As
we announced recently, we here at Hartman Simons are thrilled to announce
the hiring of two new attorneys: Leslie Brooking and Laura Kurlander. For
today’s installment, we sat down with Leslie to talk about her legal career,
her hobbies and why her schoolteachers pegged her as a lawyer early on.
Many thanks to Leslie for her time.
On what areas will your practice at
Hartman Simons focus?
Brooking: My practice will focus on real
estate and business litigation.
Give us an overview of your legal career
before joining Hartman Simons.
Brooking: I graduated from Emory University School
of Law in 2011 in the top 15 percent of my class. I worked full-time as a law
clerk at Schulten, Ward & Turner LLP while studying for the July 2011 bar
exam, and transitioned into an associate position that fall.
What inspired you to become a lawyer, and why
are you drawn to litigation?
Brooking: Growing up, my parents always said I was
the queen of negotiating and nothing if not persistent. I realize now this was
a nice way of saying that if they gave me an answer I didn’t like, I argued
with them until they agreed with me.
In school, I
was always the kid who stood up to the teacher. If a student was being scolded
simply because the teacher misunderstood what the student had said, I couldn’t
help but explain the miscommunication to our teacher. I was told by many
teachers, “You should be a lawyer someday – but today is not that day.”
Interestingly
enough, I taught high-school English for several years before going to law
school, and I had several of my own aspiring lawyers in class. I like to think
I was a little more accepting of their aptitude for oral argument than my
teachers were of mine.
How do you like to spend your time away
from the office – what are some of your hobbies?
Brooking: As far as hobbies, I like to travel, jog
and read mystery novels. When I am away from the office, I am usually with
family. With a 14-year-old and an 11-year-old, we stay busy! Plus, almost all
of my family and my husband’s family live in metro Atlanta, so we like to visit
them whenever we can.