Anne Schneider Of Fenton Law Group: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Attorney
An Interview With Eric Pines
“Always be professional” and “it’s not personal.” This was never an issue for me, but I learned from a judge for whom I externed that some applications for the bench require you to provide references from attorneys you worked with, and attorneys you opposed. I found that really intriguing.
As a part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Attorney,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Anne Schneider.
Anne Schneider is an associate attorney with Fenton Law Group, LLP, where she represents and advises healthcare providers in a wide variety of litigation and regulatory matters. Anne received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she graduated magna cum laude before receiving her Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California (USC). In 2022, as a second-year associate, Anne represented a physician in an employment lawsuit against the Regents of the University of California, and returned a jury verdict of $17 million in her client’s favor.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit more. What is the “backstory” that brought you to this particular career path in Law?
I always had a passion for social justice, advocacy, and helping people. While the other second graders were checking out picture books, I was interested in books on the Civil Rights Movement and the Holocaust. Eventually, the running joke at home “you should be an attorney” returned fewer and fewer laughs, and I took the advice seriously!
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your law career?
I graduated law school in 2020 and began practicing as an attorney in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. On one occasion, shortly after I’d started practicing, my boss asked me to fill in for him at an in-person hearing at the civil courthouse in Oxnard, California. Since at the time the amount of people who could be indoors together at any given time was limited, a bailiff or CHP officer was outside the courthouse checking in parties and counsel of record. I walked up to the officer dressed in a black suit with my briefcase — ready for court. The officer looked me in the eyes and said, “Miss, where’s your attorney?” I responded, “I am the attorney.” He apologized profusely, but it was an honest mistake — I looked much younger than the other attorneys waiting to enter the courthouse.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I have a handful of discrimination lawsuits that I’m working on which I look forward to resolving. I wish I could say more but I can’t!
What are some of the most interesting cases you have been involved in? Without sharing anything confidential can you share any stories?
All of the discrimination lawsuits that I’ve worked on have been extremely engaging and rewarding. In October 2022, I had the incredible experience of second-chairing a jury trial with a partner at my firm, Benjamin J. Fenton. Although I was only a second-year associate, our firm is pretty small, and so it’s all hands on deck. Ben gave me a lot of responsibility in co-chairing that trial with him. Ben let me conduct voir dire (picking the jury) entirely by myself. To my great surprise, 11 out of 12 of the jurors in that case voted unanimously in my client’s favor, and we returned a $17-million-dollar verdict against the Regents of the University of California.
Which people in history inspire you the most? Why?
Inventors and brave independent thinkers.
For example, Charles Babbage (invented the computer), Tim Berners-Lee (invented the internet), and Martin Cooper (invented the mobile phone)…their inventions didn’t exist in the world before they put them there. These inventions lived in the imaginations of their inventors, but now I can’t imagine my life without the internet, cell phones or my computer. Their creativity changed the world.
Really anyone throughout history who has risked their life, comfort and well-being to make the world a better place and stand up for what they believe in. Righteous gentiles are a good example. Righteous gentiles are non-Jewish individuals who risked their lives to save Jewish individuals during the Holocaust. These people could’ve likely kept their heads down and avoided the wrath of the Third Reich, instead many chose to put their own comfort, survival, and privilege at risk to do the right thing. Some were caught, and were killed or punished severely by the Reich. It’s easier to stay quiet and safe than to stand up against injustice — you make a lot of enemies. It takes a lot of courage to swim opposite the current.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in law?
It’s okay to have an idea of what practice area you’d like to work in, but it’s not necessary. Keep an open mind, the rest will fall into place.
If you had the ability to make three reforms in our judicial/legal system, which three would you start with? Why?
I need more exposure to answer this — ask me in 50 years. I think if I were a criminal attorney, I’d have more to say.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’ve helped doctors who were bullied out of their jobs or post-medical-school graduate programs, find peace of mind again. There are plenty of fantastic providers who were wrongfully terminated from their jobs, residency programs, and fellowship programs simply due to hospital politics. These providers studied for years to be able to make a living doing what they love, and helping them get the justice they deserve has been very rewarding.
I know this is not an easy job. What drives you?
That special feeling you get when you’ve achieved justice for your client.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
- As an attorney, you’re sometimes a businesswoman. Nobody in my family is an attorney except for me, and I had no reference point when I started. If you work for a private firm, the odds are that if you want to be a partner one day, you’ll have to bring in your own business.
- Use Rutter/practice guides when doing case law research. For some reason it never really registered with me, but when doing legal research always ask yourself “Is there a practice guide that I can look to in starting my research?” Thank me later.
- “Always be professional” and “it’s not personal.” This was never an issue for me, but I learned from a judge for whom I externed that some applications for the bench require you to provide references from attorneys you worked with, and attorneys you opposed. I found that really intriguing.
- Your law school peers will be a part of your professional network in the field, and in that sense your career as an attorney begins at law school orientation the summer before 1L.
- Be curious! This helped me a lot when I took the Bar, and in my career. I paid attention in law school. Even if I couldn’t see where the information I was learning would help me in my career, I still made an effort to absorb as much as I could and it has made me a better attorney.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this. :-)
Brandon Afari — he made 30 under 30 for being creative and inventive which is something I admire; and Robert and Dina Leeds — I met them both recently briefly, but both are super intelligent individuals, and I admire their outlooks on life — hindsight is 20/20 but I have so many more questions for them! Outside of that, I’d love to meet anyone you’d recommend who could impart on me more knowledge about the world around me.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
