Take 5 with Andrea Manrique

As soon as finals wrap up, UW Law students travel near and far for summer employment opportunities that offer them a chance to move beyond the classroom and see the law operate in practice. Their jobs span the gamut of law firms, government offices, nonprofits and private businesses throughout the country — and abroad. They collaborate with practicing attorneys, work with clients and delve deep into real-life legal work.

Throughout the summer, we’ll check in with rising 2L and 3L students to see the impact they’re making through their work and to invite them to reflect on how these experiences shaped their personal growth.

This week, we met up with Andrea Manrique, a rising 3L.

UW Law: Where are you working this summer?

Andrea Manrique (AM): I'm doing a Washington State Association of Justice fellowship. So, I'm placed with two plaintiff-side litigation firms. My first six weeks of the summer, I was working with Peterson Wampold here in Seattle, and I just started my second six-week rotation and am currently with Cochran Douglas in Tacoma.

UW Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?

AM: I'm originally from Laredo, Texas.

UW Law: What types of projects have you been working on?

AM: I've worked on a lot of wrongful death, medical malpractice and civil sexual assault cases. They have me case-mapping evidence and drafting motions and pleas.

UW Law: Do you work as part of a team, and if so, how many people do you work with?

AM: Yes, I'm working as part of a team currently. I believe it is eight total team members — about three attorneys and five to six paralegals.

UW Law: What type of networking opportunities have you had while working there?

AM: I've had a lot of opportunities to meet people. I recently went to the courthouse and met other practicing lawyers that my current lawyer knows. And I also went to the King County Lawyer Awards with my last firm because my attorney, Mike Wampold, was one of the recipients of an award, and I got to network a lot there.

UW Law: If you could plan any type of event or outing for you and your coworkers, what would you do?

AM: I would plan a coffee shop-hopping experience where we hop around to different local coffee shops and try different flavors.

UW Law: Have you had any “aha” moments about the law or legal practice during your time working there?

AM: I was surprised how many non-legal experts you need for certain cases, such as wrongful death and medical malpractice. You need a lot of engineers and medical practitioners to come in and explain things that legal professionals and regular juries wouldn't know about.

UW Law: What has been the steepest learning curve you've had so far?

AM: Learning how to get through massive piles of evidence quickly and efficiently, especially with civil sexual assault and medical malpractice cases. You usually get 10,000-plus documents, and it's important to categorize them and go through them fast. And I had to learn how to quickly realize when a document is important to the case and when it's not.

UW Law: What do you think will be the most memorable part of this experience for you?

AM: The most memorable part would probably be the attorneys. Thankfully, in both firms I worked at this summer, I've gotten to work with attorneys who aren’t how we picture regular attorneys. They are energetic and fun, and have a lot of hobbies outside of work, and don't make being an attorney their entire personality and their entire life. Seeing that was very important for me before I enter the practice of law, and that's something I'm going to remember.

UW Law: What's one superlative you would give your office coworkers as a whole?

AM: I would honestly say funniest group. I don't think there's a single day in either office where I haven't laughed.

UW Law: What’s the most lawyer-y thing you've caught yourself saying at work or outside of work?

AM: I'm using the term negligence a lot, especially because I'm on the plaintiff side of litigation. Every little thing, I'm like, “They're being negligent,” “That's negligent,” “This is negligent.” Even outside the office and in day-to-day conversations.

UW Law: Has anything in your role differed from what you expected going in?

AM: I didn't realize how collaborative law can be. I feel like nobody does a case alone, even if they're the only lawyer on paper on the case. I didn't realize that lawyers bounce ideas off each other and talk to each other about basically all their cases. It's a lot more collaborative than I thought.

UW Law: Do you have a habit, either good or bad, you've picked up during your summer employment?

AM: Asking questions when I have doubts or when I hit a roadblock, instead of spending hours trying to figure it out myself.

UW Law: Has this experience changed your career goals or clarified them?

AM: Yes, definitely. This is my first time doing civil law because I did criminal law my first summer, and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I am definitely now more open to civil litigation.

UW Law: What's one thing you wish you had known before starting your summer position?

AM: I shouldn't be so scared of talking to attorneys. They are down-to-earth, kind and happy to mentor a law student like me.

UW Law: If your office had a talent show, what would your talent be?

AM: Dancing. I love any type of line dancing, bachata, things like that. I would definitely do some type of dancing.

UW Law: What has been the most rewarding aspect of your summer experience so far?

AM: Getting to talk to clients after we succeed on a motion or after we make progress on their case and seeing how grateful they are and how it changes the client's life.

UW Law: Do you have any other plans for the summer outside of your employment?

AM: I'm planning to take a trip to San Diego and relax before the school year starts.

UW Law: What are you looking forward to once school starts?

AM: I’m looking forward to starting my last year of law school. I have a lot of cool classes, one externship and one Rule 9 internship lined up that I'm excited about.

UW Law: What's one interesting fact about you that people may not know?

AM: During finals season — during peak stress — the way I de-stress is by turning on live music and dancing around in my living room until I feel de-stressed. That's how I cope with the finals stress.