Top Lawyers: Cora Whitney Of Smith + Malek Attorneys On The 5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law

An Interview with Eric L. Pines

Don’t be the loudest, pushiest, or angriest. Hollywood often makes it seem like the attorney with the flowery, dramatic, or loud language always wins. But take it from my dad who has been a trial judge for 18 years, loudness doesn’t matter. The most successful lawyers are the ones who are the most prepared.

The legal field is known to be extremely competitive. Lawyers are often smart, ambitious, and highly educated. That being said, what does it take to stand out and become a “Top Lawyer” in your specific field of law? In this interview series called “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law”, we are talking to top lawyers who share what it takes to excel and stand out in your industry.

As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cora Whitney.

Cora is licensed to practice law in the state of Washington and Idaho and is the Business and Real Estate Practice Lead for Smith + Malek Attorneys. She graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law summa cum laude in 2013. Early in her career, Cora was named a rising star by the Spokane Journal of Business and was later added to Idaho Business Review’s Leaders in Law list.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dig in, 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? Did you want to be an attorney “when you grew up”?

When I was about 12, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. I grew up watching my dad in court and spent much of my childhood hanging out in a law office or courtroom. I became inspired by his work and was especially interested in his prior work as a prosecutor and defense attorney. During my tenure at Gonzaga University School of Law, I discovered that criminal law was not a good fit for me.

After this realization, I began exploring litigation. Through taking a trial advocacy class and externing for Spokane Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor, I learned that I didn’t enjoy the adversarial nature of civil litigation. Diving into the legal profession’s flexibility, I took an opportunity to intern for a firm that worked in business, real estate, and transactional law. I finally found my fit.

Although I have known I wanted to pursue law for most of my life, I am grateful that I was able to explore numerous areas before settling into a specific practice. I would recommend that all law students take a similar approach to their education. Take advantage of various classes, internships, and externships. It may take some time, but once you find the practice that feels like the right fit, you’ll have a happier career overall.

Can you tell us a bit about the nature of your practice and what you focus on?

I am currently running the Business and Real Estate department at Smith + Malek. Our business team helps business owners throughout the entire process of owning a business–formation, running a successful business, and selling. This includes drafting comprehensive contracts for each stage, advising employers on recruitment and retention strategies, and staying up to date on changes in the law relevant to their industry.

You are a successful attorney. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? What unique qualities do you have that others may not? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Law is not something you can rush. In transactional law, I’ve found these three traits to be most useful.

1. The ability to slow down and think analytically about the consequences of how you are drafting a document in the context of the potential problems you are anticipating.
2. The ability to frame a thought process as a problem solver. As you are drafting documents, you should not just throw words on paper without a purpose. Everything should be methodical.
3. Close attention to detail. Business owners hire transactional lawyers to prevent potential future lawsuits. The best prevention method is well-written, detailed contracts.

Becoming a “top lawyer” also requires staying humble and remaining open to new learning. You should always be looking for opportunities to apply what you’ve learned in the past and use it for the benefit of the future. A lawyer who does not continue to learn will quickly become irrelevant and will be outperformed by lawyers who understand current legal trends in their field. I’ve found this ability to be even more crucial in business law as I work with a variety of businesses, each bringing its own unique legal needs.

You must communicate clearly — this is a learned skill that requires continual practice throughout your entire career. You should also practice your writing skills. My ability to write has helped me not only draft comprehensive contracts but also to communicate clearly and concisely with all parties. I attribute this to my mom who was a journalism major at the University of Washington. She never altered her vocabulary for my sister and me, even when we were very young. If we didn’t know what a word meant, she’d tell us to look it up in a dictionary — and that was in the days when we didn’t have the convenience of Google.

Do you think you have had luck in your success? Can you explain what you mean?

Being in the right place at the right time certainly helps. I was fortunate enough to be looking for a job in the legal field when the field was looking for new young lawyers. My first legal job was at a big firm where I had knowledgeable, skillful mentors that passed their wisdom down to me. I found my way to Smith + Malek — where I am now a department head — through one of my best friends from law school. Looking back, I was lucky I met her and am so grateful she recruited me.

Do you think where you went to school has any bearing on your success? How important is it for a lawyer to go to a top-tier school?

I am frequently asked by law students where they should go to law school but, the truth is, it often revolves around where you want to live and where you want to practice. In my own experience, I enjoyed Eastern Washington and could see myself settling down there. Where you go to law school is where you start building your network, which can give you a jumpstart into your legal career.

Based on the lessons you have learned from your experience, if you could go back in time and speak to your twenty-year-old self, what would you say? Would you do anything differently?

I would reassure myself that it was worth my time and effort to find a job in a practice area that allowed me to be my authentic self. Lawyers have enough stressors and enough on their plate that if you don’t feel like you can be your authentic self, that will only worsen the stress and difficulty of practicing law. It is equally important to find a job that respects who you are. For example, my job is being an attorney, but it’s also being a mom, wife, and friend. Being able to embrace all facets of my life has really contributed to my overall happiness.

This is not easy work. What is your primary motivation and drive behind the work that you do?

