Interview Qs

Jo Anne Brandenburg, J.D.

1. How do/did you communicate with colleagues?

Via email. Email is very important. You get everything in writing so you can remember
and have a solid, tangible piece to look back on. It is usually in written format. But, face
to face is also extremely effective to talk about various ideas and be more well guided. Sit
down and have lunch together to discuss issues and a meeting of the minds.
2. How does clear communication within your field help/ influence your work?
Written documents and collecting information to help create a cohesive mindset.
Working together while also putting yourself aside for the betterment of others.
3. What is a recurring theme you see in your work?
People don’t take the time to actually read important things. Before you sign something
read it, but many people don’t and it could become a problem later. Unethical behavior.
People have different moral compasses and have different concepts of right and wrong.
How far people are willing to go. There is always a behavior in every case that would be
taken (usually a lack of communication and assuming) where discrepancies would occur.
4. How has communication changed in your field in the past 10 years?
Methods of communication have been changing. People are more distant than ever and
still don’t communicate well. Things had to be precise and hand delivered and now it is
broader and can be done via email and you have quicker and more concise methods of
delivering information.
5. How has your level of understanding of the legal system helped you in your professional
life? Personal life?
You can see both sides of every situation. It stops you from judging people and putting
them in a box of good or bad. Your ability to greater understand everything shows. You
can really see how things are unfair and being involved in cases and they come out with a
different outcome. Sometimes justice does not prevail. Justice is supposed to be unbiased
but often it is blind. You have to take off your rose colored glasses and realize that the
system isn’t what you thought it was. It is highly economic and those that are typically
unethical are the ones with the most money to get out of their problems. Law has made
her less judgemental and you can tell that when people lash out it isn’t about you that it’s
about what they are going through. You can tell when people are putting up a facade. If
you can really communicate and listen, then you can sometimes really get to the truth and
where they are coming from. Not buying into those who really just like to push peoples’
buttons.

Reflection
I met with this specific professor face-to-face for an interview and it was truly
enlightening. Not only was it informational for the project but it also reaffirmed that I am on the
path I truly want to be on. I had Mrs. Brandenburg for Business Law last spring and from that I
knew she had a background in Civil and Environmental Law. Communication is highly
important within the Law field and it can really help you see both sides of an issue more clearly
and concisely. I learned a lot from this experience and I hope I can continue to keep in contact
with her in the future.