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The Life and Career of Beatriz M.G. Gordon: Associate, Morrison & Foerster, LLP; Public Law Center's 2005 Attorney of the Year

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published June 05, 2006

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( 116 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
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<<At the time of the PLC award, she had contributed 900 hours to pro bono work over the course of her 10-year career, most of which was with the PLC.

"My firm has a very good relationship and always has had a good relationship with the Public Law Center, and my firm is very encouraging of pro bono work. So, I think probably one of my first cases—certainly one of my first 10 cases when I walked in the door—was a case that a partner had from the PLC, and they just asked me to help on it," Gordon said when asked how she first became involved with the center.


A litigation associate at Morrison & Foerster, Gordon thinks it's important for firms to promote pro bono work.

"I think it's really important for the firms themselves to take a stand on pro bono and advocating that their associates and partners take on pro bono matters, and I think one of the ways a lot of firms have encouraged people to do that is to have pro bono work count as billable hours," she said.

"My firm has always been one of the front-runners when it comes to treating pro bono work as billable work, and I've seen in the last 10 years that a lot of other firms have joined the bandwagon and have revamped their pro bono policy, including pro bono hours—at least to some extent—as billable hours. I think that needs to continue because that's one way to get a lot of great lawyers to become involved in doing pro bono work," she said.

She also advised law students to consider getting involved with pro bono work early in their legal careers if they want to gain experience quickly.

"If you're working on a big antitrust litigation, where there's hundreds of millions of dollars involved, as a brand new associate, chances are most of what you're going to be doing is research and writing memos," she said. "But on a pro bono case, you can be a first-year associate, and you're taking depositions. You're going to court on a regular basis. So, it really gives you experience early on."

Gordon has been involved with the PLC since she started at Morrison & Foerster a decade ago; and out of all the cases she's been a part of, one stands out as her favorite.

The case involved an elderly mother and her daughter. While the mother was sick, her daughter drew up a quitclaim deed to the mother's house and had her sign it, deeding the house to the daughter. However, when the mother regained her health and realized what had happened, she sought legal advice, saying she wanted to leave the house to all eight of her children and not just the one daughter.

"We had to go in and try to get the deed rescinded," Gordon said. "We arbitrated the matter right before Thanksgiving; and unfortunately, we lost, and the daughter got to keep the house."

Despite the loss, it was the woman's gratefulness for what Gordon had done and her acceptance of Gordon into her family that made the case memorable.

"My client and the family members that were helping her just really brought me into their family. I honestly felt like I became a part of their family…and I think it was my favorite case because, to me, it just kind of resembled what pro bono is about," she said. "She was so appreciative even though we lost."

This attitude of gratitude is something Gordon has noticed across the board when it comes to pro bono cases. She said pro bono clients are always exceedingly thankful to have someone representing them who understands the judicial system and knows how to get their voices heard.

"You get to have a very personal relationship with your client in a pro bono case," she said. "Whereas, with a client with means, it's usually a big company that I'm representing; and although I develop a good relationship with my contact person—whether it's a general counsel or CEO—it's not the same relationship when you're dealing with someone and his business as opposed to someone and her home."

Gordon first became interested in the legal field when she participated in mock trial in high school. At the urging of her history teacher, she played the part of a lawyer and found it to be interesting. After studying history in college, she decided to go on to law school.

She said her favorite part of being a lawyer is writing persuasive briefs for her clients. However, her least favorite part is dealing with the difficult personalities she sometimes comes into contact with.

"Usually, you find it's a difficult opposing counsel…or it's someone who is just so litigious and so defensive that they make your life miserable," she said. "They paper you with everything and take you to the court for the littlest thing, and you just have to deal with that."

In order to relieve on-the-job stress, Gordon, a mother of two, enjoys exercising and knitting.

"I have actually just…joined the bandwagon with all the celebrities," she said. "I started knitting, which I actually really enjoy. My husband teases me; but if I can get a half hour of knitting in before I go to bed, it's actually calming to me."
  1. Legal Jobs
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  6. The Life and Career of Beatriz M.G. Gordon: Associate, Morrison & Foerster, LLP; Public Law Center's 2005 Attorney of the Year

published June 05, 2006

( 116 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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