Thomas W. Hazlett
Litigation Services
Philadelphia Office

BACKGROUND
I grew up in Chadds Ford, PA, which is about 40 minutes outside Philadelphia and just a short drive from Delaware, home of tax-free shopping. In 1998, I graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Putting my science degree to immediate practical use, I enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and graduated in 2001. I live in Center City, close enough to walk to and from work - very handy in bad weather and given my distain for rush hour traffic.

MY DECISION TO JOIN SCHNADER
I was a Schnader summer clerk during the summer of 2000. I could tell from doing research about the firm, but I was struck during my interviews how relaxed everyone was in dealing with each other. It seemed like a really supportive place where people worked together to get things done and liked being with each other regardless of work. All of my colleagues in the summer class were fantastic people, which I think says a lot about the lawyers here who pick the class. The partners and associates I worked with and met during that summer were interesting people, doing great work, and were also interested in getting to know who I was. It was an easy choice to come back to begin my practice at Schnader.

MY WORK HERE AT SCHNADER
I'm now a third year associate at the firm and I've worked on a variety of cases, from massive prescription drug anti-trust lawsuits involving a dozen law firms to personally handling a few small breach of contract matters for our clients in municipal court. Each has been a great learning experience - the larger cases for being part of a trial team and learning the mechanics (and there are lots of them) of how to get a big commercial case through discovery and to trial and the small cases for a chance to make a presentation in a setting where the stakes are not that high.

ASSOCIATE LIFE
You're being lied to if anyone at a big firm tells you that there won't be times where you are really busy and things are hectic. There are filing deadlines and trial calendars in litigation and closing dates to meet in transactional practice. I don't know very many (any!) lawyers - associates or partners - who really love those moments. The good thing about Schnader is that when I'm really busy, it's because there's work pending in a case that's heated up; it's not because I feel like I need people to know I'm in the office late or on weekends. When I'm done, or at least done for the day, I go home. I enjoy seeing movies and concerts, going out to dinner, and using my Sixers season tickets (enjoy is probably the wrong word considering their dreadful season, but we'll be back on top in 5 or 6 years). I'm happy to report that I in fact have time to do all those things and more.

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