Practitioner Testimonial

Practitioner Mary Albrecht Jordan

Mary Albrecht Jordan is just starting out in her legal career.

A 2001 University of Maryland School of Law graduate, Jordan joined a two-lawyer firm in Baltimore as an associatethat same year.  She is bent on learning the ins and outs of bankruptcy law, domestic disputes and civil litigation so she can open her own practice some day soon.

For Jordan, a law practice has to be financially viable as well as socially responsible. She does not want to neglect one of these goals for the other.  In order to do good while doing well in her legal career, Jordan joined a practitioner network run out of University of Maryland School of Law, which helps solo and small firm lawyers achieve both goals at the same time. 

The practitioner networks, which were created at City University of New York School of Law, University of Maryland School of Law, and Northeastern University School of Law, are part of the Law School Consortium Project. The Project aims to increase access to justice by supporting law schools to expand their educational and institutional mission beyond graduation to include support and service to solo and small-firm practitioners who are committed to serving low and moderate-income individuals and communities.

"I want to do good and still be able to put my son through college," says Jordan. "I never want to lose touch with that part of myself that wants to do good while doing well."

Jordan says that making the connection with like-minded peers, especially for a new attorney is crucial. "I learned from other network practitioners that you can be a successful attorney and still be able to give back," says Jordan. 

In law school there is a certain sense of camaraderie that does not exist for lawyers practicing on their own, points out Jordan. The lack of camaraderie can be very isolating and can make private practice appear daunting, she explains. "Through the practitionernetwork I have learned that you are not alone.  You are not thrown to the wolves," says Jordan.

"The scariest thing is to feel like you are on your own," points out Jordan. "I see other folks doing it.  So I know that it can be done," she says. "I can honestly say that from every network member I met I learned something," she adds.

Jordan likens the Maryland Law School practitioner network to a study group. "You can read, process and discuss a topic.  The back and forth discussion forces you to develop your argument and reasoning. After a discussion with network members, you can easily take your argument to court," she explains.

Whenever Jordan needs a little assistance with a document, a case, or a theory, many members come to her aid, she claims. "Every day I am shocked at the willingness to share information….It is very difficult to find attorneys to share information with you unless you are earning them money," shesays.  "In the network you can email 30-50 attorneys to get input.  And they are not selfish with their advice, which is so rare," she adds. 

The network is intended to make a solo or small firm practitioner feel as if they are in a big firm. "It is just this wealth of information that you would not otherwise get unless you were in a very large law firm and went from office to office asking each attorney for his opinion," says Jordan. "Thanks to my fellow members, I don't have to waste time reinventing the wheel," she adds.

Although Jordan belongs to different bar associations, she states that network members are more energetic and more helpful. "The practitioner network is more accepting, more active and more friendly than other groups, like bar associations," she says. "There is a level of comfort and support for new attorneys that I don't feel in other bar associations," she adds.

In addition to functioning as a support group for solo and small firm practitioners, the Maryland Law School network isdesigned to help those clients who otherwise might not be able to afford legal representation. "The network gives the general public access to attorneys that they wouldn't even know are out there at all," points out Jordan. "It is the low to middle income forgotten group that can be served so well by this group," she says.

"The practitioner network really does make a difference," proclaims Jordan. "This is by far the best networking group that I have ever joined."

Written by Victoria Rivkin, a freelance writerin New York City.