Anna Brook: Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Law School's The Record, Cambridge, MA
By Charisse Dengler
As a 2L student at Harvard Law School and Editor-in-Chief of The Record, Anna Brook has learned the importance of time management. Among studying, overseeing the newspaper, and interning during the summer, she still finds time for the fun stuff.
"More than anything, The Record has shown me that there is always enough time; it just has to be managed properly," she said. "This semester, I spent about 20 hours per week on work for my Cyberlaw clinical and probably more than that working on The Record. And yet, there is still time to do work for other classes, go out with friends, and to visit my family in New Jersey every once in a while."
The Record is Harvard Law School's "nonprofit, independent, student-owned and -run" publication. The newspaper is published 24 times a year and is free for Harvard law students.
As Editor-in-Chief, Brook has the responsibility of making sure a new issue of The Record goes out to Harvard law students every Thursday. This involves keeping current on what's making news around campus, overseeing the editors and writers, doing the layout and photo editing, and writing copy, among other things.
"We usually have an online editor, who places each issue on our website; but when he is unavailable, I do that as well," she said. "I also take care of all of The Record's finances, from paying our bills to soliciting advertisements."
Brook first joined the staff of The Record in September 2005 as the Layout Editor and, after taking on more and more responsibility, soon became Publisher. She was elected to her current position at the end of February 2006.
"Being an active part of student associations lets you meet people you would not generally see in class. It also makes school more fun by letting you do something completely different from class work," she said. "Being part of the newspaper also keeps one informed of what is going on around campus, which can be very interesting."
Having started out her undergraduate education as an engineering major, Brook said it was during her sophomore year that she began to take courses dealing with the legal side of engineering, such as intellectual property.
"The classes were very interesting, and I decided that I was more interested in legal work than in pure engineering," she said.
The summer after her 1L year, Brook interned in downtown Manhattan at Fensterstock and Partners, a small litigation firm. It was during this internship that she got to see for herself how lawyers work, something she said isn't really taught in law school.
"During the summer, I was able to apply the research and analysis skills I learned over the year to actual cases," she said. "I also had the opportunity to sit in on a deposition and a mediation hearing. It was interesting to see the partners at the firm in action."
"At first, I was a bit anxious, wondering if this was what I truly wanted to do after graduation. As the weeks went by, I decided that I enjoyed the work overall, even though some assignments were a lot less interesting than others," she said.
"I enjoy looking at a case as a problem and figuring out possible solutions," she said. "The majority of the time, there are no simple yes-or-no answers."
This summer, Brook will be returning to downtown Manhattan to work for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, LLP, a firm she would like to join upon graduation.
"During the callback interview and dinner with members of the firm, I felt that Milbank was the best fit for the work I am interested in and for my personality. It was a difficult decision because many firms seem the same during interviews," she said.
"I am not sure what field I would like to work in, but I will use the summer to explore different areas. I am particularly interested in intellectual property litigation so that I can apply my engineering background to some extent," she said.
Brook named her parents as being her biggest influence during—and before—law school. In fact, her favorite memory since she's been in law school involves her family.
"My favorite [memory] was moving back to school at the beginning of my second year," she said. "My parents and little brother came to help move my things and stayed for a few days. It was great to be able to take them on a tour of Boston and Cambridge after we were done setting everything up. It was more exciting than moving before my first year because I knew I was on the way to another great year and was happy to show them around."
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