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100% Club Spotlight
“It was somewhere between Clear Lake and Albert Lea,” Lucinda Jesson said in response to a question about when she first considered starting her own law firm. In October 2000, Lucinda Jesson had just enjoyed two years as Chief Deputy Hennepin County Attorney. She had arrived at Hennepin County after serving as Minnesota’s Deputy Attorney General, following a partnership with Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly. While driving back from visiting family in Arkansas, she spent long hours considering her next career route: § Should she turn around and take one of the partnership offers she’d received from several big firms? § Should she establish herself in an in-house position at a former client? § Should she navigate into another leadership position in the public sector? As the hours rolled by, she mapped out what she was looking for in her next challenge: a need to continue to serve the public, meaningful work in employment and health law, a desire to teach, the ability to represent clients who could not always afford a $300 hourly rate, and autonomy. Somewhere around the Iowa/Minnesota border, the road before her became clear, with these guideposts: Travel your own path. Set your own billing rates. Work when you want to and earn what you need. Teach because education is important to you. Start your own firm. Jesson sought and received advice from many mentors. One pointed out that while many attorneys knew a lot of law, Lucinda Jesson also knew a lot of people. Jesson made a list, called them up, and sent out announcements. And clients called. The Law Office of Lucinda Jesson was “on the map.” Her solo practice was successful in economic terms. But during the first two years, she identified several critical, missing pieces. “There are luxuries in large organizations, and I didn’t miss those. But a sound second opinion, a lawyer who can take over in a pinch without missing a beat, a partner to share the responsibility and the success — these are not luxuries,” Jesson explained. “They’re necessities if you want to engage in complex work, and I needed them.” Enter from the merge lane: Tammy Pust. In 2002, Pust was finishing four years as an Assistant Commissioner at the Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning. Pust and Jesson had grown to be good friends over the many years their paths had intersected. Pust had gone to the state education agency after five years as an Assistant Attorney General and Director of Children’s Policy, leaving in 1998 like Jesson. Prior to her service as a public lawyer, Pust had enjoyed a partnership at Best & Flanagan. Both Jesson and Pust graduated in 1983. “As I made plans to leave CFL, I wanted to chart a new adventure built on the lessons I’d learned about what I’m best at and what I enjoy doing,” explained Pust. To herself, Pust listed “understanding the needs of government agencies” as one of her most marketable skills, as well as her twenty years of litigation experience and her conflict resolution abilities. While she was interested in a return to practicing law, she believed she had been on her career path too long to justify a U-turn back into a big firm. As Jesson identified her need for a partner, Pust was identifying her desire to return to private practice. It was natural for the two friends to discuss collaboration — over a glass of wine. Their Fall 2002 conversations can best be described as a joining of common values. Both women had self-identified the following professional values: a commitment to the highest standards of quality, a belief in common sense representation, and a desire to contribute to the public good. Both were sufficiently self-aware to know that they had the legal talent they needed, but that they would only be successful if they were happy. That would require the degree of flexibility, humor, and humility that had allowed them to raise (collectively) seven children. In January 2003, Lucinda Jesson and Tammy Pust opened Jesson & Pust, P.A., “a new law firm built on decades of service to clients and communities.” The firm specializes in employment, health, and government law. In addition to individual and corporate clients, the firm also has built on its founders’ governmental expertise and represents numerous local government agencies. Approximately half of the firm’s practice is devoted to neutral work as mediators, arbitrators, and investigators. Learn more at www.jessonpustlaw.com. Both Jesson and Pust report that they are doing excellent work, enjoying themselves, and earning a good living. Far from seeing this as the end of the road, both Jesson and Pust describe their new firm as “the beginning of a new phase of the journey.” We wish them happy travels.
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