Super Lawyers - Washington 2011

WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE
YOU EVER RECEIVED? AS TOLD TO BETSY GRACA

Work as many different jobs and experience as many different things as possible.

When I was in high school … [a lawyer] told me: Don’t just seek office jobs that you think a lawyer might do. But instead, pick berries, deliver newspapers, work in restaurants and do all sorts of different things, because being a good lawyer means understanding people and what is important to them. … It's like the old phrase: Until you walk a mile in a man's shoes, it's hard to criticize him.

CHRIS ALSTON / MEMBER, FOSTER PEPPER,
BANKRUPTCY

Work hard, do good work, keep your clients first and you will be a successful lawyer.

It’s kind of an amalgam of two [mentors],
who gave me this advice 30 years ago ... Alan
A. McDonald and Walter G. Meyer.

ROBERT TENNE Y / PARTNER, MEYER, FLUEGGE
& TENNEY, PERSONAL INJURY

A good attorney must be a good listener in order to understand the problem facing their client.

First, you have to listen to the client; then to other parties; and, if applicable, to the court. In the end, the job of the attorney is to create a viable solution for the circumstances.

EILEEN PETERSON / PARTNER, GORDON THOMAS HONEYWELL, ELDER LAW AND ESTATE PLANNING

Always ignore the petty insults and bad behavior of opposing counsel because it is simply a tactic to divert your focus from the important issues in a case.

KATIE MATISON / SHAREHOLDER, LANE
PO WELL, TRANSPORTATION/MARI TIME

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these.

More than 20 years ago, the late Lloyd Shearer published a list of nine pieces of advice called “A Guide to a Happy Life” or “Resolutions.” I still carry that list in my wallet today. As the years go by and my experiences have multiplied, I am often reminded how good that advice is.