Name: Stephanie Woolley

Education: Florida Coastal School of Law, Emory University School of Law

Occupation: Solutions Consultant at LexisNexis

The first day that I walked through the doors of New York Law School, I had no idea that a year after graduation, I would find myself working in compliance at a home health agency. Like many other young hopefuls, my plan was to end up at a firm, or maybe I’d work my way up the ladder at the DA’s office. I hadn’t considered that I might one day use my JD for an alternative legal career.

The problem with the law community is that following graduation, there is such a pressure to find the perfect job; one that pays enough, one where you get to work in a field you’re interested in, one with a great work life balance. But what we often fail to realize is that sometimes our perfect legal job has us utilizing our skills obtained from law school, without ever having to practice law.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Stephanie Woolley, an alum of Florida Coastal School of Law and Emory University of Law. We met five years prior, in an internship program in DC, myself an intern, and Stephanie a fearless counselor who helped guide our chaotic group. Here’s what she had to say about her unconventional journey as a legal professional.

Hi Stephanie, thank you again so much for taking the time to speak with me about your experience in the legal field.

I thought I’d first ask you about what drew you to a career in the legal field. Did you always know that you wanted to go to law school?

Not at all. Growing up, everyone in my immediate family was involved in the medical field; it was all I knew. And you know, you’re more likely to be what you see growing up, so I thought that’s what I wanted to do.

It wasn’t until I was in high school, when I took one of those career aptitude tests that I realized I couldn’t pursue a career in the medical field. I hate science and math–I thought, no I can’t do this for my career, it just wasn’t me. But I enjoyed history, languages, and the arts, so when law was brought up as one of the options I would be good at, I asked around. I talked to family friends and distant relatives what it was all about. Then after shadowing one of my dad’s clients (an attorney) at her workplace, I found law very interesting and made my decision to go to law school.

What were some of your favorite parts about law school?

I was involved in mock trial. It taught me upfront that I don’t want to be working in a courtroom, but I think it was a valuable experience because it really honed my deductive reasoning skills. It was a good experience to learn how to simplify legal theories and sort of make them real, put it in terms that would be more understandable to the everyday person. I also loved civil procedure, I don’t know why.

That is a good way of looking at it. At least this way you learned what you don’t like.

And then you pursued an L.L.M. at Emory afterwards. What pushed you to take that step, and how was it different from law school?

Honestly, I couldn’t get a job doing what I wanted, so it just made sense. I was interested in government legal positions—I loved employment law and I wanted to be involved with the government agencies more than anything, so I did the work and managed to set up interviews with the EEOC and the IRS. I had made it past the first few rounds of interviewing when the government shut down due to Congress’ budget issues.

It had been the longest shut down (until the most recent one in the current administration) and the agencies withdrew their positions. They decided to hire during the next cycle.

I was completely crushed since I had been banking on this type of career, and I found myself without a backup plan after two years of legal experience in the government sector.

I loved law school. Emory has this great program where you can design your own curriculum, so that’s what I did. I decided to pursue the L.L.M. for my own interest and growth. I designed my course with a focus in public policy and human civil rights, which I think really affected the trajectory for my career.

You have a list of really interesting government affiliated positions. Can you talk about any career highlights you may have experienced and things you learned from those opportunities?

Well while I was working on my L.L.M., I took a class on legal critical race theory. One of our assignments was this dissertation-like paper that would cover, you know, like 40-50 pages on critical race issues. My professor suggested that someone explore the topic of gerrymandering in North Carolina. My boyfriend at the time lived in North Carolina, so I thought, why not.

I knew of gerrymandering as a concept and that it happened, but working on that paper really pushed me towards my first job, and helped me understand myself more. Once I started the research, I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t wrap my mind around that fact that state legislatures were collecting information regarding minority demographics, and shutting down polling stations or altering poll hours to limit access to these groups.

When I realized the length at which people in power were going to to disenfranchise impoverished communities and people of color from voting, I just became very passionate about the cause.

I joined a website that sent out weekly mailers of jobs for minorities at political organizations/associations (Inclusive) and saw a post for a paid fellowship with the North Carolina Democratic Party, which I decided to apply for.

It was a really risky move. Here I was, with two law degrees, applying to a position where I was going to be making the same money as other fellows who were in undergrad. But it had been two years since I had been applying for jobs–from a 3L to my L.L.M. year–and I had a very good support system, so I took the chance.

Not everyone is lucky to have savings or parents and family members who can help. But I would say if you can, bet on yourself. I knew that if I did the work I knew I was able to do and out in the time to commit, I would leave with some opportunity or contact that would help me in the future.

It was frustrating because I felt like I was just waiting for a chance to prove myself. But I never complained when they gave me envelopes to stuff or other intern-like tasks. I just did the job, gritted my teeth, and bared it all. And people took notice. I was extremely lucky, because at the end of the fellowship, they created a position just for me. The Director of Diversity and Minority Affairs did not exist at the time, but I got the job.

I really was not a risk taker until I had to be, but it paid off in the end.

