Raymond leads by example

Listen to this article

Not long after graduating law school, Margaret Raymond was in court defending a man facing prison time, when she had an epiphany.

“When the jury came back and acquitted him, I felt an overwhelming feeling of relief; that I hadn’t screwed up his life and did my best to make his case,” Raymond recalled. “And then I thought, ‘This is as good as this job gets.

You never feel better than relieved.’ I wanted my work life to be more than that.”

So she decided to switch her focus to teaching. She joined the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Law in the mid-‘90s. Working with students gave her the career satisfaction she’d been looking for, she said.

Whenever a semester ended, she’d tell students to call her anytime. Countless students have done so, she said.

“Almost without exception, people would call me not because they needed advice,” she said. “… They would call me because they were on the verge of making a difficult decision, and they wanted someone to tell them that they were doing the right thing.”

In her latest role, as a professor of law and dean at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Raymond continues to offer a strong example for her students. When Raymond took the job in 2011, she became the law school’s first female dean.

Her work as dean is challenging right now, Raymond said, because law school applications are down, especially from women. The current entering class is 40 percent female, which reflects the applicant base, she said.

“I think we need to be thoughtful about what’s going on there,” Raymond said, “because if we’re going to have the best possible universe of lawyers, we need to make sure that everybody feels like that’s an opportunity for them.”

Juggling her roles as career woman, mother of two and wife has required flexibility over the years, she said. When her husband, also a professor, got a career opportunity in Thailand, Raymond put her career on hold to join him there. He later moved to Iowa for her when she took the job there.

“Taking turns in our careers is what has enabled us to sustain two careers, two kids and a marriage,” Raymond said.

Jini Jasti, assistant dean for UW alumni affairs, said Raymond is “an inspiration and a real leader.”

“She stands her ground, but she’s also very caring and considerate of people,” Jasti said. “She demands a lot from the people who work for her, but she’s also very understanding of people’s life circumstances.”