I was born into a family filled with lawyers and doctors, but I was determined to be neither of the two. I had no interest in blood and gore and zero interest in filing briefs or being an attorney. Despite these “strongly held beliefs,” my father continued to tell me from the age of three that I would be an attorney. Perhaps his badgering unconsciously led me to the legal field, or maybe I won in the end as I do not practice law, but I have found a love of the courtroom and the mental challenge of reshaping cases.
Before discovering my path, I attended Duke Law School where I received my JD and a master’s in psychology. During my first semester of law school, a professor presented one day on jury selection and mentioned David Ball’s name, who conveniently was in Durham. In that moment, I found my passion and career path. I cold-called David as a young, nervous student, introduced myself, told him I wanted to do what he does, and invited him to lunch. For unknown reasons, he agreed, seemed to like me well enough, very likely paid for lunch, and offered to mentor me while I was in school. I will forever be grateful as he set me on my path of a career I love.
I was also fortunate to be taught by Professor Neil Vidmar, who owns half of the recordings of the Arizona Project from 1996 when cameras were allowed into deliberation rooms of real juries. I spent my days in class, and my afternoons at coffee shops sitting side-by-side with David Ball while he taught me the ins and outs of focus group research, case analysis, opening statement, and trial strategy. At night, I would wander onto a dark campus and, entrusted with a key to his office, sit at Neil Vidmar’s desk watching Arizona Project deliberation tapes and taking notes. The rest, they say, is history. I thrive on the challenge of altering case themes and strategy, testing cases with mock trials, and helping attorneys become stronger advocates.
I also have two young kids who love seeing my face on mock trial videos as I analyze results and who challenge me to balance my work with their young, busy, important lives.
