High Hopes

During Georgia Malik’s first court appearance—less than a month after she passed the bar in 2020—the opposing counsel asked, “Are you the attorney? How old are you?”

“I was like, ‘Old enough for a law license,’” says Malik, a civil litigator with Cranfill Sumner in Raleigh. “Having to navigate this [age issue] has always been challenging.”

Misconceptions about youth aren’t the only stumbling blocks for young attorneys in the early days of their careers. For Chris Martineau, a civil litigator at Willson Jones Carter & Baxley in Charlotte, the biggest challenge was simply the fear of not knowing. “You learn all this information in law school, and you know the law, but the real practice of it is a little bit different.”

Malik and Martineau, both among the youngest lawyers on our Rising Stars list, belong to the first group of rookie lawyers to navigate a new legal practice in the midst of pandemic restrictions. The COVID-19 lockdown put the kibosh on Malik’s law school graduation ceremony and left her wondering what her new career would look like. Access to mentoring without meeting face-to-face was difficult, she says, but she credits her firm with finding ways to foster those relationships. “Maybe we weren’t all in the office at the same time, but I always felt like I could pick up the phone and call a colleague or co-worker, a law school connection. That definitely was a big help.”

The early days for Martineau were made easier by the fact that his previous firm allowed him to handle his own cases. “I wasn’t being held by the hand the whole time,” he says. “I was given files and allowed to take those chances and learn very quickly instead of being safeguarded. I was tossed into the deep end and given the chance to swim.”

One disadvantage of being younger than most of her peers, Malik points out: “The client may feel a little less secure. … I can name a bunch of circumstances I’ve been in where the client may not have gone through litigation before and they may feel almost as if they’re getting someone that is inexperienced just because they’re young.”

Some speed bumps have actually given them a leg up. “We had to be completely online and just pivot very fast when COVID hit, and adapt to the technology,” Malik says. “So it’s almost like a blank slate. I think that being able to pivot, given the circumstances that we’ve begun our careers in, is an advantage.”

Being underestimated sometimes works in your favor, Martineau says, “if you’re able to use that to benefit your client … maybe if opposing counsel makes a snap judgment and you’re able to find a better negotiating tool.”

Young lawyers also often have a technological edge. “We grew up learning it,” Malik says. “I think that for attorneys that didn’t begin their careers during COVID, it’s not something that may come as natural. It’s hard to erase that muscle memory.”

Gen Z and millennial attorneys, Malik adds, “bring a breath of fresh air to the legal field. I think the expectations of what and who a lawyer is … are different now than they were 25 years ago. Being able to adapt and bringing a different outlook and perspective, I think, is an advantage because at the end of the day, your client will only trust you if they feel like they can relate to you.”

Adds Martineau, “For my generation, it could be thinking in a different light, maybe ways to approach an issue or claim or case differently than someone who has more experience. With a fresh mentality comes a new point of view.”

Malik does wonder how attorneys will successfully manage work-life balance in the years to come, especially with the shift to hybrid and work-from-home options. “For those with families, I think since COVID, sometimes it can be a challenge. Our job is stressful, high-pressure, demanding. I think it’s important to look 20 years into the future. What does that balance look like, and how do we keep our attorneys healthy, rounded and not mentally overloaded?”

She is, however, optimistic that the law profession in North Carolina will become increasingly diverse in the next 20 years, both in terms of women and people of color. “I know a bunch of fellow attorneys that have been [practicing] 10 years or less and they’re fantastic leaders. I’m really excited for what the future sees when this next generation enters these leadership positions because I think it’s bringing to the table a breath of fresh air, new ideas.”