Breia Lassiter, ‘18, a former English major, is now a law clerk working for the Dinsmore & Shohl law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. Read more about her experience at UMBC and her journey to law school below:
I started at UMBC as an English literature major because I knew that I was good at reading and writing. I didn’t know that thought would also lead me to law school six years later.
I spent my years at UMBC delving into everything medieval literature. I took every class that I could with Professor McKinley. I loved reading Boccaccio and Chaucer. Outside of class, I spent time as a Writing Fellow with the English Department, a Writing Tutor, and the Copy Manager of The Retriever, UMBC’s school newspaper. However, upon graduation, I wasn’t sure what would be the next step for me. I spent a year teaching seventh graders (which I loved!), but I knew I wanted to go back to school. I took inventory of the skills I held, and noting that reading and writing were still my best skills, I decided that law school might be a good option for me.
That was the best decision I’ve ever made. In law school, I was afforded opportunities that I never even considered possible. As a student clinician with Michigan State University College of Law’s Civil Rights Clinic, I argued before the Sixth Circuit – and won! – twice. I argued on behalf of individuals who were incarcerated at the Michigan Department of Corrections. One case involved a man who was not receiving his religious meal accommodations from the prison. For months he could hardly eat anything that was served to him, and I was able to argue on his behalf as a student clinician at the Sixth Circuit. The court published the opinion ruling in our favor. Additionally, I spent a summer interning in GE Aerospace’s legal department and now I work at the national law firm, Dinsmore & Shohl, in their employment law practice group in Cincinnati.