Back to School: How I Went from Being a Lawyer to a Law Professor

It was an exciting moment when I had the opportunity to extend my career beyond the practice of law.  There were so many possibilities to consider, but I was itching to spend more time with my family and my family business, Bryn Mawr Vineyards.  Bryn Mawr means “high hill” in Welsh, the perfect name for one of the highest and most exposed vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley. We founded Bryn Mawr 14 years ago and enthusiastically have been growing it ever since.

I’ve had opportunities to climb high peaks, and I’ve become used to reaching high peaks. I went to a top law school, made partner at a top law firm and was privileged to practice with one of the top healthcare law practices in the country. I recognized the fulfillment of reaching those high peaks with the financial stability to start a family business and the financial freedom to explore new opportunities and new experiences while I’m still young enough to enjoy them.  And I don’t expect to run out of new things to do.

Initially inspired by my fourth-grade teacher, I decided I wanted to teach when I grew up.  Some of my other teachers were equally impactful, exposing me to music, literature, debate and public speaking. But by the time I was finishing high school, the idea of becoming a teacher had lost its luster, and my focus was on getting a college education and then figuring out later how to earn a living.

My parents were committed to making it possible for me to be the first member of my family to go to college, and they were proud when I graduated with honors from the University of Michigan.  They were even more excited when I went straight into the U of M Law School, from which I graduated in 1988.  From there, I joined Latham & Watkins’ San Diego office, where I spent the next three and a half decades.  From the beginning, I loved practicing law – especially in the field of healthcare regulation and defending healthcare fraud investigations.

Last April, my colleagues at Latham threw me a fabulous retirement party.  It was one of the best nights of my life.  The rooftop setting was beautiful. My family and best friends were there.  My law partners were there.  Even my former team members and mentors who I hadn’t seen in years were there.  And they all said such nice things!  It was a magical night.  I found it all quite amazing, since I had already made plans as a “recovering attorney” to join the family business, expand my wine education, serve on a board or two and spend time with my grandchildren.  And that was only the first three months…

The Opportunities

I had already decided to use the business acumen I had developed as a lawyer to propel our family business to new levels of growth by joining the company as my husband Jon’s Co-Chief and Co-CEO.  And so it was that I learned the ins and out of the business not only from my husband, but also from my children – who are miles ahead of me on the uses of technology, our hospitality operations, marketing and the strategies for selling wine to a broader and more diverse customer base. And as I thought about the joys of leaning from my family, I was reminded of my old dream of becoming a teacher.

I began to muse about what it was about particular teachers that made me want to follow in their footsteps.  What about their teaching approach did I find effective?  The ability to inspire, the ability to connect with students on a personal level, the ability to relate theoretical topics to real world experiences and the ability to make learning interesting, and even fun, were high on my list. And I started to reconsider making teaching a part of my puzzle.  Now all I had to do was figure out (a) how to find the time to teach; (b) how to find a place to teach; and (c) how I would approach going back to school.  While I was mulling over the logistical challenges, I discovered that the answer to my questions lay just down the road.  Serendipity made my decisions easy.

I learned that Willamette University School of Law, conveniently located just over the hill from the winery, offers a Health Law Certification program.  The opportunity to teach at a local law school could be an easy add to a schedule that had already become an increasingly well-lived life.  Willamette University was plenty familiar.  My daughter graduated from there.  My son was an additional cheerleader, as he knew the campus well as a former soccer coach.  Again, my children played a significant role in my road back to the classroom.

The Healthcare Law Certificate program was the lynchpin to my decision to e-mail the profession who ran the program. I told him and the law school’s Dean that I wanted to give back and believed that my expertise and experience were a match to their goals.  The invitation to come on board arrived days later.

And just like that, I was back in law school, fulfilling multiple objectives all at once. My fourth-grade dream of being a teacher was achieved. Connecting more closely with the people of my community would be good for our winery business.  The opportunity to give back in a university setting meant that I would have to be on my toes – continuing to learn and continuing to grow in my chosen field.  What could be better than this hat trick?

The Challenges

Teaching is as challenging as teachers tell you it is.  Ultimately, my students will judge whether I am an effective teacher, and I can’t wait to hear their daily, weekly and end of course verdicts.  But I am ready to meet the expectations of my most discerning students.

At Willamette, we’ve got new methods, new technologies, and we include considerations of social justice and inclusivity.  Equally important, the tools to research are easier and faster, but the opportunity to engage in constant research is even better, to perform at the highest level to ensure that I can respond to the curiosity of students.

I am ever mindful that students learn through different teaching methods.  But as I thought about my law school experience and my professors’ penchant for the Socratic method, I was reminded as much about the intimidation of pop-up questions in the middle of class as I was about how much the learning process has changed since then.  For me, a successful teaching assignment supports collaboration, interactive communication and inclusivity among classmates.

I am now getting a foothold on the dream of a fourth grader, doing what my best teachers did – encouraging participation, sharing opinions, questioning the status quo.  And I am the daily recipient of the returning gift of new perspectives to consider.

Healthcare law is a constantly changing and expanding subject, as new technologies, new regulations, and new challenges emerge almost daily.  For example, in the area of telemedicine, we are in new territory every day, with as many prospects for abuses as there are for improvements in healthcare across the board.  Adding to the many conundrums in healthcare law is the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the practice of medicine, and how current laws might evolve to address new risks.  As I prepared to teach on these topics, I realized that there was no precedent to follow.  But as in many areas of my life, fearlessness, combined with common sense and curiosity, allowed me to engage on these subjects in a positive way.

The Rewards

Before I arrived in the Willamette School of Law classroom, I was convinced that teaching about matters of public policy and social justice in the healthcare delivery system were not only important to me, but would also be important to my very bright student population.  I’m happy to say that I was right.  Not only do we engage in spirited discussion in the classroom, they’ve already started to reach out to me comfortably by email, sharing their ideas, seeking my advice, and testing out their own theories.  And in these shared learning environments, I thrive with each opportunity to inspire them in the way my childhood teachers inspired me.