Michelle Hawes

I attribute my success to stubbornness. I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to wanting to get something done, even if it doesn't seem to work out the first time. I'm not going to be easily dissuaded, and I'll make things happen to have things be the way that I think they should be. When I set my mind on achieving something, I persist until I find a way to make it work.

The best career advice I've ever received is that even if you don't know something, try and ask for help. This advice has guided me throughout my career and reminds me that seeking assistance and being willing to learn is a strength, not a weakness.

Make your own space and your own path, what has already happened is only a template.

One of the biggest challenges in my field right now is the cost of hiring attorneys. The cost is so high that many viable claims will settle and not go to trial, or not even be brought at all, because there's a cost analysis showing that someone can't afford the attorney's fees to bring it to resolution. There's a real hampering of the ability to defend even meritless claims, because by the time you spend the money to defend it, it's unlikely you're going to recover the attorney's fees you spent, so it's almost cheaper to just pay out even claims that have very little merit rather than spend more in attorney's fees to get to a resolution. I've had clients with appealable issues that would raise really interesting legal questions to be taken up by the Supreme Court, but they don't have the funds or wherewithal to continue pursuing it through an appeal because, even if it might come out in their favor, they're going to lose a whole lot more pursuing that appeal than they would ever gain with a possible appellate win, just because the attorney's fees and time commitment is so high. As far as opportunities, in Rhode Island it's a much smaller bar being a much smaller state, so there's a lot of opportunity to have creative solutions to develop law and to take what other states have done. In general, I feel like there's an opportunity for more women in the field - we used to have a very male-centric bar, but I do know that the female population is growing, and I appreciate that.

Reliability is most important to me, along with having a plan and knowing what to expect. Things always change, but as long as someone is putting in the effort and communicating to achieve whatever the goal is, whether in life or work, I really respect that. Even if the outcome isn't what's expected, I like to rely on knowing that a person is going to put a good effort in. That consistency and commitment to trying, combined with open communication, is what I value most.