Spartan Lawyer Winter 2018

FIND YOUR PEOPLE.

JESSICA MILLIGAN, ’13

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY, ROBBINS SCHWARTZ
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with really positive influences. The work is always going to be stressful, you can’t avoid that. But the thing you can control is making sure your colleagues, your mentors, and the people you interact with day to day are people you enjoy being around.

Jessica Milligan began law school at MSU College of Law with an interest to learn about and participate in the legal field, but was uncertain about what she wanted to do.

During her first clerkship in law school at Thrun Law Firm – where she later worked as an associate – Jessica was exposed to an unfamiliar area of legal practice: school law. Thrun represented school districts throughout the state of Michigan. Jessica said she sort of just “fell into” the work, and is forever thankful that she did. She still practices it today at Robbins Schwartz in Chicago where she does labor and employment law for school districts and community colleges.

“Every day I get to work with clients, whether it’s on the phone or actually going out to a school district or college. Having that interaction with them and working with them to solve a problem – I think that’s really rewarding,” Jessica said.

Jessica emphasizes the importance of creating and maintaining relationships with people who lift you up, both in the workplace and out.

“As a lawyer, it’s always going to be stressful, but I think the key is surrounding yourself with colleagues, mentors, supervisors, and friends outside of work who are really positive, kind people,” she said.

Since moving to the Windy City, she said the city offers so much to do and enjoy. Some of her favorite days are the ones spent on the lake with her husband, Scott – a fellow MSU Law grad – and their dog, Tucker. She also makes time to read and travel, often making trips back to her home state to explore the northern part of Michigan.