Brittany Vendryes
Listen to the interview (Approx. 44 min.) or download it.
Graduated in 2010 with a major in Music Business. Principal instrument: voice.
Position: Assistant Solicitor (attorney) for the City of Baltimore, Maryland. Brittany represents the city in litigation, typically when the city is assessing a disputed fine or tax payment. While it’s common for cities to “outsource” this job, she’s a municipal employee.
Overview: While at Berklee, Brittany decided that a music career wasn’t for her, but she hoped to go into entertainment law. While still a student, she took the LSATs and was admitted to Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC, which she went to right after graduating from Berklee. While there, Brittany enjoyed entertainment law, but was also interested in trademarks and government work.
Brittany graduated without a job lined up, but soon a friend from law school who was clerking for a judge recommended her for another clerkship which had opened up. Brittany took it, and that led to another clerkship which lasted two years. However, judge clerkships pay poorly and folks aren’t expected to do it for very long, so at some point she started looking for another job. The city of Baltimore had posted an assistant solicitor position; Brittany applied and got the job, where she has been for roughly half a year.
You can see Brittany’s LinkedIn profile here.
Choice Quotes: “I like the law because it’s very certain and bright-lined. You can argue correctly and get what you want. I like that there are rules. I love words & writing. To be able to craft something in such a way that you can stump the opponent is interesting.”
“I work with three other lawyers. Cases get assignment to each of us, but we’re constantly in each other’s offices. We do favors for each other, appear in court for each other, and answer each other’s quetions (Usually I’m the one asking, as I’m new.) I enjoy the people I work with and am learning a lot. That’s really valuable!”
“I like working for the government. It’s less about angling to win, but more about the law and what’s right and wrong. Plus I was familiar with it.”
“It’s very hard to be prepared for law school. The Law School mentality is to throw you in the water and hope you figure out how to swim. It’s challenging to understand what you’re supposed to be getting out of a reading. The second year was better as I had learned what to do and I was able to take more classes I was interested in.”
“Consider how large an investment law school is. It’s not cheap, and if you already have student loans you’ll have a lot more. Reach out to someone and have a good one-on-one conversation to understand what you’re getting into.”