Emily Becker '27
Staff Editor
Law students run up against the public interest/private sector dichotomy before they know how to file a lawsuit. Many probably started weighing the pros and cons of each path before they arrived at law school. In fact, the Law School’s admitted students programming features job placement information sessions for each of these areas. While there are those students focusing on clerkships or academia, or perhaps plotting their jump to an alternate field, for the most part, law students tend to spend a great deal of time standing at the fork in the road, pondering which of these two options will be the best fit for them in five, ten, and twenty years.
What if the division between public and private sector is less dramatic than we think? These fields are not monoliths, after all. There are nonprofit law firms, Supreme Court litigation divisions at big law firms, and plaintiffs’ law firms, which all sit somewhere between our notions of quintessential public interest and private sector jobs. The Plaintiffs’ Law Association at the University of Virginia (“PLAVA”) helps demystify its eponymous practice area, most recently by co-hosting a litigation panel with the Mock Trial Association last Tuesday, October 1. PLAVA and Mock Trial brought in four alumni panelists, Sharif Gray ’14, Professor Susan Sajadi ’05, Kevin Mottley ’96, and Professor Anthony Greene ’16, who helped define what it means to be a plaintiffs’ lawyer. Andrew Searles ’25, PLAVA’s Firm and Alumni Relations Coordinator, moderated.
The panel began with a discussion of what constitutes the core of plaintiffs’ law. As Professor Greene, who teaches trial advocacy at the Law School, put it, “we are builders,” which comes with the “highest of highs [and the] lowest of lows.” Professor Sajadi, who teaches a course on depositions at the Law School, added that a great deal of what a plaintiffs’ attorney does is storytelling. Much like prosecutors, plaintiffs’ attorneys assiduously investigate and craft a narrative, ultimately with an eye to trial. In fact, Mr. Gray suggested that aspiring plaintiffs’ attorneys begin their careers as prosecutors, as young prosecutors have far greater opportunities for trial experience than newly hired civil attorneys. Mr. Gray himself garnered significant experience as a United States Army JAG Officer and as a drug and vice prosecutor prior to pivoting into plaintiffs’ law. Professor Greene, too, dipped his toe into trial work as a law student, trying three criminal cases as part of the Law School’s prosecution clinic.
Mr. Mottley, who runs his own firm in Richmond, added that humans are fundamentally driven by story—it is hard to pay attention to anything for an extended period of time without any narrative undercurrent. Mr. Mottley conducts a home visit as part of every one of his cases. He emphasized that storytelling is an inherently personal process in these cases, and that his visits allow him to develop a bond with his clients and more fully conceptualize how the story he will tell a jury fits into the larger framework of his clients’ lives. Mr. Gray added that mutual trust is crucial in this line of work, and that his role extends beyond that of a traditional attorney. Sometimes clients feel guilty and struggle with the stigma of vocalizing what they have experienced, and attorneys can assist them in addressing these obstacles.
The gravity of plaintiffs’ work and the potential to change someone’s life emerged as deep sources of motivation for the panelists. Professor Sajadi has represented sexual assault victims, veterans, and former Abu Ghraib prisoners. She has dealt with negative press, high stakes, and fear of losing. Stress and failure are part of the job—in her words, attorneys who have never lost “aren’t really trial lawyer[s].” Professor Sajadi offered what she acknowledged was a bit of an unusual piece of advice about how to prepare for the intensity of a legal career, whether in plaintiffs’ law or another practice area: life partners matter a great deal. Other panelists echoed the sentiment, encouraging students to think beyond salary and lifestyle when considering future opportunities.
The panelists were unified in the profound satisfaction that they derive from their work, but also honest about the stresses of constructing a case, turning down potential clients, losing trials, and balancing the personal and professional. Hopefully, for those students who feel pulled between the seemingly disparate realms of public interest and the private sector, the panelists were able to elucidate a field which contains elements of both areas. Plaintiffs’ law can be mission- and impact-oriented much like public interest work. Still, a significant amount of plaintiffs’ work originates with law firms, and attorneys helming these firms can factor the health and success of the business into decisions about whether or not to take a case. Ultimately, for those law students who envision themselves as future storytellers, there will be a place for them in a variety of arenas—including plaintiffs’ law.
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ejb6zt@virginia.edu