A legacy of teaching
By Taylor Kenck
Attorney Taylor Kenck approaches counseling and advising clients from a teaching standpoint. Clients should be educated on the law and empowered to make their own choices—all with the help of their attorney.
This week, I am reflecting on my family’s own legacy as my parents are retiring from their careers as elementary school teachers. I know they are experiencing a lot of emotions–excitement, pride, fulfillment, exhaustion, and many more. Those emotions are naturally trickling down to their loved ones.
For me, the overarching feeling I have is gratitude.
Teaching in public education is not an easy career path by any means. For as long as I can remember, my parents have been teachers. And I definitely remember some stressful times. They care deeply for their students, and that naturally triggers worries and stress. But mostly, I remember a house where both my parents were present physically, mentally, and emotionally. Having two proactive teachers at home also meant that I grew up in a home where education was a way of life. I can’t think of many better legacies than that.
Congratulations mom and dad!
Teaching is the way
This week and its events also have me reflecting on my own career path. Specifically, it brings to mind an inspired moment that was foundational to my legal career.
To provide a bit of background, as a law student, I was having serious, SERIOUS doubts about a career in law. Unlike many of my peers in law school, I had not had much exposure to lawyers prior to law school. I was not yet convinced that I could be a great lawyer or excel in that environment.
One thing I noticed early on in law school: A decent chunk of my classmates at law school came from long lines of lawyers–I can remember many that had parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and even grandparents that were lawyers. From what I’ve seen anecdotally, lawyers often have kids that grow up to be lawyers. And as silly as it is to say now, at the time, these classmates intimidated me; they understood a culture and profession that was foreign to me.
In contrast, I came from a long line of teachers–my parents are just one link in that long chain that is still growing. So I grew up hearing about curriculum, interventions, and testing, among other things. That was the world I was comfortable in.
With that long-winded background in mind, I remember a moment of clarity that showed me I could be a great lawyer. In my second-to-last semester, I took a class called “Lawyering Skills.” This course was my first real introduction to many of the fundamental skills involved in lawyering, like negotiations and counseling clients. I loved the class, but I was really struggling with the same doubts.
One day, my professor said something that changed everything for me. During a class discussion, he taught repeatedly that “The best lawyers are teachers.”
The best lawyers are teachers.
I remember getting a bit emotional when he said that. The world came full circle at that moment: Law and the practice of law were foreign subjects (at the time), but teaching was not. I knew how to teach. I didn’t have many built-in lawyer-mentors, but I had MANY teacher-mentors to draw on.
This idea became the foundation of my approach to law. Instead of independently working out my own solution to a client’s problem, my goal is to involve a client every step of the way. This approach requires a lot of teaching: clients need to understand the consequences of our strategic decisions. But the value that comes when clients understand the law is immense. Suddenly, these clients take extra ownership of their case because it starts to make sense to them. Clients that understand the law regularly find tailored solutions that their attorneys could never uncover on their own because they understand their scenario better than any attorney ever could.
I remember one case in particular that exemplifies this. I represented a woman in a very difficult case that was going to trial. While this client did not have much formal education, she was very smart. Together, we worked hard to help her understand the law. Together, we made strategic choices. There was one moment in particular where she recommended submitting a piece of evidence that I had never used before (or even thought of using). That evidence became a crucial part of her trial, and it helped her eventually secure a victory.
To sum up my thoughts: today I am grateful for teachers. I am grateful to come from a long line of teachers. I’m grateful for my parents’ exemplary careers. And I am grateful that I get to continue my family’s legacy of teaching, albeit in a different form.
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