Britney E. Harrison

I've always been a helper and a nerd since I was a child. I used to play school when I was young and made flashcards because it was fun. My parents instilled in me how important education was, and my sister and I were first-generation college graduates. After taking a gap year to ensure I wanted to go to law school, I worked at a civil litigation firm before starting law school. I went to UT, where it's kind of pushed on you to go big law and do big firms to pay off your student loans. I got into commercial litigation but didn't enjoy it because I wasn't helping people on an individual basis and didn't get the client contact or courtroom experience I wanted. I took on a pro bono divorce case because the only people at the courthouse were criminal lawyers and family lawyers. I really loved it because I was able to work one-on-one with individuals, generally people who felt like they didn't have a voice. Through their divorce, I was able to give them a voice and help them move on to a better path in life. That was much more fulfilling for me. I'm more of an introvert, so I like working one-on-one and being able to control my own docket and run my own cases. My typical day involves running 100% of my own cases, lots of emails, court appearances for temporary orders hearings, mediations that can last 12 hours, drafting motions and documents, negotiating with opposing counsel, and a lot of hand-holding because family law is emotional. I have to wear both an advocate hat and a counseling hat to help clients through these issues and put out fires, like the 3 o'clock afternoon emergencies where we have to go down to the courthouse. It's a little bit different every day and you have to be ready to go.