The Board of Editors interviewed five members of Boston’s legal community, spanning different career stages and practice areas, to get their reflections on what drew them to the profession, how their paths have evolved, and what they hope for in the years ahead.
Kristy A. Lavigne is an Assistant Bar Counsel with the Office of Bar Counsel. Before joining the Office of Bar Counsel in August 2020, Kristy was an Assistant Attorney General prosecuting insurance and unemployment fraud at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for seven years and an Assistant District Attorney at the Cape and Islands’ District Attorney’s Office for nine years.
Why did you enter the profession? If you asked my family members, they would say the reason is that I like to argue, even as a small child differentiating between a “couch” and a “loveseat.” From a more serious and broader perspective, I would say that my goal in becoming a lawyer stemmed from looking for a profession that was both rewarding and fulfilling while also helping people and achieving some good in the world.
Why did you choose this career path? Public service has always been an integral part of my life generally and by extension, my career path. Knowing that, I concentrated throughout college and law school on criminal prosecution, interning in the Middlesex, Plymouth, and Suffolk County District Attorneys’ Offices. From there, I worked for 16 years as a criminal prosecutor in local and then state government. When the time came for a change, I wanted to continue my dedication to public service. That desire landed me at the Office of Bar Counsel, where I can both help people and protect the integrity of the profession.
What are your hopes? My hopes are that we can live in a country and a world where all people are encouraged, loved, and accepted regardless of gender, gender identity, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, and/or sexual orientation. My hopes are that legal professionals mentor others as I have tried to do throughout my career, leading to less burnout and less overall dissatisfaction. My hopes are that everyone both likes and loves their career and, if not, that they have the courage to switch paths.
What worries you? I am worried and bothered when attorneys discourage individuals from entering law school and/or the profession. I have constantly and consistently loved being a lawyer. I routinely share my opinion in that regard when I hear others disparaging the profession in such a way.
Prasanna Rajasekaran has a solo criminal defense and employment law practice and works part-time as an Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Malden. He graduated from Boston University School of Law in 2023 and clerked for Justice Dalila Wendlandt at the Supreme Judicial Court.
Why did you enter the profession? In high school, I had a vague notion of becoming a lawyer because I liked history, politics, and language arts. After college, I worked as a housing policy researcher, but the job was too academic for me. I wanted to engage with those issues on a more direct level. So, I decided to become a public interest lawyer.
Why did you choose this career path? In law school, I was terribly indecisive about my area of practice. I never liked the idea of specializing. I worked in legal services and at a law firm that focused on affordable housing development. I liked pretty much everything I tried, but I wanted to keep trying new things. That is why I figured it would be best to start my own practice, where I could continue exploring random interests.
What are your hopes? I now have a wide variety of cases. In my own practice, I do criminal defense and plaintiff-side employment work. I also work part-time for the City of Malden, where I mostly see land use, contract, and municipal law issues. I hope to continue learning as much substantive law as possible, hone my skills as a trial lawyer, and eventually build a generalist practice that can handle any type of case.
What worries you? The economics of law can be difficult. Getting private clients is hard and takes more of a business mind than a legal mind. I am not a salesperson by nature, but it is a muscle I need to build. I also want to provide quality representation to all my clients, and as a young lawyer, the anxiety of inexperience constantly hangs over me. I am not sure if that ever fully goes away.
Maxwell James is a litigation associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Maxwell graduated from Boston University School of Law in 2025 with a Juris Doctor and LL.M. in Banking & Financial Law.
Why did you enter the profession? I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a lawyer. Both of my parents are lawyers. I grew up around that way of life—and the constant reruns of Law & Order. In middle school, I asked my mother for a “law book.” She brought home her law school textbook, Fundamentals of Trial Techniques by Thomas A. Mauet, which I read cover-to-cover multiple times. In high school, I joined the mock trial team. It was there that I learned that law is about telling stories, and I found my calling: I had to be a litigator.
