Spartan Lawyer Winter 2018

FIND JOY AROUND YOU.

ALEXANDRA ALBERSTADT, ’92

PARTNER, PERKINS COIE, LLP
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Wherever you are, you’re going to spend a lot of time at work. You have to find things around that you can get a little joy from.

While some people are wary of change, Alexandra Alberstadt welcomes it. After starting her career as a litigator, she now works on the transactional side with investors and startups. Alexandra gets a thrill from working with clients who are developing their big ideas, and coming up with unique strategies to solve problems.

“Working with startup managers helps remind me that we always have to bring that new lens to our own work,” she said. “Everything evolves in this business. You might do something today and then 10 years later you’ll revisit the issue and it’s just not the same body of law out there anymore.”

When she first moved to New York City to pursue her LLM, Alexandra never intended to stick around after earning her degree. But after marrying, raising children, and embracing the city for everything it has to offer, it has become her home. One of the things she enjoys most about the city is the infinite food and entertainment opportunities. “There’s a lot of mediocre food in New York, but there’s no shortage of the good stuff,” Alexandra said. “The variety of ethnic food here is unbelievable.”

Alexandra said law is practiced much differently in NYC than in the Midwest, especially the pace of the work. She’s found ways to de-stress when she needs to, like stepping out during her lunch hour to check out a museum. She also knows the struggle of feeling like you just can’t afford to take a break. “There have been times in my life when I haven’t been able to do that because if I wasn’t at work, I was taking care of the kids or doing something school-oriented,” she said. “When the kids were little, instead of doing those kind of things, I spent more time at the PTA.”

Learning about yourself and how much you can handle is a part of everyone’s professional journey. Many attorneys feel so connected to their clients that it can be hard to separate from the job.

“Burnout can happen in a lot of different ways at different points in your profession. For younger lawyers, one of the most important things to do is prioritize and recognize when you’re on the verge of biting off more than you can chew,” she said. “That is not, generally speaking, going to lead to a successful outcome.”