Litigation Attorney and Managing Partner of Law Firm

Name: Thomas J. Shroyer

Major: Political Science

Law School: University of Minnesota

Description of your job: Litigation attorney and Managing partner of law firm

Do you have any advice for students who are considering going to the same law school you did? U of M Law School is still an excellent choice ‑‑ very high quality, good national standing and strong value for the cost.

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? Classes in symbolic logic and predicate calculus; PolSci classes in history of US Supreme Court jurisprudence.

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? It is much more rewarding than I could've imagined ‑‑ but for reasons I never would've guessed. Client service is tremendously fulfilling and litigation is enthralling at times.

What is it like transitioning from being a law student to being a lawyer? Painful and maddening, boring and tiresome. The first 5‑10 years practicing law are an extended apprenticeship, but with a huge emotional and financial reward.

Is there anything students should know about the legal profession before they decide to commit their life to it? The profession can be a very harsh environment ‑‑ students can forget "LA Law" et al. The work is solitary, with lots of reading and "paper work". Trials are an endangered species for non‑criminal, non‑divorce litigators.

What does a typical day look like for you as a lawyer? 10 hours of reading and writing letters, fielding calls, counseling clients, haggling with opposing counsel, preparing cases "behind the scenes", drumming up new business, taking care of client billings, running a 70 lawyer firm. Very, very busy!