A PERSONAL
HISTORY . . .
by trent latta
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I started practicing law with Han- son Bridget LLP in San Francis- co. The firm’s list of outstanding qualities stretched the length of the West Coast. But one, for me,
stood out more than the rest: the firm
created an atmosphere in which it was
easy for partners and associates to
connect on a personal level.
Much of Hanson Bridgett’s commitment in this regard can be attributed to the firm’s managing partner,
who I’ll call Andrew because that’s
his name. He’s an imposing yet approachable athletic man with a loud
voice and a quick wit who dreams
large enough to have once argued the
firm should buy its own blimp, like
Goodyear. When the firm decided to
move office buildings in San Francisco’s Financial District, he and the
other partners agreed that all attorney offices would be the same size;
the most senior partner’s office was
the same size as the most junior associate’s office. After learning about
Hanson Bridgett during law school, I
concluded without much effort that it
was where I wanted to start my career.
But Hanson Bridgett didn’t conduct on-campus interviews at my law
school. So I defied the standard convention that said applications must be
submitted through a law firm’s “
Recruiter Contact,” and I instead pled
my case directly to Andrew. I sent him
an email, followed by handwritten
notes that were practically love letters. (I think I even included sparkly
stickers in one note and I might have
cracked a stupid lawyer joke: What do
you buy a friend graduating from law
school? A lobotomy.)
I knew it was a risk: attorneys are
busy people — a fact I didn’t entirely
appreciate during law school — and
of Personal Relationships
Young|New Lawyers
by Trent Latta
