Publications
“New York State Inspector General Report Finds Persistent Racial Disparities in Discipline Within New York State Prisons”
“NYS Parks Employee Pleads Guilty to Official Misconduct”
New York State government oversight hotline: 1-800-DO RIGHT
New York Offices of the Inspector General on Twitter/X
ABA Section of State and Local Government Law
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

Environmental law is a dynamic field that evolves rapidly with new challenges as they emerge but also against the backdrop of the politics of state and federal administrations. Regulatory focus shifts from administration to administration and crisis to crisis, creating a challenging area of law for those who practice it.
 Our guest, David Mandelbaum, is a shareholder with the firm of Greenberg Traurig and has practiced environmental law since 1984. He’s seen a lot, from focusing on solid waste landfills decades ago to today’s challenges created by a changing climate. 
Legal procedures vary from state to state in addition to how the federal government oversees environmental issues, challenging practitioners to understand the law and the issues and the procedural process. Laws and statutes are in constant flux.
For newer lawyers, Mandelbaum says the constant changes in the field of environmental law level the playing field between experienced attorneys and those getting out of law school. Changes come so fast that a new lawyer who has studied the latest regulations and cases can be on equal footing with someone who has practiced in the field for decades. In this field, it’s never “the way we’ve always done it.”
If you’ve ever considered a career in environmental law, this discussion may open your eyes to new opportunities.
Resources:
“SEC Adopts Rules to Enhance and Standardize Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors,” SEC.gov
Superfunds and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
“EPA Imposes First National Limits On 'Forever Chemicals' In Drinking Water,” NBC news
Pennsylvania Environmental Law Forum 2024
Different Career Paths in Environmental Law
Nurturing the Future of Animal Law
American Bar Association on Environment, Energy, and Resources
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

Guest Evita Nwosu-Sylvester focuses on the civil rights and fair lending needs of middle- to low-income earners in their quest for affordable housing. She works in multifamily fair lending operations at Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.).
But Nwosu-Sylvester is also a fighter for rights, fair hiring needs, and workplace accommodation for those embracing disabilities.
Nwosu-Sylvester followed a nontraditional path to her legal career. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology with the goal of pursuing that field, focusing on helping people with disabilities. Then, the idea of putting a law degree to work in the field of disability and civil rights attracted her. Throughout her education, she worked to embrace her own disability – cerebral palsy – and learn how to live independently while making a difference.
In her legal career, Nwosu-Sylvester shows organizations that people with disabilities are capable, valuable contributors. Accommodation doesn’t have to be insurmountable or expensive, and Nwosu-Sylvester and her team regularly make themselves available to help organizations understand and develop neurodiversity policies and programs.
RESOURCES:
U.S. Department of Labor Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
ABA Commission on Disability Rights
The American Association of People With Disabilities
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

Guest Michael Kippins is a Boston-based civil rights attorney with Lawyers For Civil Rights. Driven by a desire to advocate for those too often left without robust representation, Kippins made the courageous jump from a big law setting to his civil rights practice and hasn’t looked back.
In one of his high-profile cases, Kippins is challenging what the suit describes as Harvard University’s system of admission bias toward “legacy” students and the harm that practice poses to communities, including first-generation students and students of color. 
During the episode, Kippins discusses the differences between civil rights law and his previous role in big law. From working with community groups to prioritizing public awareness of his cases, the range of skills required as a civil rights attorney is diverse and unique to the practice.
A career in civil rights litigation can be a labor of love and fulfill a passion. Hear how the work civil rights attorneys does make a difference in people’s lives. If you’ve been interested in pro bono work, if you’ve found something missing in another area of law, or if you’re simply curious about civil rights law, this is an episode you can’t miss.

Christina Gregg served as the associate producer on this episode of Young Lawyer Rising.
 
Resources:
Why I Became a Civil Rights Attorney 
ABA Civil Rights and Social Justice Section
Lawyers For Civil Rights
Lawyers For Civil Rights, Facebook  
Lawyers For Civil Rights, Email: office@lawyersforcivilrights.org
Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association
Boys & Girls Club of Boston
Newsweek, “Harvard Faces Another Legal Fight Over Its Admissions”
Reuters, “Harvard 'Legacy' Policy Challenged On Heels Of Affirmative Action Ruling”
SXSW Educational Seminar Week
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division

Happy New Year, and what a year that was. Host Montana Funk sits down with Tamara Nash, chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, to review 2023 and share stories from listeners about the past year.
For listeners, it was a year of lessons learned. Learning how to separate work and life is difficult, but in one case, a young lawyer reported that an unexpected health issue forced her to learn what life’s about and that it’s OK to ask for help. Hear how she learned that being a good lawyer means being a healthy lawyer. Take care of yourself.
In another letter, a listener shares how, like our host, they moved to the United States and took on a career in law. Leaning on the resources of the American Bar Association and the state bar has proven crucial to success in a challenging field.
And it was a year of “back to normal” after those crazy COVID years. For young lawyers who worked through the pandemic, 2023 was a time to catch up on the training and mentoring they missed. Hear how a senior lawyer recognized that gap and redoubled efforts to help younger attorneys. Rebuild connections, professional and personal.
Young Lawyer Rising is more than a podcast; it’s a community. Draw inspiration from how others overcame life’s bumps during the past year. Embrace your professional colleagues and know that you’re never alone. Support is all around you.
 
Blair Hlinka served as the associate producer on this episode of Young Lawyer Rising.
 
Resources:
Thinking Like a Lawyer to Navigate the Challenges of Long COVID
Pushing Yourself Too Hard? Your Health and Wellness Matters
How to Make Your Law Firm See the Benefits of Bar Involvement
5 Tips for Mentoring and Managing Legal Interns
The Importance of Mentorship and Sponsorship in the Legal Profession
University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law
American Bar Association
American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division