New attorney searches for her niche

Listen to this article

Only weeks into her career, Sarah Matt seems to be finding as much diversity in her legal practice as she did in her college education.

“Because I’m so new, only a month and a half in, I’m sort of all over the board, in terms of the assignments I’m getting,” she said. “I’ve worked on class actions. I’ve worked on labor and employment issues, contract disputes, bankruptcy. It’s totally all over the map right now.”

Matt is considered a commercial and business litigator at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing SC.

Her varied experience was similar in college, where Matt started off with a major in biology then switched to psychology. It was only a random class choice to fill a requirement that led her to law.

“The law and journalism,” Matt remembered. “It turned out that I really liked the study of law. It was dynamic, and you had to think really critically and came up with solutions. And I could work with people, which I enjoyed from psychology.”

Matt said she welcomes the diversity in her early days as a lawyer. So far, she hasn’t dealt with the same case twice. But she also looks forward to finding her niche and figuring out her place in her firm.

“The biggest challenge is the learning curve,” Matt said. “Just the smallest things that you don’t even think about, and they don’t really touch on in law school: procedural issues, who to call, just getting the lay of the land.

“They’re things that a newer attorney could get hung up on.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What is the best part of being an attorney?
Matt: Meeting new people, solving new problems. Every day is different.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement so far? Why?
Matt: I’m so new, I consider my biggest achievement graduating from law school and joining a firm where I’m surrounded by a lot of really good people and really good lawyers.

WLJ: What object in your office means the most to you? Why?
Matt: I haven’t settled in. I have nothing hanging on my walls. But, I guess, I’d say my diploma, which is on the floor waiting to be hung.

WLJ: Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Matt: I definitely overuse the word ‘obviously.’

WLJ: What was your most useful law school course? Why?
Matt: I think the most useful course was pre-trial practice. It was a really practical course. It was a really hands-on course. And it covered little things that you don’t necessarily learn otherwise – deadlines and making sure you understand timing and making sure you understand the importance of motion practice and all the things that go into that.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school? Why?
Matt: This is kind of a tough one, but any class that started after 6 at night. I’m very much a morning person. That was a really bad time for me to start turning my brain on and learning things.

WLJ: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?
Matt: Those papers come through my desk every day. As a first-year associate, I don’t really have to report. I see a lot of them, but one thing I haven’t really seen is a more practical course. I would develop a course for new attorneys, so things like paying attention to statutes of limitation or brushing up on rules of civil procedure or evidence. Things you’re going to look up and be wondering about your first couple years.

WLJ: What word in the English language do you wish you had invented?
Matt: I think it would be ‘Google.’ Do you know how many times a day we use the word Google?

WLJ: What is your greatest extravagance?
Matt: My biggest extravagance is coffee. I cannot live without it. I’m a Starbucks addict.

WLJ: Finish this sentence: Happiness is …
Matt: I would say that, for me, happiness is that time in the morning just as the sun is coming up, knowing that I have the whole day ahead of me to do whatever I want with and make whatever I want happen.