Great advocacy is more than just experience: it is also about character and purpose. In this series, we take a moment to introduce you to the individuals who make up the firm, by asking 5 quick questions that help you get to know them a little bit better.
This month: partner Patricia A. (Patty) Premeau.
1. I became a lawyer because…
My career path isn’t exactly the stuff of legal thrillers…
I started out as a special education teacher, working with students from kindergarten all the way through twelfth grade. I first went into education because I was offered a scholarship to major in it, but the more classes I took, the more drawn I was to special education in particular. I taught for five years. By then, I was burned out, and I believed my students deserved better than a teacher running on empty. Right around that time, a friend had just finished law school in D.C. So: a divergent background, certainly.
I definitely enjoy helping people. Whether I’m representing the plaintiff or the defendant, my first reaction is, “I’m sorry you have to hire me.” Many of my clients are individuals or small businesses, and it’s their first time in litigation. Nobody plans for that. But as we work through it together, I recognize my role: I’m the person trained to help them navigate a difficult process.
2. If I did not become an attorney, my other dream career would be…
I’ll be honest: my dream career is Broadway. I’d be thrilled just to be in the chorus line. Or maybe the understudy who gets the call to go on as Velma in Chicago…
Make no mistake – I do not have the talent to be on Broadway, but that’s what makes it a dream.
I took a semester of tap dancing in college, as my roommate and I thought it would be a riot to show up at parties and dance floors and … tap dance! “Several” (ah-hem) years later, I started tap-dancing again three years ago, and this year, I added hip hop. All these years later, here I am again. My little Broadway dream!
[Editor’s note: Casting directors, please direct all inquiries to our front desk. Patty is available most evenings, court calendar permitting.]
3. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was…
Early in my career, someone told me: “Pay off your student loans as aggressively as possible, because once they’re paid off, you’re choosing to be a lawyer. You don’t have to be one.” That’s exactly what I did.
Now I could do anything. I could even go back. But I’m exactly where I choose to be.
4. One of my favorite movies is…
Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
For decades now, my friends and I have kept a standing tradition: a sleepover with Pink Ladies (the cocktail, naturally), the movie, and a full sing-and-dance-along. We did one just this past year. We still know every line! It’s so much fun.
Fun fact: my family moved from New York to Arizona when I was young. My parents were multi-generational New Yorkers, so as a going-away treat, my mother took my sisters and I to see Grease on Broadway. This was prior to the movie, and John Travolta was playing one of the T-Birds – not Danny Zuko yet!
[Editor’s note: She saw John Travolta in Grease before he was Danny Zuko. That may be the greatest “I knew them when” story in firm history.]
5. My last listen (podcast, playlist or audiobook) was…
Amy Poehler’s Good Hang. Each episode is an hour-long conversation with a guest. No sound bites, just an open, uplifting discussion with a ton of laughs. On one episode, Sandra Bullock told Amy what a nice place it was to just chat and hang. And Amy always closes with the same question: “What are you doing that makes you laugh?”
That’s what I love about it. It’s not mean. It’s not political. It’s just positive and funny.