2023’s Lessons Learned: Your Inspiring Stories

Episode Notes

Transcript

Montana Funk:

This is Young Lawyer Rising from the ABA Young Lawyers, Division and Legal Talk Network Listeners, welcome back and Happy New Year. This is your host, Montana Funk. Today I’m joined by Tamara P. Nash. Tamara serves as a director of experiential learning and lecturer at the University of South Dakota Knudsen School of Law. She maintains a strong commitment to serving the legal profession. Tamara is an active member of the South Dakota State Bar and former president of the South Dakota Young Lawyer section. Currently, she serves as chair of the American Bar, Association Young Lawyers Division. I’m so excited to have her on today’s episode as we reflect on the year of 2020 23, taking in different perspectives of many of our listeners and members and hearing their challenges that they faced in the last year. Thank you listeners for joining us. Listeners, happy New Year and Tamara, happy New year to you.

Tamara P. Funk:

Happy New Year to you.

Montana Funk:

I am so excited about this. It’s 2024, 2023, honestly went by in a flash, but I am very excited for the new year and just to jump into everything, my New Year’s resolutions, which I’m sure a lot of people have and the podcast. So how’s your new year been going?

Tamara P. Funk:

New Year’s been great. It has been very busy. I am also trying to stick to my resolutions. The winter weather right now is making that a little difficult, a lot of snow, a lot of wind, but the years off to a great start. Otherwise,

Montana Funk:

I feel that I decided to run a half marathon this year. I am not a runner and I’m currently in my half marathon training and it’s minus 37 Fahrenheit outside today. So yeah, we’ll not be running this week. But other than that, I can’t complain either. It’s been awesome and something I’m excited about today’s episode is because we’re kind of looking back on 2023, so this is a little bit different than our listeners are used to. I think it’s going to be an awesome episode to kind of get to know our listeners a little bit more, create this community that I think the ABA as well as Young, Lawyer Rising has really helped with over the years. And part of that is that we had quite a few actually entries from our listeners, ABA members of their reflections on 2023. And this episode, you and I are going to be delving into that. So I’m excited.

Tamara P. Funk:

I’m too,

Montana Funk:

And I want to thank everyone who’s listening today and anyone who did submit, thank them for submitting. Like I said, we got a lot of entries, too many to put on today’s podcast. We might have to do a second episode of this. I think it’s going to be awesome. But yeah, I’m really excited about it and we’ll just kind of dive right into it. I think the biggest thing that, like I said before, is this concept year of kind of welcome home, right? Yeah. We want the members of the ABA, the people who listen to this podcast to feel like they have a community that they can confide in, that they can lean on. Obviously we go through a lot of stressors in our career as well as personal life. So I think that this episode will hopefully give people a little bit of that comfort that they can come here and it’s a safe space.

Tamara P. Funk:

Yeah, I do too. Absolutely.

Montana Funk:

So one of the things that our listeners said, and we’ll just jump right into it, is obviously we talked about there’s lots of challenges, whether it’s in your career, whether it’s in your personal life, and one of the challenges that one of our listeners actually dealt with in 2023 was a Cronin health issue. They had submitted this entry saying that they had this Cronin Health issue and they were juggling work, they were juggling volunteering. They actually realized at one point, I need to take a step back. I need to focus on me. That’s sometimes hard. That’s I think, probably hard for a lot of our listeners to remove themselves from the career aspect of things and realize, Hey, life’s going to happen and it doesn’t stop for work, and you need to focus on your health. So this individual did overcome that. They overcame that, they said with the community that they developed through their years of practice, and they also asked for help. And their biggest takeaway was asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s actually a sign of strength. I thought that was a really important entry that we got.

Tamara P. Funk:

Absolutely. I think it’s such an important entry. It shows that life continues to happen always, no matter there’s personal or professional things happening, but to have that strength and vulnerability is such an important and hard lesson sometimes for us to learn.

Montana Funk:

No, I agree. And I think too, what’s really important is that they were able to lean on their community. I think every day it’s tough to go into work and sometimes separate ourselves from the job, especially when a lot of us are dealing with other people who have life issues that go on. And a lot of times, at least for me working in the criminal area, it feels like my issues outside of work is nothing compared to what some of my clients are going through. So having that help, having that support is so important. And the listener was right that asking for help shouldn’t be taken as a sign of weakness, not right.

Tamara P. Funk:

Absolutely. And I think it shows greater strength to admit, Hey, something’s going on here. I need resources. I need support. I need more. And to show that side of yourself to others, especially in a profession where there’s this air about perfection and winning and losing and competition, it can be so hard to take the mask down and be yourself and lean into the community that champions you and that supports you. And it’s just so awesome to hear that this person was able to do that.

