The Portland Business Journal named Naomi Haslitt JD’07 to its annual “Forty Under 40” list of achieving young professionals in early May. Haslitt received her award at a luncheon held last Friday to honor the winners. She was the only person on the list with a Willamette University or Willamette Law education.
Haslitt is a partner at Miller Nash Graham & Dunn in Portland, where she focuses on education and employment law. She has been with the firm for 12 years, two while a Willamette Law student and the last 10 as a practicing attorney. She said her connection to the position there came through Willamette Law’s Placement Office.
“I landed at a firm that has allowed me to excel both professionally and personally,” she said. “It has provided me a platform and resources to be the best lawyer I can be, and I am able to work in areas that have a direct impact on people, which is invigorating."
Haslitt followed the traditional path from law school to a law firm. She said as a student, she didn’t understand the different ways to obtain a legal job, whether that be as a law clerk, in house counsel, corporate lawyer, or other position. She encouraged law students to work hard and think about different paths.
“Don’t close doors and think that an opportunity is no longer available to you because it didn’t happen in the way you thought it would,” she said. “There are probably 10 more ways to get to that goal.”
Although Haslitt knew she had been nominated for the PBJ list, she never expected to be named to it. She said she’s been provided opportunities to take on challenging matters that have stretched her and her practice, and she gave credit to the support and guidance of great mentors for getting her where she is today.
About Willamette University College of Law
Opened in 1883, Willamette University College of Law is the first law school in the Pacific Northwest. The college has a long tradition at the forefront of legal education and is committed to the advancement of knowledge through excellent teaching, scholarship and mentorship. Leading faculty, thriving externship and clinical law programs, ample practical skills courses and a proactive career placement office prepare Willamette law students for today's legal job market. According to statistics compiled by the American Bar Association, Willamette ranks first in the Pacific Northwest for job placement for full-time, long-term, JD-preferred/JD-required jobs for the class of 2014 and first in Oregon for the classes of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Located across the street from the state capitol complex and the Oregon Supreme Court, the college specializes in law and government, law and business, and dispute resolution.