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THE LEGAL BRIEF
VOLUME 40, ISSUE 3
“ In Re: Rob Hatfield ”
1. Name and year admitted to Bar: Robert Hatfield, 2008
2. Areas you practice in: In my civilian job, I work primarily on environmental, agricultural, land use, and natural resource issues as non - partisan counsel to two committees in the Washington House of Representatives. I'm also a JAG in the Washington Air National Guard, and in that role my practice includes military justice, cyber law, and advising commanders on providing National Guard support to civilian authorities in response to natural and man - made disasters. 3. I became a lawyer because . . . I think my desire to become a lawyer came in two phases. First, there was the less considered phase when I was a kid and I was constantly analyzing and debating issues, and enough people told me I should become a lawyer that I just kind of internalized it without thinking too deeply about it. But then the more considered phase of wanting to be a lawyer came when I was in college and I be- gan to better understand the good that lawyers can do in terms of helping people to solve and prevent complex problems on a huge variety of topics. 4. The hardest part of being a lawyer is . . . My greatest moments of stress as a lawyer have come when I was repre- senting a client in litigation, and I had a good idea of what I thought the right result should be for my client, but I did- n't know if I would be able to get my client to that result. So, the hardest part of being a lawyer for me is acknowledg- ing that uncertainty is one of the fundamental elements of what it means to be a lawyer. 5. I would give this advice to a first - year law student: I'd recommend talking to as many lawyers in as many differ- ent practice areas as you can in order to get a sense of what sounds good to you, and what doesn't, and then figure out what things you need to be doing in law school in order to put yourself on the best path toward the type of law practice you'd like to find yourself in. For some types of practice, what you do in law school may not matter that much, but for some types of practice, it matters quite a lot. 6. Traits I admire in other attorneys: Besides the fundamental traits of kindness and decency, I really admire the ability to compartmentalize - the ability to go one from project or obligation or client to another without letting the stress or demands of the one thing spill over to the other thing. I certainly haven't got that mastered yet, but I'm working on it. (Continued on next page)
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