Montana Funk:

Yeah, I think so too. I think something that I hope our listeners can take away from that as well, that entry is that even if you think, okay, if I focus on myself or if need to lean on people for help, I’m going to be seen as weak or I’m not going to put more into my job. It’s so important that we take care of ourselves because also for our job, if we’re lacking personally, health wise, emotion wise, mental health wise, that also going to take away from your performance at the end of the day. So I would hope that this space, and like I said, the ABA and this podcast and where people are working, they do feel like they have a safe place to go.

Tamara P. Funk:

Yeah, absolutely. It’s such a critical important point. I often say to be a good lawyer, you have to be a healthy lawyer. I think leaning into what we need and having support around us and knowing when we need to take a pause is so critically important. It’s like when you get on the airplane, they tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first. How can we advocate for our community and our clients if we’re not where we need to be? But I think it’s such a special opportunity for us to look at how we can have that moment in community with each other in the young lawyers, Division, so many of us are facing similar life circumstances, or at least just can relate to the stress of life all happening at one time. And to be able to have a shared space where no matter who you are, where you come from, what is going on in your life, you can be vulnerable and we can all connect on that commonality, the common thread of life experience, being young lawyers and really just needing and wanting and celebrating that community together.

Montana Funk:

I think that’s perfectly said. Obviously there’s more challenges that we’re going to face every day. They come from a variety of different angles, and we have a couple of more submissions that do go into those challenges. So I want to jump into those. We’ll take a quick break, but when we get back, we’ll talk about more of those challenges. So before the break, we were talking about the listener who talked about their Cronin illness and how they were dealing with that health issue. And like we said, life doesn’t stop. Unfortunately, there’s people all over that are going to have different issues, different challenges that they’re going to come across in their career, and we got so many good submissions. So are you able to jump in for us to a couple of more of these submissions that we got?

Tamara P. Funk:

Oh, I would love to, yes. So one that I think is awesome to share is this individual shared that they have been in the United States for six years after coming here from another country. And through that time they had really the goal and focus of giving a better life for themselves, for their children, and just the challenge that that brings in and of itself on top of being a young lawyer. But they really reflected that the year has been amazing through participation in bar associations, their local bar, the American Bar Association, and that they are excited to learn and share their skills with others in these communities that they have found.

Montana Funk:

I cannot imagine, I mean, I just commend the individual that’s hugely to come here, take on law, first of all, is such a tough area. I remember when I first started law school, one of my professors said, you’re starting a career that honestly forever, every step’s going to feel like you’re drinking out of a fire hydrant and everything comes at you. And that definitely is true. So for this individual to move here from a different country, that’s huge, right? I moved here from Canada and it’s not as much of a difference that maybe some people who’ve moved from other countries, but it is something that’s different that you have to adapt to. So for this individual to come, especially with a family too, I can’t imagine I commend them for being able to go through that and taking it on. Take the bull by the horns.

Tamara P. Funk:

Absolutely. A hundred percent agree. I just think back to myself in law school in my early years as career as a young lawyer and how absolutely overwhelming it was. To your point, it’s absolutely drinking out of the fire hose. And for this person to be able to conquer that on top of coming to the United States with kiddos relying on them, the just amount of tenacity and perseverance that I’m confident this person has is just quite incredible. And it goes to show that our community, our home, the Wilde, our shared home is open to any and everyone. And I think the common thread that draws us all together is we’re young lawyers figuring it out and trying to forge our path forward. And so it’s so cool to see someone from a totally different background than mine feel the same amount of home in bar associations.

Montana Funk:

That is a really good way to put it because we want everyone who’s part of YLD to feel like they have this safe space. How we talk about with the last listener too, it’s really nice to see that there’s people from all walks of life that are finding this common ground where we’re all part of this amazing community of the Wildy community. And it really does not matter where you came from or how you got here, your path. What matters is we’re all here. And I really think this shows our listeners are so strong, our members are so strong, overcome so much. And I hope that everyone feels welcome to that because this individual talked about leaning on their bar leadership or becoming members of their Association, or even just talking to other attorneys, other attorney organizations, there’s so many resources out there that I want to make sure that people are actually using, right, because part of, like you said too, this goes back into our last one with the Cronin health issue, you need to be healthy yourself and in order to be a good lawyer. And I think that that also goes to it, right? Taking on this huge role and leaning on other people, whether it’s health-wise or just community-wise, so important.

