Take 5 with Katie Conard

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 Katie Conard, a rising 2L.

UW Law: Where are you working this summer?

Katie Conard: I've been working with the World Bank Group's Women, Business and the Law Initiative. I was physically located in D.C. for the first part of my internship, and then I've been working remotely for the last month or so of it.

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

KC: I'm originally from Lawrence, Kansas, and have lived all over the place in between graduating with my bachelor's from the University of Kansas and law school. In addition to Kansas, I've also lived in Taiwan, where I taught English. And I also taught English in Chile for a brief period as well. I did my master's degree in Belgium and then did a working holiday visa year in Australia. So, I’ve lived all over the place, but I love Seattle and I love the Pacific Northwest.

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

KC: I've been working in two main areas. The first was in coordinating directly with legal experts from around the world and encouraging them to contribute to our project and checking in with them whenever we have specific questions. We look at 190 economies, so it's a lot for any one team, and we really rely on the help of contributors.

I've also been working on updating and validating our law library. Basically, looking at legal databases from all 190 countries and making sure our database is up to date, that the statutes say what they're supposed to, and making sure that we have a saved file in case governments ever challenge us on it.

UW Law: How long will you be working there?

KC: I'll be working through the last week of September, right up until classes start again.

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

KC: I'm working as part of a team that’s about 50 people, which by World Bank standards is kind of small. But it's been great to be on such an international team, working with a mix of other interns and lawyers from all over the world, and also researchers with backgrounds in economics. So, it's been an interesting, diverse team to work with.

UW Law: Are there any other legal interns you're working with?

KC: On my specific team, I'm the only one who is a law student. I've been working with some individuals who are pursuing a master’s in public policy, and then many of the team members were pursuing LL.M.s., but I'm the only American J.D. legal intern on the team.

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

KC: It's been incredible. There's an amazing culture of happy hours in D.C. and in the World Bank Group specifically. One of the huge highlights was being able to watch a lot of the World Cup games at the World Bank cafeteria. That was a fun way to get to know people from different teams and get to know people from a lot of different work groups.

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

KC: One of the things that really stood out to me was how many countries’ legal systems are informed through a colonial process. It's something we've definitely talked about a lot in my property law class with the way that British common law has shaped American legal systems. But I think it's been really fascinating to see just how expansive that is across other post-colonial states as well.

And then it's also been interesting to hear the experiences of lawyers trained in civil law systems from around the world. Hearing those similarities and those differences has been fascinating.

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

KC: Just the experience of being able to be part of the World Bank. Working in the headquarters was extremely memorable and life changing, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

UW Law: What would be one superlative you would give your office coworkers?

KC: I would say extremely inclusive, welcoming and international. A big commonality between everyone is being understanding, open and curious of cultural differences.

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

KC: I didn't fully understand the immense scope of the amount of data that we’re dealing with, the number of contributors that we are communicating with and the amount of project management that goes into producing a report of that size. So, the scale and scope of the project was something that I didn't expect going in.

UW Law: Have you picked up any habits, good or bad, during your time at your summer employment?

KC: I'm much more open to breaking up my days with coffee chats.

UW Law: Are there any particular practice areas or types of law you've been exposed to that you hadn't considered before?

KC: Gender-based quotas and executive board laws. It's something I hadn't researched at all, but it’s been interesting to look at how that's tracked across our report and which countries are leading the way in that.

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

KC: I’ve loved the work I've done with the World Bank and would be happy to return to a similar type of work in the future. I think it's confirmed my love for research and for development work.

UW Law: Is there anything you wish you'd known before starting your summer position?

KC: I would have definitely brushed up a little bit on my Excel skills. But other than that, I wish I could have known how welcoming and positive the environment would be because I was a little nervous going into it.

UW Law: What's one mistake students should try to avoid during their summer job?

KC: Don't go into it with specific expectations because that can often lead to disappointment. Just be open to what opportunities arise.

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

KC: Seeing tangible contributions to a report that I feel is doing important work and important research has been the most rewarding part.

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

KC: Now that I'm back working remotely from Seattle, I think making the most of the Seattle summer and doing a little bit of camping, a little bit of hiking and preparing for the upcoming year.

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

KC: Being able to take more classes that are aligned with my interest areas, particularly more classes with the Sustainable International Development LL.M. program. And getting to know the incoming Barer Scholars and Barer Fellows. I really love that community, and I'm looking forward to being able to continue to contribute to it.

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

KC: When I was an undergrad, I spent a summer teaching English in Mongolia and was able to travel to the Mongolian countryside with my host family and drink fermented mare's milk while I was out there.