Featured Alumni: Nell Clement
What is your fondest memory of your time at Farella?
The people – the Farella attorneys and support staff are all fantastic, both professionally and personally. The mentoring relationships and friendships I made at Farella will be lifelong.
How did Farella help you get to where you are today?
I joined Farella as a baby lawyer, having just graduated from law school. My Farella colleagues taught me everything about being a lawyer – from excellent client service, to effective and passionate advocacy, to work-life balance. Farella also taught me to challenge myself to think creatively about solving problems.
What do you like most about what you do in your current job?
I love interacting with colleagues from different departments and locations across the company. The diversity of experience and perspective is enlightening and really challenges me to step into other people’s shoes in approaching issues.
Which of your accomplishments makes you the most proud?
Professionally, I’m very proud of the network I’ve maintained through keeping close ties with colleagues and former colleagues, law school friends and other attorneys I’ve met through cases or professional organizations. Being in house now, I feel that I have a lot of resources among my network to seek advice on the diverse legal issues I am faced with.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned while at Farella? How has this lesson impacted you post-Farella?
At Farella, I primarily practiced White Collar criminal defense. As a criminal defense attorney, I was frequently reminded of the importance of my role as advocate and the enormous trust and faith my clients had put in me to defend their freedom and livelihood. Now, although not as direct, my work often does have an impact on an individual level. I try to be mindful of that individual impact when making decisions and/or recommendations.
What piece of advice would you give to [attorneys] starting their legal career?
Seek out great mentors. My professional mentors, many of them at Farella, have been invaluable. These relationship have helped shape me as a lawyer and have contributed significantly to my growth as an attorney professionally and personally.
What is your favorite hobby and how did you get into it?
Distance running (though I have less time for it these days, while juggling two little boys at home). I first started distance running when I was a teacher in the NYC public schools. Running gave me time and space to reflect on my often chaotic teaching days. This hobby and the reflection that went along with it proved extremely useful through law school and practicing law.
Do you serve on any non-profit boards, and if so which ones and why?
I have been a member of the Legal Services For Children event planning committee for many years. I interned at LSC in law school and have had great respect for the organization and its staff ever since.