Tamara P. Funk:

Absolutely. Absolutely. And just to be able to tap in to the shared resources that we have. To your point, it’s really cool to know that we all bring a little bit of a piece of something to the table, and that when we rely on each other in community, we’re able to get ourselves across the finish line for whatever that goal is, facing an adversity, a tough case, your first trial making partner, no matter what that it is, we all bring a little peace to the community to empower each other to be resilient and to succeed and thrive in those situations.

Montana Funk:

Absolutely. And I know that we had another submission of another challenge that all of us face. This one is a little bit different with Covid, COVID being a huge issue. Obviously the whole world experienced this together. So tell us a little bit about what that individual talked about.

Tamara P. Funk:

So this individual shared their experience as being a senior lawyer in leadership and in their firm. And really just how we all experienced this challenging coming out of Covid time and developing or maybe having to hone and grow skills that we lost or never gained during the pandemic. So they really leaned into helping newer, younger associates kind of bridge that gap that was caused essentially because of we lost so much life in Covid. And so they found that creating shared experiences with younger associates through networking or just one-on-one lunch or talking to them or walking through depositions or hearings with them, just bringing them with them, created an amount of community that really was able to help them bridge the gap, but also thrive in their professional setting.

Montana Funk:

And it’s so interesting when I was reading this one because, so I was not someone who went through covid in law school. I’m very grateful for that. And reading this individual’s input about being a senior in terms of the sense of a young lawyer and having to help those individuals who did go through law school and covid, to me, that even gets lost on me because I have a lot of friends now who I work with who were experiencing that. And it kind of put into perspective to me too, when I’m mentoring people who maybe have their first year and did experience in C trying to switch even the way that I approach those people, they experienced something that no one who practiced before covid hit experienced. I think that that’s just really eyeopening. I can’t imagine going through it. I think people who did are so, so strong because that’s a completely different way of learning.

So reading this really just was eyeopening to me because it also just shows, once again, there’s so many different challenges and backgrounds that YLD members and the listeners of the podcast go through and just being cognizant of everyone’s experience. And yeah, it was just really interesting to me. And I hope that people who listen, take this as a safe place that they can reach out to you or me or whoever they feel comfortable within our community if they are going through something that may not be talked about often or maybe they think is less known.

Tamara P. Funk:

Yeah, I a hundred percent agree. And I think even as the world continues to have unprecedented events, it feels like week after week after week, we’re all experiencing these major life transitions and events on top of just whatever else our personal and professional lives may throw at us. And we all know that life doesn’t stop because something is happening, but we figure out how to thrive in the midst of it, in the face of adversity maybe. And so, yeah, I just agree with your point so deeply. I think there’s resources and opportunities in the young lawyers Division to really find your community, but also create your space where you’re able to say, here’s a passion, here’s an interest, here’s a talent I have. How can I get involved? How can I create a group of folks around me that have the same passion and really move forward and maybe live through whatever the shared adversity is or your own personal adversity or challenge. So I really hope the young lawyers, Division continues to be that place and that resource for so many people.

Montana Funk:

One thing I too also think is important to hone in on this one entry was something that the individual had said was they would help these younger attorneys, these more recent attorneys through, even if it’s not taking someone to depositions or something at work, you can also gain insight to these individuals and also develop your relationships outside of work. You don’t need to feel stuck to being like, I can only get to know my coworkers if it’s in a work setting. Go to lunches, hang out with individuals after work, do game nights. I’m a huge fan of game nights with coworkers because it’s so important that you have those strong relationships, not just in the office, but even outside of the office. And being able to say, we can separate work from also play. And also that strengthens your relationships, makes you feel better overall. So I really like that this person did talk about how they did do them one-on-one lunches or just networking events. There’s more than just having to be at a workplace or at hearings in order to learn and teach one

Tamara P. Funk:

Another. Absolutely. I thought that was such a cool point that this person made as well. And I really appreciated how they took the responsibility as a senior young lawyer to foster that space and foster the opportunity to network and just become friends outside of we’re sitting across the desk from each other. And so yeah, I think it’s really cool and it shows the opportunity that we have as young lawyers to impact change and impact each other and help pour into each other and make sure we have what need and feel supported. And it can be scary sometimes to feel that you’re the lead or you’re taking a mentorship role, but it’s such a critical responsibility that we do that and that we constantly are reaching back for those behind us.

Montana Funk:

Absolutely. I want to touch more on some of the other entries that our listeners and members entered into this year in 2023. We’re going to take one more break and then come back and dive more deep into some other entries and more challenges that our members overcame.

