The purpose of the Barrister Banter series is to bridge the gap between junior and senior business lawyers in Oregon, fostering understanding and camaraderie. For this quarter’s installment, we interviewed Daniel Gilbert, Senior Assistant Attorney General for the Oregon Department of Justice. Read on to learn how Daniel’s cross-country law experience, from Washington, DC to Oregon, informs his words of wisdom for young lawyers.
- Tell me about your path to being a lawyer. What inspired you to pursue this career?
I have always enjoyed logic and trying to piece together disparate pieces of information into a cohesive narrative. I also loved competing in games (sports and otherwise) and was good at learning esoteric rules and figuring out how to apply them when doing so would give me a competitive advantage. Law seemed like a good fit.
- What is your practice area?
I am a government lawyer, serving as a Senior Assistant Attorney General in the General Counsel Division of the Oregon Department of Justice. In this role, I provide legal advice to numerous state agencies as they seek to carry out the duties assigned to them by the Oregon Legislature.
- How long have you been in your current role?
I have been in my current position for a little more than two years and an attorney with the State of Oregon for about thirteen years.
- How have you seen the practice change since you started practicing?
Client expectations around response times and attorney availability have increased significantly. There is also an increased desire to use quantifiable metrics to evaluate attorney performance.
- What do you wish you had known before you started working as a new lawyer?
Three things. First, that you are in charge of your own career. It is critical for a young attorney to constantly step back, evaluate their career to date, and decide if they like the path they are on or if changes are necessary. Any organization, including law firms, defaults to using their employees in a way that best suits the organization’s needs. A young attorney should continually evaluate and ensure that their career is developing in a way that is conducive to their long-term needs and desires.
Second, I wish I had understood the importance of relationships and of developing a reputation for excellence and good judgment (both internally and with clients). The same piece of legal advice can be treated differently depending on who delivers it and how it is delivered. You will have a happier and more successful career if you become known as a trusted advisor who understands the clients’ needs and gives great legal advice that is tailored to those needs.
Third, keep an open mind with respect to career opportunities. When I started my career, I “knew” that I wanted to do international law. And I spent the first seven years of my career doing so while working at a large firm in Washington, DC with a practice that focused on investment treaty arbitration and representing foreign sovereigns before U.S. federal courts. But life brought me to Oregon, and I have ultimately been much happier working for state government than I was doing what I thought was my dream job.
- What are your career highlights?
My career highlights involve successfully guiding clients through unsettled areas of the law. As a government attorney, one highlight was successfully advising the Oregon Legislature as it sought to retain the ability to conduct redistricting when (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) the Legislature would not receive the federal census data required to conduct redistricting before the deadline for state legislative reapportionment that is set forth in the Oregon Constitution.
- What is your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part of the job is the number of novel issues I am asked to analyze and provide legal advice on. I have worked in state government for almost thirteen years, and it feels like nearly every week I am presented with a new circumstance to figure out.
- What parts of the job do you wish you could outsource to AI?
Basic legal research/case law summaries.
- What advice would you give a new business lawyer?
Work hard, develop a reputation for producing excellent work, and remember that professional relationships matter.
- What advice would you give a senior lawyer who is charged with mentoring a new lawyer?
Take the responsibility seriously. This means taking the time to get to know the new lawyer as a person and trying to figure out what they actually want to accomplish in their legal career. Advice is much more helpful when the recipient feels understood. ♦