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THE LEGAL BRIEF
VOLUME 40, ISSUE 3
“ In Re: Rob Hatfield ” Continued
7. If I were not practicing law, I would be . . . If I weren't a lawyer, I'd like to be either a forester or a land use planner. In both of those jobs, you're talking with people about their goals and values, and helping them to use those goals and values to put together plans that will have effects many decades into the future. In some ways that's not so different from being a lawyer, but there are some tangible / physical aspects to those other professions that seem like they'd be pretty satisfying.
8. What is the first thing you will do when you retire? Walk from place to place, meet people, get in adventures.
9. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? Why? Right now, I'd like to travel back in time. Specifically, I'd like to travel back to the Reconstruction era in the United States, roughly 1865 to 1877. I've read about that era, but I think it would be fascinating to live through that time and see what the day - to - day events and issues and attitudes were that made up that time of tremendous upheaval in the U.S. 10. What words of wisdom would you pass on to your childhood self? Probably about the same things I try to say to my sons every morning when they get on their bikes to ride to school: be good, be great, be kind, have fun, learn lots. 11. What words of wisdom would you give to a young lawyer new to the profession? It's along the lines of what someone told me when I started working for the Legislature: the legislative process is big enough and complex enough that there's not really any one person who has the whole thing figured out, so the important thing to do is to talk to a number of different people to get their perspective on what's happening, and then use those perspectives to develop your own perspective. I think the practice of law is like that: there are often a lot of different courses of action your client *could* pursue, and it can be hard as just one person to know all the pros and cons of each of those options. To deal with that, I recommend developing a group of other lawyers whose judgment you trust that you can call up (withing the bounds of attorney - client privilege, of course) and kind of kick ideas around with to figure out what makes the most sense for your client.
Brief synopsis of Robert Hatfield, his personal life, his work life, and any special awards or activities.
My name is Rob Hatfield and I live in Olympia with my wife Katy (who is an Assistant Attorney General and who I met in law school - law school relationships matter!), and my sons, Sawyer and Anson. I grew up in Northern California, graduated from Humboldt State University where I served as student body president, served in the Coast Guard Reserve during college and after, and moved to Washington to attend law school at the University of Washington. I've lived and worked in Washington ever since, except for one glorious year when Katy and I did judicial clerkships in Alaska. I'm a Senior Counsel with the Office of Program Research at the Washington House of Representatives and the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of the 194th Wing of the Washington Air National Guard.
Contact information (work phone and email):
Rob Hatfield, 360 - 786 - 7117, robert.hatfield@leg.wa.gov
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