So before the break, we once again, were talking about some of these entries that we received in the different challenges that people overcame this year in 2020 23. And it really just speaks to how strong our community is. The challenges that individuals overcome is always just, it’s really nice to read about just seeing how strong these individuals are. One of the individuals that did submit an entry did go through something really life-changing. They went through a medical transition this year, and that obviously is something that really has an impact on every part of your life and something that you have to be really brave and strong to do. And this individual had talked about, they went through this transition when they had cases, they had clients, they were dealing with people from different social perspectives. The state legislator had introduced bills that were designed to harm that individual’s community.

There’s social biases, there’s preconceptions that this individual had to deal with, but that individual was able to lean on their mentors and their friends, people who they know loved and respected them, and were able to really be their authentic self and go through this transition, which is so important in order to be yourself and identify and feel comfortable in your own body. And like we talked about, we want all our listeners to feel safe. I really appreciate when we get input like this from our members because it just shows how vulnerable and like I said, strong the community is, and I commend this individual for submitting this because that is a really important topic that is really, I think debated highly in the country. It’s something that I think is important, that needs to be shed more light on. It is a challenge that not everyone’s dealing with, but the people who are, it’s a really important thing I think we need to address. So for that individual to be able to go through that and lean on the people that they knew that they could lean on, that’s just huge. And I just commend this person for being willing to open up about that.

Tamara P. Funk:

Absolutely. I have the utmost respect for this person and their story and their walk in life. And it’s one something that takes an amount of courage and commitment to self that I think is just so wonderfully admirable. But also just looking at how cool it is that we have folks who are comfortable and able and empowered and encouraged to be their full selves no matter what that looks like, no matter what’s going on, but to really just be who they are at the core. And I think that’s a really powerful way to live your life, but also to encourage other people to and to shine that light on them. And so it is encouraging to know that we have folks who feel that they have found support and mentorship for huge, massive life events within the young lawyers’ Division. I know I certainly relate to that sentiment and to that feeling and equally match the appreciation that this person expressed.

Montana Funk:

I think powerful is a really good word to use. Also, reading that entry just made me, I don’t know this person individually, but I could read it and just feel the sense of comfort and knowing that that person definitely welcomes into people into their life with big open arms. And it just made me feel it was honestly proud. I’m proud of the community that we have. I’m proud that we have a area that everyone can go to. And as we’ve seen why these entries, people from all different walks of life are comfortable speaking about their personal individual perspectives and their paths and crowd’s really the only word I can use to describe it. I’m kind of at a loss for words just because it’s really neat to see this community that we’ve grown, and especially over the last year. It’s nice when I get to see actual input from people because I’m just behind the microphone.

So when I actually get to see these stories, it really is fun and heartwarming and I’m just really proud of all the people that are part of this community. And I hope that everyone can feel safe, really feel like you said earlier, that they have a home with us because it is a home in a sense, obviously, not literally, but we want this to be a home. I hope people reach out to you and I if they just want to talk and know that people in this community are their mentors. Whether or not we know each other, we have such a good community that you could reach out to. And I have no doubt that any one of our members would be happy to talk to any other one of our members if they need it. So

Tamara P. Funk:

Yeah, absolutely not a doubt in my mind either that folks would not be available to be here to be responsive, provide support. I equally am quite proud to know that this is the home that we have, but the home we’re putting in the work to make, it doesn’t just happen. We’ve all taken the time to have efforts towards respecting each other, loving each other, being a champion of each other, and giving each other permission to, as this person talked about, just being authentic and vulnerable. That’s hard a lot of the times. And so I’m proud that we’ve put in the work to create a home and excited to see the work that we’ll continue to do for the generations to come. For the young lawyers getting ready to pass theBar now it matters that we have this space that we can declare our own and where we can be a hundred percent ourselves and ask for what we need and know that our teammates are here to give it to

Montana Funk:

Us. Absolutely. I could not have said it better myself. And on that note, I’m going to put you on the spot now because boy, I, boy I know, right? I obviously, we’ve talked about this welcome home, how we want people to feel at home. And I know that you have a really good perspective on this. You’ve been through your own challenges throughout your career, and I’m now, like I said, put you on the spot and kind of make you tell me your reflection on 2023, what you took away from it or what challenges you overcame and how this whole group that we’ve created in this community, how it helped you kind of foster, I guess, grow into the individual you want to be, especially going into this new year.

