The question, "What do you do for a living," doesn't have a straight-line answer. My law firm bio offers several answers.
There is a lot to unpack in that bio.
- I'm a labor and employment lawyer: I am the Chair of my firm's Employment and Labor practice. I serve as outside in-house counsel for businesses. I am the voice on the other end of a phone when a business needs advice on firing an employee, a policy or agreement drafted, guidance on a leave of absence, disability accommodation, or internal complaint or investigation, or information on any number of other issues that plague human resources professionals and businesses daily.
- I'm a beer lawyer: I'm one of the co-founders and co-practice group leaders of my firm's Craft Beer practice. In that capacity, I help brewers, brew pubs and restaurants, and businesses that serve the craft beer industry navigate their specialized business, legal, and regulatory issues.
- I'm a blogger and thought leader: I've been writing this blog for nearly 15 years, have been inducted into the ABA's Blawg Hall of Fame, and have done too many interviews with too many journalists, in print, on podcasts, on radio, and on television.
- I'm a litigator: I represent businesses in employment and labor litigation, including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful discharge claims, non-competition and trade-secret misappropriation disputes, wage-and-hour class and collective actions, and union certification and decertification matters.
- I'm a trial lawyer: I actually take cases to trials, in front of judges and juries.
On this week's episode of The Norah and Dad Show, we focus on the last bullet point … but not about me. Instead, we talk about my daughter's experience on her high school mock trial team as her team prepares for the next round of the competition. She explains why she chose mock trial over this year's musical (after having the lead role last year) and describes what the case (a Covid-focused Fifth Amendment takings case) is all about. I've seen my fair share of trials over the years, and in the first round these kids were impressive in how they prepared and presented their case. I can't wait to watch Round 2 later this week. Good luck Lake Ridge Academy Mock Trial Team!
You'll find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, on the web, or wherever you listen to podcasts.