In-House Corporate Counsel

Name: Juanita B. Luis

Major: History

Law School: U of MN Law School

Description of your job: in‑house corporate counsel: corporate transactions and insurance regulation

Do you have any advice for students who are considering going to the same law school you did? I graduated in 1977 (from Fraser Hall), so my law school experience is too dated to be of much use

Is there anything in particular that you did during your undergrad that benefited you more than anything else in getting through law school and/or transitioning into the legal profession? High school & some college debate. Research, writing, & study skills.

If you had a chance to go through law school all over again, is there anything you would do differently? No

Is being a lawyer what you expected it would be? Why or why not? I didn't realize how specialized most law practices are, so a few years after the bar exam you don't feel comfortable answering the breadth of questions a layperson expects you to know.

What is it like transitioning from being a law student to being a lawyer? Having worked for a few years between undergrad and law school made it much easier to adapt to a set schedule of long hours.

Is there anything students should know about the legal profession before they decide to commit their life to it? A lot of the practice of law is adversarial, so it's easier if you're comfortable with that style.

What does a typical day look like for you as a lawyer? Corporate transactional work means I never appear in court. Most of my day as an in‑house attorney is spent responding to a high volume of email and phone questions, which are relatively short in nature; attending meetings; and doing limited on‑line legal research.