Early years abroad helped shape the lawyer he has become today
Califattorney Eric Brenneman received three important pieces of advice when he was starting out as a young lawyer that he has carried with him throughout his legal career.
One was to use your best judgment and trust it. The second was to be yourself – don’t pretend to be a lawyer with a style that is against your nature. And, lastly — the piece of advice that he bears in mind almost daily — advise clients like you’re advising your grandmother.
“I think about that all the time because your grandparents are the people who just love you unconditionally,” says Brenneman. “You never want anything bad to happen to your grandma. I take that view with clients all the time. I’m advising people as if they were the closest people to me because they deserve that level of trust and respect.”
It is an approach to his practice that arises out of Brenneman’s close relationship with his grandparents. His maternal grandmother, Helen, often cared for him when he was growing up in Antioch, Calif. And later, as a young college student at University of California at Davis, he spent summers and long weekends with Grandma Helen and Grandpa Walter because his parents and younger brother had moved to Venezuela for his father’s work as a geologist with the oil and gas company Chevron.
“My grandmother was very proud of me and she would tell me that all the time,” says Brenneman, who was among the first in his mother’s family to attend college. “And I learned lessons in hard work from my grandfather, who worked hard all day, every day.”
One was to use your best judgment and trust it. The second was to be yourself – don’t pretend to be a lawyer with a style that is against your nature. And, lastly — the piece of advice that he bears in mind almost daily — advise clients like you’re advising your grandmother.
“I think about that all the time because your grandparents are the people who just love you unconditionally,” says Brenneman. “You never want anything bad to happen to your grandma. I take that view with clients all the time. I’m advising people as if they were the closest people to me because they deserve that level of trust and respect.”
It is an approach to his practice that arises out of Brenneman’s close relationship with his grandparents. His maternal grandmother, Helen, often cared for him when he was growing up in Antioch, Calif. And later, as a young college student at University of California at Davis, he spent summers and long weekends with Grandma Helen and Grandpa Walter because his parents and younger brother had moved to Venezuela for his father’s work as a geologist with the oil and gas company Chevron.
“My grandmother was very proud of me and she would tell me that all the time,” says Brenneman, who was among the first in his mother’s family to attend college. “And I learned lessons in hard work from my grandfather, who worked hard all day, every day.”
Robin Lewis
Primerus, Ada, Michigan
Primerus, Ada, Michigan
What do you do to give back to your community?
I’m proud to have been a founding member of my former firm’s charity initiative and to have helped form the Primerus Community Service Board.
I’m proud to have been a founding member of my former firm’s charity initiative and to have helped form the Primerus Community Service Board.
Coffee & Conversation
Monday, August 21st, 2023 at 10am EDT
Unmasking the Unknowns of the Transition from Associate to Partner - and All that Goes with it
Kate Wright
Mann Lawyers LLP, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Monday, August 21st, 2023 at 10am EDT
Unmasking the Unknowns of the Transition from Associate to Partner - and All that Goes with it
Kate Wright
Mann Lawyers LLP, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Sleep Tight
We’ve heard the phrase “read the room,” right? But I bet no one has ever connected that phrase to “get some sleep.”
In fact, studies show that the more REM (rapid eye movement) sleep you get, the better able you are to read people’s emotions. In our line of work, it’s important to recognize and react to our client’s or potential client’s feelings, that of the judge, or that of opposing counsel. It makes us better listeners and, thereby, a better law firm.
So, on top of all of its other benefits, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, as it makes you more present and aware.
In fact, studies show that the more REM (rapid eye movement) sleep you get, the better able you are to read people’s emotions. In our line of work, it’s important to recognize and react to our client’s or potential client’s feelings, that of the judge, or that of opposing counsel. It makes us better listeners and, thereby, a better law firm.
So, on top of all of its other benefits, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, as it makes you more present and aware.
This Wellness Tip was brought to you by the Quality of Life Subcommittee of the Primerus™ Quality Assurance Board and Featured Contributor Nicole Quintana. We also welcome your tips, which can be submitted to Paige Neirman at pneirman@primerus.com for publication consideration.
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