David Pelletier
Litigation Services
Philadelphia Office

BACKGROUND
I grew up in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan in a very small town. My father was a retired school teacher and basketball coach turned log home builder who, along with my mother, raised seven kids. Growing up I worked for my dad in the construction business learning all facets of log home construction – experience that has come in handy now that I am a homeowner (of a row home, not a log cabin). I graduated from James Madison College at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan in 2003 with a degree in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy. During the summers that I was in college I clerked for my girlfriend’s (now wife) father’s (now father-in-law) law firm in the Upper Peninsula. I was immediately drawn to the work I was doing and decided to attend law school. In 2003, I graduated from Villanova University Law School. I live in center-city Philadelphia with my wife – a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania – and our two year old daughter – master of the spiral slide at our local playground.

MY DECISION TO JOIN SCHNADER
I was a summer clerk at Schnader during the 2002 summer program. The process of deciding which firm to join was a daunting one. It struck me that I was making this very important decision with what I believed to be insufficient information. The decision was left up to what my gut told me. Like most other law students I knew, I was interested in obtaining the best of all worlds: big firm experience, quality work, good mentoring, and quality of life. Interviewing with Schnader lawyers left the impression that the firm was after a different type of candidate than other top firms. My first interview was with a family-law senior associate with a doctorate in psychology. His first question of me: “Tell me about your family?” Time and again those I met at Schnader talked simultaneously about the individuality of the firm’s lawyers and of what it meant to be a “Schnader” lawyer. The men and women I met came from all walks of life and each seemed professionally fulfilled and intent on maintaining a positive work/home balance. I was especially impressed by the number of working moms I met at the firm and at how they managed the competing interests of work and family. As for being a “Schnader” lawyer, the firm is chock full of truly great, and very smart, lawyers who share the common goals of providing top-notch representation to the firm’s clients, producing flawless written work product, and creative and effective oral advocacy. My gut told me that Schnader would be the kind of place where I would be doing interesting work with good people and that the firm would also value me as an individual. My gut feeling about Schnader was right.

MY WORK HERE AT SCHNADER
I would say that my work could be broken out into three categories: large litigation matters with many moving parts and many lawyers working on them, small litigation matters where I would work solely with a partner, and pro bono matters. Each category has afforded excellent training through working closely with the other lawyers at the firm and learning from their years of experience. The large litigation matters offer the chance to learn the intricacies of what it means to be a litigator – drafting discovery, reviewing documents, motion practice, and preparing for trial. The small litigation matters enable me, as a young lawyer, to take those skills and apply them to a case that I am directly involved in planning for, managing, and developing. Likewise, pro bono provides an excellent means to receive hands on training that large litigation cases may not afford. This ability to garner a large amount of responsibility as a junior associate has given me invaluable training that has immeasurably helped me develop as a lawyer. Each year has brought with it increased responsibility and, this past year, I was able to take several key depositions in a huge litigation matter.

The pro bono work I have been able to take part in is especially meaningful to me. Foremost, this work is always, without fail, the most rewarding work that I do. All clients appreciate quality work, however, to help someone who would not otherwise have representation and to obtain a positive result for them opens up one’s eyes to the benefits of and need for public service. For example, I have spent a good deal of time representing women at a substance abuse shelter sponsored by Schnader through a legal clinic held at the shelter. Moreover, the pro bono work has the added benefit of providing great hands-on experience to young associates. Associates working on pro bono matters – with the assistance, guidance, and oversight of a partner – often handle entire cases including taking depositions and even trying cases in federal court! To boot, the firm permits its lawyers to count ten percent of their billable time as pro bono hours. This commitment rises from the firms storied history and is embodied firm wide in the work carried out by firm lawyers and staff.

ASSOCIATE LIFE
The great challenge – how do I do my job at the high level expected of me and still have time to spend with my family. I feel that Schnader has definitely afforded me the ability to balance my work life with my personal life. There are times when things are crazy and I have to work more than I would like to, but that is inherent in the profession. Those I work with are cognizant of my workload and work with me to develop a nice balance. I typically get in around 7:30 in the morning and work until 6:30. However, we have joined a pool this summer and sometimes I just have to get out early on hot days to take my daughter swimming. Those I work with know that I will get my work done and leave it up to me to determine how to get it done. This freedom is essential to being content professionally and personally.

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