Taking Risks in a Profession That Discourages Risk

Many legal jobs are all about understanding, and typically avoiding, risk. So how do we, as lawyers, think about embracing risk when pursuing our own careers? Let’s talk candidly about embracing taking chances, making objective-ish judgments about when a risk is worth it, some of the practical considerations of risk-taking, and the joys and hardships of a nonlinear professional trajectory. Learn from Wasserstein Fellow Hannah Fried’s personal experience: from taking the bar exam later than my classmates (which seemed wildly risky at the time!) to working on political campaigns (with their unpredictable outcomes – and predictable period of unemployment following) to starting my own organization.

Lunch provided. RSVP below.

Prior to co-founding and leading All Voting is Local, Hannah served as the National Director and Deputy General Counsel for Voter Protection on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. In 2012, Fried served as the Voter Protection Director for President Obama’s reelection effort in Florida, and from July 2009 to March 2012, she was the Deputy Director and Deputy Counsel for Voter Protection at the Democratic National Committee. Fried served with the Obama campaign’s voter protection team during the 2008 primaries and joined the advance staff for the general election in June 2008. Fried also has spent several years in federal government service, at the Department of Justice and at the Environmental Protection Agency. She is a graduate of Williams College (class of 2004) and of Harvard Law School (class of 2008). She is admitted to practice law in New York.

If you or an event participant requires disability-related accommodations, please contact HLS Accessibility Services at accessibility@law.harvard.edu two weeks in advance of the event.