I see that you recently were hired at Lexis in February, congrats. What does an average day look like as a Solutions Consultant?

I really enjoy my job right now because I get to approach it from a teaching perspective. As Solutions Consultant, I work with members of state and local government to show them the new tools on the Lexis website that would help them maximize their time and research. It’s a role where you get to help the community in a way, since you’re helping to develop strategic plans for these agencies to be more effective in their roles.

You’ve taken an alternative route to using your JD, namely not working in a firm/courthouse. What do you like most about your job?

I watched the people around me, my friends and colleagues, and saw what they had to do to be successful in a traditional practice. The amount of hours you have to give up in a week from your life, to me it wasn’t worth it.

I love the law and admire what good lawyers can do for people. There are people who go to court every day on behalf of their clients to fight against injustice, but it just wasn’t for me.

In my job I get to be involved in the law, but also have time for myself. And I’m in a position where I get to speak with individuals in positions that can change the discussion when it comes to diversity and inclusion issues, two topics I am very passionate about.

For example, I wondered when I worked in the nonprofit sector why there were no sign language translators at gatherings, and why do we only canvas in English? These were the type of questions that came to me.

But even though I did enjoy working in the nonprofit sector, I believe that I can do more in a corporate setting, where there are more resources to reinforce the importance of diversity and minority inclusion in the workplace. I’ve seen how inclusion can often fall through the cracks in these environments. There is so much more work to be done.

Are there any major challenges in law school or in your career that you had to face? How did you overcome them?

Even though there are no major moments or events that I can remember vividly, I do remember how I felt. People would make subtle off hand, off color remarks that let me know, oh right, you don’t see me as your equal. You don’t think that I can provide the same benefits as a cisgender white male would to your company/organization.

I was very naive in the beginning. I thought we had come so far, that that kind of ignorance didn’t exist anymore. But I became very aware of how much of a minority I am in this field. I was the only woman of color at the initial Lexis training, and to me it was obvious.

But I think the worse sort of discrimination I’ve received, honestly, is ageism. It hurts more to be a millennial. Older attorneys believe that our generation is lazy, and they make these remarks, “your age group” or “you millennial” and I think it can be a big hurdle to overcome.

So when I walk in, a young woman of color, I realize how true that saying is, that you have to work twice as hard to be seen half as good. I don’t subscribe to those stereotypes of what makes a good attorney. You could be a white-black-Hispanic a man or a woman, young or old and still be a bad worker.

What do you do to unwind?

I don’t really have one thing I do, whatever I feel like doing at the moment is what I do. I make a little me time, whether that’s getting out of the house or binge watching “Nailed It” for two hours. I’ve decided that I’m not going to feel guilty for doing whatever I want to do.

As women we’re workhorses, you know? We work ourselves to the bone, and then work some more because if we don’t get it done, who will? I’ve become unapologetic in that respect. Whether I want to play in makeup, or go to the mall, or even if I want to be productive and do research in my free time, I’m not going to feel bad about it.

Do you have any advice for struggling students/ graduates who are not satisfied with where they are right now? 

If you had you told me five years ago that I’d be working in a nontraditional job in the legal field, I would have said you are insane. I’m a very regimented person, but if you plan your life out, you leave no room for experiences.

I know it’s hard, because most of us have at least $100,000 in debt from going to school, our finances don’t really allow for those experiences.

But I think you have to think to yourself “what do I love?” if you feel like you’re in a rut, and something doesn’t feel right, make a change. Take a risk, lean into it, listen to your gut because it will tell you sooner than your head will admit. Chase happiness if you’re not happy, push until you feel that way.

Sometimes you have to consider added family pressures and other external forces, but you spend 50-60 years of your life working, find something that you enjoy. Don’t let your work limit you, or what you think you want to do keep you back. I didn’t know jobs in diversity and inclusion existed until I looked outside my comfort zone. Bottom line, I would just say take chances and be open to experiences. You’ll be better for it.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Despite her initial struggles, Stephanie seems to have found a good balance of working in an area she enjoys while still utilizing the training and skills developed from her law school days.

As we wrapped up our conversation, Stephanie told me that she was actually driving to work as we spoke, on a Sunday no less.

“I have to work today, but I don’t even mind it,” she admitted. It was a nice change speak to someone who actually enjoys what they do.

Most of us are constantly searching for something we think we want, to fit a mold we think we have to adhere to. The high school reunion is nothing compared to the law school class reunion. There is less room for failure; it becomes a competition to see who scored the biggest title and salary since leaving the academic playground behind.

But in the legal field, between Linkedin and simply networking within the profession, a reunion is unnecessary. From the time we take the bar exam, we are all judged by each other. Everyone knows that Daniel failed twice, Aaron is on the fast track to becoming partner, and Sarah moved to Ohio because her score wasn’t high enough to practice in New York.

But these comparisons are unfair to us and to each other. We all have a different path to walk, and I want mine to be one that leads me to a whole and healthy life. So for now, I think I’ll take Stephanie’s advice, and keep chasing my happy.