Lawyers are leaders, too. Law practice demands many of the leadership skills found in the McDonough Leadership Program – critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, comfort with ambiguity, communication, and conflict resolution. The art of persuasion begins and ends with the realization that human endeavors require an understanding of the rules and modes of thinking that bring people together. Whenever conflict and disputes arise, leaders trained in the McDonough Leadership Program are perfectly positioned to work with others to find fair and just solutions.
Michael Moffitt '91
1. Basic Information:
Name: Michael Moffitt
Title: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Associate Professor of Law
Goodwin Senior Faculty Fellow
Associate Director of the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Center
Organization: The University of Oregon School of Law
City: Eugene
State: Oregon
Country: USA
2. Educational Record:
At Marietta College:
Graduation Year: 1991
Major(s): History
Minor(s): Political Science, East Asian Studies
Certificate(s): Leadership
Honors/Awards: Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, valedictorian, Cleland Award, Academic All-American (tennis)
Degrees after Marietta College:
Area of Study: Law
College/University: Harvard Law School
Graduation Year: 1994
Honors/Awards: cum laude
3. Describe your organization and what you do in this organization (job responsibilities, recent projects, work environment).
I work at the University of Oregon School of Law, where I have spent most of my time helping law students and graduate students learn about creative ways to solve problems. For the past several years, our law school has offered an innovative curriculum to help equip future lawyers to deal with a changing professional landscape – one in which resort to traditional lawsuits may be less common.
I recently stepped into the role of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, which has meant that I now have broader responsibility with respect to the full curriculum of the law school. It has been a delight to learn of the important, path-breaking work many of my colleagues are doing in fields ranging from environmental and international law to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Oregon has a proud history of producing a high percentage of students who enter the profession in some form of public service, and I’m proud to be part of helping to make that happen.
4. Briefly discuss how "leadership" plays a role in your professional field.
Our system of justice is set up in a way that it’s hard to imagine trying to navigate it effectively without a professional guide, without someone who can help give you the lay of the land, who can help you make informed and timely choices. I train those guides. I train leaders.
Some lawyers lead in the conspicuous ways illustrated in movies. They make arguments in court, or they sit in a conference room negotiating the terms of some zillion dollar deal, or they sit in the legislatures and draft the statutes that govern us all. And many lawyers wind up serving as leaders in quiet, less conspicuous ways that probably matter even more. A lawyer works with an entrepreneur, who has an idea for a business but doesn’t know how to structure it. A lawyer works with a young couple trying to figure out what needs to go into a will so that their children will be cared for appropriately. A lawyer calls a meeting of all sides to try to find a mutually agreeable resolution to a dispute over the use of a piece of downtown property. A lawyer advises a non-profit on how to structure their operations to maximum effect. And so on.
Those of us who educate these future leaders have some opportunity to shape the way they conceive of their roles. And my colleagues and I take that very seriously.
5. Briefly discuss how the McDonough Leadership Program prepared you for this professional field and leadership challenges.
I cherish my time in the classroom with law students. And although popular images of law school often paint a picture of an adversarial experience, I model many of my classes on the best educational experiences of my life – those through the McDonough program. We explore serious topics with urgency and openness. I expect more of my students than I think many have expected of them in the past, and at least some of the time, I think they achieve more than they thought they could. I credit my mentors in the leadership program for providing both the passion and the model for these kinds of exchanges.
And in my administrative position, the single biggest lesson I’ve brought with me is the powerful impact of listening. I work with really, really smart people. Smart people who often have different views about what should happen next. The best work I can do, much of the time, is simply to help make sure that each person’s view finds appropriate articulation and space, so that we can make good decisions collectively.
Anna R. Ziegler '97
1. Basic Information:
Name: Anna R. Ziegler
Title: Attorney
Organization: Ziegler and Ziegler, LC
City: Hinton State: WV Country: USA
2. Educational Record:
At Marietta College:
Graduation Year: 1997
Major(s): Environmental Sciences
Minor(s): Geology
Certificate(s): Leadership
Honors/Awards: Dean’s List, Dean’s High Honor List, Alpha Lambda Delta
Degrees after Marietta College:
Area of Study: Law
College/University: University of Montana School of Law
Graduation Year: 2005
Honors/Awards: Certification in Environmental Law
3. Describe your organization and what you do in this organization (job responsibilities, recent projects, work environment).
My father and I have a law firm in a small town in rural southern West Virginia. We are a small firm by most standards, yet the largest firm in our entire county. Ziegler and Ziegler is a general practice emphasizing real estate, property litigation, estate planning, probate and local government law.
My own personal area of interest is land use planning. During college and my first year of law school, I wanted to practice environmental law. I quickly learned that suing the federal government to enforce environmental regulations was not for me. However, working with communities to protect and emphasis local assets and quality of life was much more my calling. Since law school, I have undertaken the task of drafting the first ever Comprehensive Land Use Plan for my county.
4. Briefly discuss how "leadership" plays a role in your professional field.
Living and working in a small community often means my actions and decisions are in the public spotlight. The most obvious leadership role I have is that of attorney and counselor. Most people interact with an attorney only during life changing events or times of great turmoil. My job is literally to lead them in the right direction. I may have an elderly client who is concerned that the children he is dependant on are taking advantage of him. Or I may have young couple trying to buy their first home and who rely on me to advise them about contract negotiations or lending opportunities. Many of my clients count on me to preserve their hard-earned assets for their children and grandchildren. My client may be a local government concerned about wireless communication towers ruining the scenic views. Regardless of who my clients are or what problems they may face, they each trust me to provide competent advice in a professional manner.
Summers County , West Virginia , has an aging population and is faced with the dilemma of how to attract and retain young, educated citizens. I am one of only a few local people in my generation who left home for higher-education opportunities and then returned to my hometown. As such, I am routinely invited to participate in community economic development forums, spearhead local projects, and present to schoolchildren and government officials on a wide variety of economic development and growth management topics. I serve on several boards of directors for non-profit organizations such as National Committee for the New River and our local humane society.
5. Briefly discuss how the McDonough Leadership Program prepared you for this professional field and leadership challenges.
The McDonough Leadership Program really provided me with problem-solving skills. Perhaps the best lessons learned as a student of the McDonough Program were those that taught me not only how to think outside the box but how to make my thoughts count. The other most-valuable-lesson learned through the McDLP was the value of other people’s input. Sometimes the best leaders are those who follow.