I was selected by the American College of Bankruptcy as the Distinguished Law Student for the Fifth Circuit in 2016 during the spring of my 3L year of
law school. At this point I knew that I intended to practice bankruptcy after law school, but aside from the individuals I met at the firm I worked for during my 2L summer (Weil, Gotshal & Manges), I didn’t know anyone in the field.
Traveling to D.C. to meet with bankruptcy practitioners from across the country gave me the opportunity to connect with celebrated professionals in the bankruptcy field and to ask them for advice and guidance on my own career. The College assigned me Bill Wallander as a mentor, who is a partner at a large law firm in the area where I planned to practice. It was refreshing to meet Bill on a personal level and to be able to ask him questions without the trappings that accompany partner-new associate relations. Even more critical for my career, the College introduced me to a whole network of female bankruptcy practitioners, some of whom I continue to reach out to for advice or to keep in touch with on a personal level to this day.
Prior to the relationships developed through the College, I could count the number of female bankruptcy professionals I knew on one hand. I come from a working-class background and am a first-generation college attendee. None of my family members have any experience in professional fields, nor do they know any attorneys. Graduating law school and joining this profession, with all of its trappings, was daunting to say the least. But, as a result of my experience as a Distinguished Law Student and my introduction to the College, I was able to form both personal and mentor relationships with other female practitioners, who have candidly guided me through all those little pitfalls and traps and taught me how to present myself in a poised and professional manner.
At the end of the evening, Charlie asked about my post-judicial clerkship plans. I told him I had not decided on a firm yet, and he told me that he was going to have me come work for him at Haynes and Boone. I laughed it off and figured he was just saying that to be polite and friendly. Months later, Charlie reached out and asked if I had taken a position at a firm yet. I had not, so we set up an interview. After meeting the rest of the team at Haynes and Boone, I accepted an associate position in the Dallas office. Today, I’m a third-year associate navigating the complex chapter 11 world and loving it (even with the added chaos that is COVID-19). Accepting the College’s Distinguished Law Student award and attending the annual conference helped launch my career. For me, the Distinguished Law Student Award was more than just an award, it was a huge opportunity that the College was gracious enough to extend me. My hard work in law school gave me the qualifications for the award and resulting job, but the College gave me the ability to network and further develop my personal skills. I made several friends, learned a great deal, and had the easiest job interview of my life.
Jeri Leigh Miller
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