On Thursday, July 15, Sadé Turner met with UCLI’s summer interns to discuss her career practicing civil litigation at Strong & Hanni. Within her firm, she specializes in insurance defense litigation and family law. She also serves as UCLI’s education committee co-chair.
UCLI interns submitted questions before and during the meeting, and Sadé told her story and offered her advice.
Sadé started her legal career as a six-year-old. While other kids were playing house, Sadé was playing court, roping her cousins into representing different sides of an important neighborhood proceeding behind her grandmother’s credenza. Sadé, of course, was the all-powerful judge.
Sadé has worked for Strong and Hanni for the majority of her career. At the beginning of her time at Strong and Hanni, she was drawn to the case variety and daily routine in litigation. As time progressed, it is the personal impact on her clients’ lives which has kept her going and made her job all the more rewarding.
During our team discussion, Sadé emphasized the importance of students taking advantage of different kinds of internship opportunities throughout their academic career. For pre-law students, beyond exploring career interests, these internships can also help narrow down the kinds of law that might stand out. In these recommendations, Sadé was speaking from personal experience: it is the exact process she used to find her passion for litigation.
Moving into law career exploration, Sadé suggested students establish connections within various firms, build up a rapport, and discuss what a day looks like in different firms and in different areas of law. These efforts are important in understanding the daily routines and cultures amongst different law firms.
Different areas of law require different kinds of people. For Sadé and her family law specialty, she advised that some of the most important qualities are compassion, patience, and a skill for explaining concisely. She also noted that being a family lawyer also requires an ability to separate work and home life. Without balance, the job can easily become too taxing. Ultimately, Sadé practices law to help those at difficult points in their lives move forward, however, she does that best when she prioritizes her own needs and mental health.
