Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston and Federal Defender Jodi Halim Linker shared personal insights and advice about starting a legal career at an event recently hosted by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society and the Northern District Historical Society. Specifically, they emphasized the importance of women attorneys commencing their careers at small law firms.
Early in her career, Judge Illston began her legal journey at a small law firm “on the Peninsula“. She wasn’t initially aware of the existence of Big Law or the potential for significant salaries in the field. Federal Defender Jodi Halim Linker mirrored these sentiments, both well-regarded legal professionals underlining the impact of mentorships that shaped the direction of their careers, experiences they found in smaller firms.
By starting in smaller firms, these women found that it lent a certain intimacy to their initial ventures into the legal profession. They advised other legal professionals, especially women, to consider such firms as their starting point for a more personalized, insightful, and fruitful career journey in the legal sector.