Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 42

ASSOCIATES' ANGLE

ON-THE-JOB EXPERIENCE IN AN

AUTOMATED WORLD
By David O'Boyle

ASHLEY M. SIMPSON

JACK BLUM

JAMES R. BILLINGS-KANG

Schiff Hardin LLP

Paley Rothman LLP

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

I'm fortunate to have great mentors who have given
me a lot of great experience over my five years of
practice. But a major component of getting the
right, substantive experience is persistence. When
someone asks you what kind of work you're looking
for, you have to tell them what you want. And even
when they don't ask you, you still have to tell them
what you want. I also attend conferences to learn
about areas of law that I haven't seen in my own
practice. Conferences allow you to meet amazing
people who give you valuable insight. You can
create a rich network just from talking to people
while drinking bad coffee in a conference hall.

I try to always make myself available to the attorneys at my firm - both within my practice area
and completely outside of it - and I make sure that
all of my work is of the best quality. This way, people
at the firm know I'm reliable and dependable, and
I've established trust for partners to send me more
substantive work like taking depositions or going to
trials and hearings. I've also made it a point to
understand the available technological tools at our
firm and e-discovery resources. I stay abreast of new
products vendors are offering and position myself
to take advantage of new platforms and developments and use them in my own practice to pass
new efficiencies on to our clients.

As a junior litigator, there's no better or quicker way
to immerse yourself in all facets of litigation than by
handling a pro bono matter. During my first year, for
example, I agreed to handle an asylum case representing a Salvadorian girl seeking a new life in
America. I represented her for seven years between
two firms. Along the way, I picked up invaluable
experience exhausting litigation strategies, filing
documents, appearing in court for arguments, submitting FOIA requests, issuing subpoenas, and
other substantial experience I would not have
gotten otherwise. I'm happy to report that my client
was granted special immigrant juvenile status and is
well on her way to obtaining a green card here.

Ashley M. Simpson, courtesy of Schiff Hardin LLP; Jack Blum, courtesy
of Paley Rothman LLP; James R. Billings-Kang, courtesy of Seyfarth
Shaw LLP

42 WASHINGTON LAWYER

* DECEMBER 2017

*



http://www.dcbar.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - December 2017

Your Voice
From Our President
Our Membership
Career & Professional Development
Practice Management
Calendar of Events
Government & Gavel
Feature: 50 Years of Space Law
Feature: The Resurrection of Civics Class
Feature: Privacy in the Digital Age
Feature: AI & The Legal Workplace
Member Spotlight
Global & Domestic Outlook
Worth Reading
Media Bytes
Attorney Briefs
Ask the Ethics Experts
Associates Angle
Disciplinary Summaries
The Pro Bono Effect
Community & Connections
Last Word
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 1
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 2
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 3
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 4
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Your Voice
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 7
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Our Membership
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Career & Professional Development
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 11
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Calendar of Events
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 13
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Government & Gavel
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 15
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Feature: 50 Years of Space Law
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 17
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 18
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 19
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 20
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 21
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Feature: The Resurrection of Civics Class
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 23
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 24
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 25
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Feature: Privacy in the Digital Age
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 27
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 28
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 29
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Feature: AI & The Legal Workplace
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 31
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 32
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 33
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Member Spotlight
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 35
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Global & Domestic Outlook
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 37
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Media Bytes
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Ask the Ethics Experts
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Associates Angle
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - The Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 45
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Community & Connections
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - 47
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Last Word
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Cover3
Washington Lawyer - December 2017 - Cover4
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