The Challenges of Law School and Finding Your First Job

In this episode of the ABA Law Student Podcast, host Kareem Aref speaks with Stark & D’Ambrosio, LLP partner Anna Romanskaya about her journey through law school and her struggles finding work as a legal practitioner. Anna shares that she never aspired to become a lawyer, had no family members that were attorneys, and that she perceived the profession as stuffy and intimidating. Her passion for crisis intervention and victim advocacy led her away from the undergraduate psychology focus she was pursuing at the University of California, Santa Barbara and towards a double major in law and society and political science. Anna recalls the lack of direction she felt in school and recounts how those feelings informed her decision to attend law school in order to gain the practical skills she would need to work in advocacy. She discusses the difficulties of being a 1L, finding herself on academic probation, and the internships and student organization participation that ultimately gave her the sense of connection and occupational purpose that helped her graduate from law school. Anna reflects on the sadness she felt upon losing her job during the recent economic downturn, the triumph of passing the bar exam, and the hard work required to secure her practice in family law. Before closing the interview she also provides tips on how to push through these challenges for law students experiencing similar hardships. Anna Romanskaya is a partner with Stark & D’Ambrosio, LLP and manages the firm’s family law division. She represents clients in all aspects of family law, including pre and post marital agreements, dissolution, child custody, child and spousal support, property division and post judgment issues. Anna has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2015 and 2016, as well as a Best of the Bar in 2015 and 2016 by the San Diego Business Journal. She is the Chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association (ABA) and is a graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara where she double-majored in political science and law and society. She received her Juris Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and is admitted to the State Bar of California and the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California.