In March, we welcomed another 20 associates to our US offices. This month, we continue to learn more about our new class of associates, including what drew them to practice with us and what keeps them busy when they’re not hard at work here.
In this second series of interviews, you’ll meet associates from the Litigation and Securities Departments in our Boston, Washington DC and New York offices. From government matters to environmental issues, each associate participated in worthy causes before jumping into private practice.
(Beasley in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, on a post-bar trip.)
Name: Zachary Beasley
Office: Washington DC
Practice: Securities Litigation and Enforcement
School: University of Texas School of Law
WH: What is it about WilmerHale that made you want to practice here?
Beasley: When I was first looking into firms in Washington, I was interested in finding a firm with a great reputation, a variety of practices and a wealth of resources, which I found in WilmerHale. Before joining as a summer associate, I had great experiences with the people I met and interviewed with, and I enjoyed my time as a summer associate. I met and worked with a lot of fantastic lawyers and was drawn to the Securities Department with its excellent reputation. The firm’s strong commitment to pro bono work was also very attractive to me, and I’ve found the firm to be a great fit.
WH: What are you most looking forward to as you begin your practice at WilmerHale?
Beasley: I’m looking forward to becoming more involved in the exciting and interesting cases the firm has to offer. I’m also looking forward to getting involved in my first pro bono matter, becoming more integrated in the firm, and continuing to meet and work with new people.
WH: What did you do during your deferral period?
Beasley: Between my clerkship and returning to WilmerHale, I did research at the Council on Competitiveness in Washington DC. The Council on Competitiveness is a non-governmental organization comprised of CEOs, university presidents and labor leaders who are working together to ensure US prosperity. Initially, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my time, but this opportunity to join the council unexpectedly presented itself and I took it. It was a great way to use my legal background to work more on policy-focused issues, as opposed to legal issues.
WH: Tell us a fun fact about yourself...
Beasley: In 2003, I spent a summer coaching soccer in townships around Cape Town, South Africa. I coached all different levels—from children as young as 5 years old to adults.
(Stierman in Costa Rica.)
Name: Leslie Stierman
Office: Boston
Practice: Litigation
School: University of Michigan Law School
WH: What is it about WilmerHale that made you want to practice here?
Stierman: It’s the quality of work that this firm gets and the quality of the attorneys who practice here. There is a level of integrity that is pretty amazing, and there is such complex work to be done.
WH: What are you most looking forward to as you begin your practice at WilmerHale?
Stierman: To learn from all of the talent here and gain some of their wisdom and experience. I’m looking forward to taking part in some of the incredible cases that are in the headlines that you never imagined you’d work on one day.
WH: What did you do during your deferral period?
Stierman: I had a full year off, as I graduated a semester early. My first stop was in Costa Rica, where I enjoyed some downtime after studying for and taking the bar. While in Costa Rica, I volunteered doing work with sea turtles. Costa Rica has some of the largest egg-laying areas for sea turtles, but they are becoming endangered due to poachers and pollution. For example, there is one type of sea turtle that eats jellyfish and is confusing plastic bags in the ocean for jellyfish, eating them, and dying. The sea turtle population is declining because, though many are born, most never make it to the ocean, and of the ones that do, many don’t survive. We spent time looking for sea turtle nests, gathering the eggs, incubating and hatching them, and ultimately returning them to their original nesting area. We would hatch anywhere between 100 and 200 baby sea turtles at a time, but of these, only 5% make it when they get back to the ocean. Our goal was to increase the population of turtles who make it to the sea, which we were able to achieve. Through our efforts, the percentage of turtles that made it to the ocean rose by 60%.
After my time in Costa Rica, I traveled through Egypt, Greece, Turkey and the Pacific Northwest. I also enjoyed a rafting trip with my family through the Grand Canyon. Following my travels I taught a course, “American Courts,” at Bay State College in Boston.
WH: Tell us a fun fact about yourself...
Stierman: I almost got my master’s degree in playwriting, and once wrote a one-act play, “Instant Message,” that was performed in a new playwright production.
(Trivedi (left) aboard the USS Alabama in Montgomery, Alabama.)
Name: Somil Trivedi
Office: New York
Practice: Litigation
School: Boston University School of Law
WH: What is it about WilmerHale that made you want to practice here?
Trivedi: The people here truly care about learning the law instead of just doing it. People are engaged in the work they do and care about teaching, rather than just getting to the bottom line.
WH: What are you most looking forward to as you begin your practice at WilmerHale?
Trivedi: I came to the New York office because it was smaller than the others, but still took on big cases, so I’m looking forward to getting more responsibility than I might elsewhere. I am also looking forward to taking part in the strategy, management and substantive decision-making in a case. I am excited to have a hand in running a case from start to conclusion.
WH: What did you do during your deferral period?
Trivedi: During my deferral, I volunteered at the Center for Constitutional Rights, a nonprofit legal organization that takes on civil rights and governmental overreach issues. Specifically, I worked on cases related to the Guantanamo detainee representation and Patriot Act litigation. The work was cutting-edge and relevant to today’s politics, and challenged the fundamental structure and power of government, which is to me, the most important part of law.
Before joining the Center for Constitutional Rights, I went on a road trip through the south and Midwest—three weeks, 17 states and 4,200 miles!
WH: Tell us a fun fact about yourself...
Trivedi: I have been to all 50 US states. It didn’t start out as something I was trying to do, but after having visited so many, it became a goal of mine to get to all 50.