From moots to med mal trials: junior lawyer reveals the real learning curve of the work
Well before she walked through the doors on her first day of law school, Kate Hunter knew her end game: practice criminal law. But it wasn’t long before her trajectory changed.
In her first year of law school, Hunter participated in a medical malpractice moot that was her first exposure to tort law and health law litigation. It focused on COVID-19 and ivermectin, a horse tranquilizer that became a highly controversial treatment during the pandemic.
“I discovered the interesting fact patterns and high stakes litigation I was interested in in the criminal law context were present in other areas of the law,” Hunter recalls, adding that she ended up a semi-finalist and awarded top oralist.
Her interest piqued, Hunter applied to various civil boutiques and landed at McLeish Orlando as a summer student. She returned to article and was later hired as an associate. She quickly realized the other major draw to criminal law — the dynamic of a vulnerable person up against the state — “transferred right over into the civil context.”
“It’s very fulfilling representing injured plaintiffs against large insurance companies that seemingly have endless pockets to litigate from and will go to the ends of the earth to do so,” Hunter says. “I don't know if anyone goes into law school thinking they'll be a personal injury lawyer. But for me, it ended up being a terrific fit.”
Well-suited to it or not, the reality of practicing law was quite different from the law school experience. One of the first things that stood out was the human element of personal injury. There’s a steep learning curve when dealing with an extremely vulnerable client base and the gravity of trying to achieve for them some semblance of pre-accident normal is a unique pressure.
“No one can really prepare you for something like catastrophic injury client management,” Hunter explains. “It’s a big responsibility. You are often handling someone’s livelihood and their ability to return to their pre-accident ‘normal.’ You are dealing with people who are likely in the darkest chapter of their lives. Law school doesn’t prepare you for maintaining professional boundaries while showing real empathy. This can be an extremely challenging line.”
Another reality check was the complexity of keeping a file’s momentum. Files have many moving parts, from experts, insurers, and treatment providers to the accident benefits regime. Managing these various elements isn’t straightforward, and there are rarely simple solutions. One example is when the defendant refuses to move ahead with discoveries until they have the entire police file, which aren’t available until the associated criminal proceedings resolve — a process she’s seen to take up to a year. With catastrophic injury cases, this delay can be a big source of stress.
“The competing aspects require you to get creative,” Hunter says. “I learned quickly to anticipate delays and create systems to manage them, to keep the matter going forward.”
What helped Hunter — initially drawing her to McLeish Orlando and consequently keeping her there — was that she was immediately provided with hands-on opportunities. During articles, she attended two medical malpractice trials, one judge-alone and one jury. This early experience meant that from the beginning of Hunter’s time at the firm, she understood that every piece of information should be regarded through the lens of how it will be presented to the trier of fact.
“I watched expert reports get scrutinized down to a single site or source of an image and it gave me perspective on what matters, the potential lines of cross-examination, and how you need to build a case from the ground up,” Hunter recalls.
As an associate working closely with senior partners, she’s handled discoveries, motions, pretrials, and mediations. While nerve racking, the support of experienced lawyers like William Harding, Nick Todorovic, and Patrick Brown gave Hunter the security to step outside her comfort zone. She often sits across from lawyers who were called years, if not decades, before her — but at that table, they’re all equals.
“Being encouraged to get my hands dirty right from the jump and watching experienced lawyers do their thing, I’m learning who I am as a litigator and an advocate as well,” she says, adding that the most important part of the learning process is a willingness to take things on.
“As Patrick always says, ‘you have to be in the arena,’ and I agree with that. I want to be in there. I want to get that trial experience. As a junior lawyer, it can be intimidating. But I think of my end goal of how I want to practice and represent people, and I see it as short-term pain for long-term gain.”
When Hunter looks to the future, her next step is to build a brand — something else that’s not covered in law school, but that she sees around her at McLeish Orlando. Brown is well-known for his cycling advocacy work, for example, and Todorovic is Serbian with close ties in that community often leading to referrals.
“Nobody teaches you how to market yourself and I’ve yet to land on a personal niche,” she explains. “But I’m inspired by the work I do and the people around me to figure it out.”
Right now, Hunter’s law school peers are her strongest referral sources and she’s grateful for those connections. Her advice to those still in school is to prioritize those relationships because “your reputation begins long before you start your practice.”
Hunter also encourages law students to participate in moots. While some say they’re contrived environments that don’t prepare you for the real thing, she relies on that experience every day when speaking to judges and mediators. The process of asking questions and making submissions is an integral skill that all students should have coming out of law school.
Hunter also urges law students to take the time to learn about accident benefits; take that insurance class. Also engage in professional programs early, because they’re more than maintaining Law Society obligations of continuing education. They’re an opportunity to hear veterans in the profession explain the process, which is invaluable.
The overarching takeaway is far less tangible. Hunter recalls feeling anxious in law school about networking with the right people, taking the right classes, and making the correct career choices. But through the wisdom of her journey so far, her best advice is to have faith.
“Ultimately, I think things work out how they're meant to — in law school, in the recruitment phase, and in practice.”
This article was produced in partnership with McLeish Orlando LLP