Why did you choose this career path? After realizing I had to be a litigator, I knew I needed to find a place where I could learn from the best. At its core, litigation is storytelling. I wanted to work at a firm where the issues were never routine and I would be pushed to be better every day. Skadden is that place. As a summer associate, I worked alongside some of the smartest lawyers I have ever met. Very quickly, I knew I was in the right place.
What are your hopes? I hope the collaborative environment at the firm, and in the legal community generally, continues. There is a quote that says, “No one at Skadden does it alone”—and that is true. Whether it is a partner taking time to walk me through our strategy or colleagues workshopping arguments for an oral argument, that collaborative culture is what I love about the firm. I hope that never changes.
What worries you? AI is reshaping the legal industry, generating both considerable excitement about its transformative potential and legitimate questions about the uncertainty and risk it introduces. Much remains to be seen regarding how AI will ultimately influence legal practice and what regulatory frameworks may emerge in response. Nevertheless, I am optimistic that the skills I am building now—skills I genuinely enjoy developing and applying—will, in the near future, be meaningfully enhanced and amplified by AI tools. Rather than displacing the work I find most rewarding, I believe these technologies will free me to focus on the higher-level strategy and advocacy that lie at the heart of effective legal practice.
Neva Payson is a law clerk at the Massachusetts Appeals Court for Chief Justice Amy Lyn Blake. Neva graduated from New England Law in 2025 with a Juris Doctor and previously clerked in the Division of Administrative Law Appeals and the Porcello Law Offices, as well as interned at Salem City Hall, the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, for Congressmen Seth Moulton and Richard Neal, and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Why did you enter the profession? I decided to enter this profession because I wanted to have the skills to help others better understand complicated issues. For a summer internship in undergrad, I worked in constituent services and felt that I did not have enough legal knowledge to understand and assist people with the issues they were facing. By choosing to attend law school, I wanted to be an advocate and a resource for others.
Why did you choose this career path? I wanted to clerk after law school to further develop my research and writing skills and gain exposure to different areas of law. In law school, most of my internships focused on administrative law, and I wanted the opportunity to work on other topics before deciding what to pursue long term. After clerking, I will be working in municipal law. I decided to pursue municipal law because I wanted to continue working in public service and serve local communities, while also working on a broad range of legal issues.
What are your hopes? My hope is that in whatever I am doing, I am still working towards my initial goals in entering the profession and being a helpful resource for others. I also hope to continue learning something new every day, while also gaining expertise in municipal law.
What worries you? I am worried about beginning my career in an area of law where I have not worked directly. It can be overwhelming to feel like you are starting over, even though every person must start somewhere. I am nervous about this upcoming transitionary period out of my clerkship, but I am excited to see what is ahead.
Hannah Feeney is a 2L evening student at Suffolk University Law School. She has a professional background in philanthropic fundraising for arts and academic institutions.
Why did you enter the profession? I worked as a fundraiser before coming to law school and continued working full-time through my first three semesters. I decided to pursue a law degree after working with colleagues in planned giving, who had received JDs and used them in their fundraising work. I originally chose Suffolk’s evening program so I could continue working while earning my degree.
Why did you choose this career path? My career path has evolved significantly since starting law school. My original plan was to continue working as a fundraiser. Since coming to Suffolk, I have been fortunate to learn from wonderful professors and mentors who have helped me see the full range of possibilities in a legal career. I now plan to join a law firm after graduation. I am very grateful for my experience at Suffolk and for the many attorneys who have shared their advice and perspectives with me.
What are your hopes? I am excited about the future. I am looking forward to upcoming experiences as a judicial intern this summer and as a summer associate next year, and I am grateful to those who have supported me and helped make those opportunities possible. I hope for fulfilling experiences that challenge me and help me continue to refine my path. I am also looking forward to a few more semesters of learning from great professors at Suffolk.
What worries you? I feel fortunate that my biggest worries are typical law school concerns: studying for finals, navigating class registration, and figuring out how to fit in everything I still hope to do while in law school.
