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Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2015
Why did you decide to enter the legal profession?
As an undergrad, I had a wide range of interests: a little bit of philosophy, some economics, some history, some science. I didn’t know where I should specialize. Now as a lawyer, I find myself arguing over fairness (philosophy), what would be a market efficient reading of a regulation (economics), the context in which a statute was enacted (history), or whether certain chemical compounds pose a risk to the environment (science). Being a lawyer means you get to stay interested in a little bit of everything.
If you hadn’t pursued a legal career, what would you be doing?
If I had not been a lawyer, I would be a gigging jazz musician/music educator.
Who is someone who has inspired you in your career?
My first job out of law school was with Judge John G. Baker at the Indiana Court of Appeals. One of the values he instilled in me, and which he himself modeled, was maintaining a collegial, relaxed, and not overly-formal work environment. It’s crucial to do everything you can to separate inevitable stress and anxiety from your interactions with colleagues and to practice law with a smile and a laugh.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever received I took from an Ernest Hemingway memoir called “A Moveable Feast.” Discussing writer’s block, he advises: “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” When an attorney encounters a complicated fact pattern, a massive amount of documents, or a niche area of law, it can be intimidating and difficult to know where to begin. The solution is to start with a sentence you know is absolutely true; then follow it with another sentence you know is true.
What makes a good lawyer/judge?
The best lawyers and judges are grounded in humility. A good attorney needs to be humble enough to know when they aren’t certain about a fact, how a jury will interpret a fact, or how a court will rule on an argument. We all have an instinct to jump to a convenient conclusion, then immediately convince ourselves that no one else could ever disagree. Good lawyers and judges fight that instinct.
What is something you wish people knew about lawyers?
The best lawyers can’t help but get personally invested in the cases they work on. I know I’m not the only attorney who never really checks out of a heavily-disputed case. At dinner with my wife, or at the park with my kids, there’s always a background script running in my brain thinking through new arguments to make, or different avenues to settle a case. Not to worry, though—I don’t bill for that time.
Tell us something surprising about you.
When I’m not practicing law or spending time with my wife and two little ones, I still find time to gig as a jazz pianist around Indianapolis. I have probably 150 standards memorized, so I never have to rehearse anything.
Tell us about a “lesson learned” moment you’ve had in your career.
My “lesson learned” concerns being precise with the facts you present to a court. I once saw a judge launch into a five-minute rant following a prosecutor’s inaccurate representation. A visceral reminder: always limit yourself precisely to what is true. Overselling your facts undermines your credibility.
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