Boston Bar Association

Brian J. Boyle Jr. - WilmerHale
"My first job in high school was as a piano accompanist for a voice teacher.  Since my piano skills were pretty limited, all of the students ended up learning the same songs, which made for a pretty boring year-end recital.  Despite my short-comings as an accompanist, one of the students was recently cast in a Broadway show, but so far I haven't received any comp tickets..."

Rebecca Ginzburg – Harvard University Office of General Counsel
"My first job was to direct traffic at a 'remote' parking lot at the 1997 U.S. Open. I had an orange vest and flag and spent hours at a time lining up cars in a grass lot in Gaithersburg, MD. I remember there was a lot of excitement because it was Tiger Woods' first Open as a professional. Unfortunately, I didn't see a single moment of golf the whole week. Things only improved marginally the following summer when I took a job folding towels and manning the front desk at a local gym."

Jared D. Correia - Law Office Management Assistance Program
"My first job was as a paper boy.  I did that for about 7 years, and I bought a Nintendo 8-bit after saving $5/week for 20 weeks (not for 7 years, video game systems were cheaper those days).  And, that was big-time back in 1989.  There are no other intriguing stories from that job.  My second job was as a carriage boy for a grocery store in New Bedford, Mass.  Seems pretty easy, right?  Collecting carriages . . . listening to your Walkman . . . Until somebody pulls a gun on you your second day of work.  When I wouldn’t give up my wallet (I didn’t feel like going through the hassle of getting a new license), my assailant told me he was going to shoot me in the chest, pointed the gun at me, but then ran off.  So, what’s the morale of the story?  I think there are two: (1) If someone is threatening to kill you, just suck it up, and give them your wallet, realizing, though, that you’ll have to go through the hassle of getting a new license.  (2) Don’t work as a carriage boy in New Bedford, Mass."

Elena Ayot - SanEle Group
"I worked at a clinical research organization (CRO) after college.  It was my first "real" job and it took some time to make the transition from student to working professional.  I remember trying to relive my bygone campus days as effortlessly as possible.  I rented an apartment across the street from where I worked, had lunch within the vicinity of the office, and mixed and mingled mostly with colleagues.  Essentially, Washingtonian Boulevard had become my new campus.  Once I grew accustomed to my non-student status and started to expand my network beyond work, it was time to leave the Washington, D.C. area and head to Boston - only to become a student once again."

Ben Montgomery – Attorney at Law
"Technically my first job was putting away books at the Framingham Public Library, but I realized I definitely wanted to be a lawyer when I was a licensing coordinator for Comedy Central, negotiating and drafting third party licenses for "Chappelle's Show," etc.  I would negotiate and help draft licenses to third party material such as music and trademarks, then hand hand them off to a lawyer to sign...I thought, wait, I can do that, and I love to argue; I'm going to law school!"

Russell J. Stein - Weil, Gotshal & Manges
"As a tax associate, I can fondly recall my first tax-related job.  I was around 12, and my dad, a CPA and tax attorney, paid me to work weekends copying tax returns during tax season.  Through this job I realized there was a tax credit available for child-care and thought this was the reason I was sent away to summer camp each year."

Benjamin M. Stern - Proskauer
"My first job after law school was clerking for Chief Judge Gregory M. Sleet in the District of Delaware. I will always remember the interview I had with Judge Sleet when I was a second year law student. Early on in the interview, I decided that I really wanted the job. So, when Judge Sleet mentioned that Delaware had a lot of patent cases and he asked me if I would have an problem working on such matters, I quickly answered "no," despite the fact that I had never seen (much less read) a patent and had little understanding of the volume of patent litigation that Delaware handles.  I had a fantastic year.  Not only did I find a lifelong mentor in Judge Sleet, but I also had a "ringside seat" in several interesting and complex patent matters.   It's funny how things work out.  At the end of my clerkship, I decided I wanted to do intellectual property litigation."

Shane Early - Nutter McClennen & Fish
"I had a number of odd jobs growing up.  I sold programs at Patriots games and concerts; I painted houses and I life guarded.  But my first job was working at Tatnuck Country Club in Worcester.  I started caddying when I was 11 and kept working at the club as a caddy and in the golf pro shop through high school."

Bert Ng - MA House of Representatives
"My first job out of law school was working on a temp project with 100 of my fellow 2008 graduates.  It was like continuing to hang out with your friends for a 4th year of law school.  Fortunately, I landed my first real legal job as an analyst for the Massachusetts Legislature a few months later."

Angelo Thalassinos - Brown Rudnick
"My first legal job was at the Nashville Public Defender's office where I was able to learn about the inner workings of the criminal justice system and see a side of legal practice I do not see in my day-to-day as a bankruptcy and finance attorney."