Navigating Recruitment While Staying True To Yourself

I still remember sitting in my first-year Access to Justice class when a thought hit me like a wave: Could this ever be me? Could I reach a point in my career where I have drifted so far from the justice-seeking lawyer I imagined I would become? We often read headlines or hear stories about lawyers who engage in conduct unbecoming, those moments where ethics seem to take a back seat to ambition or pressure. How does that happen? How do people lose track of themselves and the values they once held so dearly?

What I realized is that it rarely happens because of one big decision or event. It is the small concessions, the compromises you make over time, that slowly erode the foundation of your values. That insight shaped how I approached the recruitment process. Before I sent out a single application, I made a list of non-negotiables. I wanted to ensure that wherever I landed, I would not have to give up pieces of myself just to fit in or advance my career.