The law is definitely not static. Once you’re in it, there are many paths you can take. This is exactly what Darleen Cantelo found as she found herself entering law school. Now she’s taken many different twists and turns and is sharing her experience from the classroom to the courtroom.
Darlene’s mother was also an attorney and pushed all throughout her childhood for her to take a different path, but the law kept calling her. She took Latin in high school, majored in political science in college, and was set to do her part in the legal system.
But she wasn’t against finding other opportunities as well. She took an internship at a business while she was working on her Bachelor’s degree that only solidified her need to go into law school.
What she found however was that the law is extremely diverse. She was very interested in intellectual property law and all the different facets of protecting ideas and patents, but found that in order to specialize in that field she had to have a science background.
After finishing law school, she started in business law and took on a few Innocence Project cases as well. She has practiced many different forms of law and been involved in tons of different cases.
Listen as she shares her story and why it’s important to approach the law from the lens of your own experiences and interests. If you’re a huge video game buff, bring that to the table in law school. You’d be surprised to find how your interests can make your legal career even more exciting.
In this episode:
[01:58] Welcome to the show, Darleen!
[02:35] Darleen shares her journey to becoming a lawyer.
[06:51] She speaks about her mom and her response to her being an attorney.
[08:09] Why she practiced different types of law and some cases she worked on.
[11:53] The most famous intellectual property is a trade secret which is the recipe for Coca Cola.
[15:47] What you need to think about when deciding what type of law you want to practice.
[19:19] Lots of people start out in public practice to get experience and then go to a private practice.
[23:13] Take an internship to help you decide if you want to be a lawyer in the first place.
[26:10] Cases that she is proud of.
[28:10] What made her transition from working on the Innocence Project to working in compliance.
[30:59] She is helping the agency she works for to meet goals that are required by the federal government.
[34:03] Three pros of being in law.
[35:48] And she shares the cons of practicing law.
[40:58] Final thoughts about practicing different types of law.
[42:04] Thank you for being on the show!
Links and Resources:
Connect with Darleen:
Darleen on LinkedIn
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