Gail S. Perry
Career Trial Attorney; Currently Corporate Employment Counsel
Being a litigator was not on my radar. I never dreamt of being in a court room. But after completing a joint law/psychology degree program at the University of Nebraska College of Law, I got a job working with a judge. At the time I didn’t even know that was the pathway to litigation. Litigation is all about problem solving. I’m a good problem solver, so it fit me fine. The job is a lot more chaotic and confrontational than other areas of law and requires intense scheduling. To some people, that sounds horrible, but as a problem solver, I like it. I’m also a good storyteller. I like to find the unexpected part of the story. I like to ask questions to find out why people are behaving the way they are, to find out the deeper reasons and not take the situation at face value. I like to find the little seeds for the jury to help them fit the bigger story together.
While in law school in Nebraska, I discovered one of the only joint degree programs combining law and psychology. I enjoyed learning about the psychology of jury research and how juries make decisions. I learned how I might be able to help inform policy behind the law, and I thought, “That sounds like a hard job. I’ll do that!”
“The best way to insure your success is to actively build your credibility”
Being Myself
I’m not an adversarial or confrontational person. I don’t fit the traditional image of a TV lawyer. I’ve been around other lawyers who are combative and scream at each other. That approach never worked for me. I find it tends to make things more difficult for everyone involved: The fees go up, it creates distance between you and the client, and it gets in the way of any hope of resolving things that are already very stressful. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to even try to be that way; I grew up with the notion of treating people well.
When someone does something mean or underhanded, I would just double-down on niceness which I found out was my superpower. Also, if you’re the reasonable one, the judge will always be thankful that you’re there.
Being a Mom and a Lawyer
The expectations of people in a job are the same if you’re a man or a woman. Everybody knows that, but sometimes it’s easy to think because of the demands at home you should get a break. I used to think that most of my women friends with children didn’t have the same pressures as I have because they’re not in a male-dominated field, but that’s not true. Everyone has those pressures.
I think women need to have triple backup plans for acceptable child care in case the children get sick or unexpectedly need to be picked up. You can’t always pull the “Mom card” and say, “I have to go home because I’m a Mom.” If I’m in a client meeting, or a court proceeding, or a deposition that goes long, I have to finish it. I can’t go away. All litigators need to arrange that resource to meet responsibilities. I tried to list several back-up “emergency contacts” for times when school could not reach me or my husband for kid-related issues.
What has made me successful
The best way to insure your success is to actively build your credibility. Just living it and hoping people will notice will take too long. Speed it up by talking about your wins and what you’re excited about. Plant the seeds in your colleagues’ minds about what you’re doing and accomplishing, and they may repeat that to other people. You don’t have to ask them to, “say this about me.” Don’t do it directly. Just sow the seeds in their minds with authenticity.
For example, if you find yourself in an elevator with a head honcho and he or she asks you how your summer is going, don’t just say, “fine.” Say, “Oh I’m working with Mr. So-and-So on this really great project, and I got to do such-and-such thing, and I really loved it.” The next time that person is in a conversation, they’ll have that positive nugget of information about you and it might help you down the road especially if you are up for a promotion, or negotiating for more money, or whatever is very important to you. It doesn’t happen by magic, you have to have a script ready for these opportunities.
Gail S. Perry
Career Trial Attorney; Currently Corporate Employment Counsel
Being a litigator was not on my radar. I never dreamt of being in a court room. But after completing a joint law/psychology degree program at the University of Nebraska College of Law, I got a job working with a judge. At the time I didn’t even know that was the pathway to litigation. Litigation is all about problem solving. I’m a good problem solver, so it fit me fine. The job is a lot more chaotic and confrontational than other areas of law and requires intense scheduling. To some people, that sounds horrible, but as a problem solver, I like it. I’m also a good storyteller. I like to find the unexpected part of the story. I like to ask questions to find out why people are behaving the way they are, to find out the deeper reasons and not take the situation at face value. I like to find the little seeds for the jury to help them fit the bigger story together.
While in law school in Nebraska, I discovered one of the only joint degree programs combining law and psychology. I enjoyed learning about the psychology of jury research and how juries make decisions. I learned how I might be able to help inform policy behind the law, and I thought, “That sounds like a hard job. I’ll do that!”
“The best way to insure your success is to actively build your credibility”
Being Myself
I’m not an adversarial or confrontational person. I don’t fit the traditional image of a TV lawyer. I’ve been around other lawyers who are combative and scream at each other. That approach never worked for me. I find it tends to make things more difficult for everyone involved: The fees go up, it creates distance between you and the client, and it gets in the way of any hope of resolving things that are already very stressful. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to even try to be that way; I grew up with the notion of treating people well.
When someone does something mean or underhanded, I would just double-down on niceness which I found out was my superpower. Also, if you’re the reasonable one, the judge will always be thankful that you’re there.
Being a Mom and a Lawyer
The expectations of people in a job are the same if you’re a man or a woman. Everybody knows that, but sometimes it’s easy to think because of the demands at home you should get a break. I used to think that most of my women friends with children didn’t have the same pressures as I have because they’re not in a male-dominated field, but that’s not true. Everyone has those pressures.
I think women need to have triple backup plans for acceptable child care in case the children get sick or unexpectedly need to be picked up. You can’t always pull the “Mom card” and say, “I have to go home because I’m a Mom.” If I’m in a client meeting, or a court proceeding, or a deposition that goes long, I have to finish it. I can’t go away. All litigators need to arrange that resource to meet responsibilities. I tried to list several back-up “emergency contacts” for times when school could not reach me or my husband for kid-related issues.
What has made me successful
The best way to insure your success is to actively build your credibility. Just living it and hoping people will notice will take too long. Speed it up by talking about your wins and what you’re excited about. Plant the seeds in your colleagues’ minds about what you’re doing and accomplishing, and they may repeat that to other people. You don’t have to ask them to, “say this about me.” Don’t do it directly. Just sow the seeds in their minds with authenticity.
For example, if you find yourself in an elevator with a head honcho and he or she asks you how your summer is going, don’t just say, “fine.” Say, “Oh I’m working with Mr. So-and-So on this really great project, and I got to do such-and-such thing, and I really loved it.” The next time that person is in a conversation, they’ll have that positive nugget of information about you and it might help you down the road especially if you are up for a promotion, or negotiating for more money, or whatever is very important to you. It doesn’t happen by magic, you have to have a script ready for these opportunities.
Gail was a trial attorney and Managing Partner at Baylor Evnen, a law firm in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she practiced law for more than 30 years. She recently leveraged her employment law specialty to take a position as Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Human Relations at Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. Throughout her career, she has placed a premium on humor, compassion and reality as tools in court, in mediation, in negotiation and in advising clients on difficult personnel issues. At Ameritas she scans the horizon for legal risk and works to make sure associate employment rights are honored.
Gail was a trial attorney and Managing Partner at Baylor Evnen, a law firm in Lincoln, Nebraska, where she practiced law for more than 30 years. She recently leveraged her employment law specialty to take a position as Vice President, Associate General Counsel, Human Relations at Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. Throughout her career, she has placed a premium on humor, compassion and reality as tools in court, in mediation, in negotiation and in advising clients on difficult personnel issues. At Ameritas she scans the horizon for legal risk and works to make sure associate employment rights are honored.