Age: 34
Occupation: Attorney, Hayek, Brown, Moreland & Smith LLP
to a situation rather than responding immediately and emotionally.
What do you consider your greatest professional accomplishments: My greatest professional achievements include being recognized by the Iowa Supreme Court for my volunteer service to low-income Iowans, as well as having a judge tell me that a case I tried to a jury was one of the best he’d ever seen.
Who are your local mentors: My local mentors include the late John Hayek, John Allen and my sixth-grade school teacher, Hobart Yoder.
What’s the best advice you ever received: The best advice I ever received was to slow down. This is in the context of being careful and thorough in research, writing and speaking, as well as taking time to respond or react.
What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your career: I know now that drama is almost always unnecessary. People often participate in conflict because it’s what they know and are used to doing. Lowering, rather than encouraging, drama in legal situations serves clients and the system, as it helps the truth come out and shine through, and it saves my own blood pressure.
What’s something people should know about your generation in the workplace: People should know that, despite the fact that most of us are “digital natives” and quite connected to our devices, there are times we don’t check our email during the night or on a weekend.
If you had $1 million to give, what causes would you support: If I had $1 million to give, I would use it to benefit projects to improve people’s access to justice. Locally, I would donate to the Iowa Legal Aid and Kids First Law Center.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt: If I wasn’t a lawyer, I would want to try being a film producer or a park ranger.