I enjoy helping clients proactively solve problems, build up their businesses, and think ahead for the future. Helping new businesses get off the ground and establish their building blocks is always rewarding. Now that I have been in this position for several years, I have also been able to see some businesses come full circle, from formation to selling. I always enjoy celebrating their wins and helping them navigate the new challenges that come with their evolving business.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

[Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question without revealing my clients.]

Where do you go from here? Where do you aim to be in the next chapter of your career?

I am looking forward to continuing to build the business and real estate practice at Smith + Malek. We are looking to expand both the number of attorneys on our team and, in turn, the number of clients we can serve. As we grow, we are making sure to prioritize finding good humans to hire. We specifically look for attorneys who are going to contribute to a culture where we are supported, help one another, and contribute to our team’s growth.

Without sharing anything confidential, can you please share your most successful “war story”? Can you share the funniest?

Since most litigation disputes are over some type of contract or lack thereof, my job is to prevent trials in the first place. When one is starting a business or setting up a partnership, it is easy to do a “back-of-the-napkin” deal and miss essential protective steps. I have also seen people print off agreements online that they do not understand or do not appropriately apply to their business, or they may not have an agreement at all. I think of my job as memorializing the handshake–aligning and accurately reflecting what the parties have agreed to. Although I do represent one side or another and advocate for my client, my ultimate goal is to get the deal on paper so my client can avoid disputes in the future.

Ok, fantastic. Let’s now shift to discussing some advice for aspiring lawyers. Do you work remotely? Onsite? Or Hybrid? What do you think will be the future of how law offices operate? What do you prefer? Can you please explain what you mean?

I primarily work from the office. In my personal experience, a physical separation between work and home life allows me to get into the headspace of being a lawyer and maintain important boundaries. However, this isn’t the case for everyone. Hybrid will likely become the norm for most law firms and many other businesses.

While Covid brought many challenges, it also showed us that lawyers can be successful and productive from anywhere. Smith + Malek was particularly successful during the pandemic–we maintained great services and even opened a new office in Spokane, Wash. — because we had already set up remote technologies that allowed us to communicate beyond the physical workplace. Now, with offices in Boise and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Spokane, Washington, we still use these technologies to communicate between locations as well as between those working from home or in-office. We have learned that it doesn’t matter which desk we were at, but rather our work product. A hybrid environment allows attorneys and staff to work in environments that are conducive to their physical and mental health. We’ve seen this result in giving our team more time and energy to focus on serving clients.

How has the legal world changed since COVID? How do you think it might change in the near future? Can you explain what you mean?

Through the pandemic, the firms that have done well, both financially and culturally, recognized that lawyers can be productive from anywhere. The argument of whether working from home or from the office is better is much more complex than it is sometimes portrayed. I don’t believe there is a one-size fits all solution. Working from home doesn’t work for everyone, and neither does working from the office. Now that we’re coming out of the pandemic, law firm leadership teams must recognize that different people work well in different environments. It makes sense to make adjustments based on the individuality of employees and develop systems and processes that work best for individuals. Using this approach has helped Smith + Malek maintain a collaborative work environment that reduces burnout, but still delivers results.

Based on your experience, how can attorneys effectively leverage social media to build their practice?

Just as we expect our clients to approach us when they need advice, lawyers need to recognize when they’re not experts in what they’re doing. We went to law school to learn how to analyze and apply the law. There are very few classes on how to run a business, fewer on how to advertise, and basically none on how to leverage social media.

Excellent. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Become A Top Lawyer In Your Specific Field of Law?” Please share a story or an example for each.

1. Critical thinking. Thinking is a significant part of being a lawyer. You must be able to think critically about the consequences of your advice, especially in the context of your client’s specific situation. If you are working in transactional law, you must proactively anticipate potential legal issues which require critical thinking.
2. Attention to detail. Whether you’re preparing to go to trial or preparing a contract, you need to pay attention to every little detail. A mistyped sentence may have vastly different outcomes than you intended or create confusion that nulls the entire contract.
3. Don’t “fake it till you make it.” Law is not the place to “fake it till you make it.” You must be able to recognize when you don’t know something. Then, you need to be willing to ask questions or spend hours researching to learn. Your client’s reputation and finances depend on it.
4. Don’t be the loudest, pushiest, or angriest. Hollywood often makes it seem like the attorney with the flowery, dramatic, or loud language always wins. But take it from my dad who has been a trial judge for 18 years, loudness doesn’t matter. The most successful lawyers are the ones who are the most prepared.
5. Practice in an area that’s authentic to you. An essential part of being a “top lawyer” is recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. I was fortunate to learn early in my career that I am a conflict averse person. Litigation would simply never be the right choice for me. It’s not necessarily about what you can or can’t do, rather it’s more about what’s going to contribute to your overall happiness.

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 with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this. :-)

I would want to speak with any of the female supreme court justices, though I would especially love to chat with Ruth Bader Ginsberg if she was still alive. I’d like to pick their brain about how they have navigated a world dominated by men. I’d ask them questions similar to the ones you just asked me.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with 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.