Tamara P. Funk:

Yeah, absolutely. I’d love to. So much like the folks that we’ve already talked about, I had my fair shares of highs and lows in 2023, very hard personal deaths in the family, but also highs of success professionally or just the opportunity to be involved in the American Bar, Association young lawyers, Division and lead at that level. Plenty of highs. Plenty of lows. I think my biggest reflection is I figure it out how to, or I’m trying to, I’ll say Montana, I should correct that. I’m trying to and striving to find an identity outside of my professional title. And that has been something that has been a growth process for me definitely. But also knowing that I can lean on people for support and ask for help, much like what we’ve heard from other folks, and really being able to prioritize putting my personal ability to thrive over the notion of what someone else thinks I should do, the expectations.

That’s what I’m trying to say. So 2023 was a year of hard lessons, but in a way a year of liberation because I remembered that the people who love you and champion you will always support every decision you make if it was made authentically for you in the best that you could do at the time. And so the YLD has really been that space for me. The people that gave me permission to make that discovery and encouraged me to stay true to it, encouraged me to think about who I am, who do I define myself to be. I feel so very fortunate to have stumbled across the ABA in 2016, I think it was. I have really been able to thrive and find connection and mentorship with people who are outstanding and who have invested in me as a person, as a professional, in ways that I probably can never repay. But this space has been amazing for the fun, the opportunities for the leadership, for the growth, and just to have someone to lean on when things get tough, when you share your burdens with others, they’re not quite as heavy.

Montana Funk:

I really appreciate you giving your perspective. I think that it’s really neat. I keep saying the word neat, honestly. I guess what I’m trying to say, if you could see me right now, listeners, I have a smile across my face because it’s really cool hearing everyone’s takeaway in your reflection. And obviously the young lawyers’ Division would not be what it is without you. And I just appreciate you being here to talk about this today and kind of go through this because it is so important. Not only does this community allow us to grow as lawyers, but it also allows us to grow as people. And like you said, finding yourself outside of the role you are in your profession. It’s really neat that we have an organization that, although the main focus is law and our career, that’s not what we always have to be worried about.

People are forming relationships and friendships that aren’t just revolving around work, right? It’s revolving around actual community. And I think your reflection and everyone who put in their own input for this episode really just shows that the ABA is so much bigger than just a bar Association. It is something that people can go to. It is a community that you can share any experience, not just work, whether it be life, whether it be Cronin illness, like we said, transitioning family death, things that are really serious and important and matter and have individuals to lean on outside of your family and friends, because that’s what it should be. You want to be able to be in a community that you feel safe and you feel like you’re welcome and you can be authentic and you can be yourself. And it’s really cool seeing that from you and from everyone. So thank you also for joining us today. This was just a really awesome episode. Like I said, I’m proud of our community.

Tamara P. Funk:

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. It’s a special place to be. It’s a special place to call home, and that is because of all of these amazing, extraordinary people that we have talked about today, but that show up day in and day out to cultivate this home that we have. So thank you for having me. It’s been so fun.

Montana Funk:

Of course. Last thing, and it’s the easiest, but I think it’s important that we let our listeners know where they can reach out to you so that if they have anything that they want to ask, if they need some guidance about where in the community they could go for help or advice, whatever it may be, I want to make sure that they have that. So where can they find you if that is the case?

Tamara P. Funk:

Yes, I would love that. I wholeheartedly accept any reach outs. You can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram under Tamara Nash, and you can email me at T-A-M-A-R-A-P-N-A-S-H numeral one at Gmail. I would love, love, love to tell you more about our shared home and welcome you into our home.

Montana Funk:

Well, thank you so much for joining. Happy New Year. I honestly, I know everyone’s saying it. It seems like this year that 2024 is going to be the best year yet, and although the weather is going to play with us a little bit on that one, I

Tamara P. Funk:

Do

Montana Funk:

Think that 2024 is going to be an amazing year, and I have great feelings about it. So thank you so much for coming on today.

Tamara P. Funk:

Thanks for having me.

Montana Funk:

Well, listeners, that is our show, and thank you as always for tuning in. If you like what you heard today, please share our podcast to a friend as well. Feel free to share your own reflection of 2023 and your own challenges. I want to thank Tamara P Nash for joining me today. We are looking forward in 2024 to sharing more stories, laughs, and lessons with all of you. We are also looking forward to growing the ABA and Young Lawyer Rising family. Most importantly, listeners, welcome home. Until next time, I am Montana Funk, and you’ve been listening to Young Lawyer Rising, brought to you by the ABA Young Lawyers, Division and the audio professionals at Legal Talk Network.