Special thanks to Leslie Guthrie for this guest post interviewing Mr. Chaulk on his career journey, experience, and advice for public interest-minded law students. Leslie is a Baltimore native and proud future public defender.

This is the first of a two-part series. Check back next week to read Leslie’s interview with an attorney from the Maryland Office of the Public Defender!

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[Lightly edited for length, clarity, and language. Publication of this interview is not an endorsement of the opinions expressed within the interview.]

Disclaimer: The views Mr. Chaulk expresses don’t represent the views of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the United States. 

What past positions or experiences did you have leading up to this job? 

Before starting here in April 2018, I worked as a law clerk in the Commission’s Office of Administrative Law Judges for about a year and a half. Before coming to the FERC, I was a law clerk for the Court of Appeals in Maryland. That was my first job after law school.  

What goals do you have for your work and position? 

I’m keen to learn as much substantive information as I can on Energy Law. I came to the Commission in 2016 without any energy law history. Even though my colleagues (who have some experience) will say it feels like drinking from a fire hose, I think it all the more…I feel like I’m at the bottom of a steep learning curve.  

I would love to take my growing knowledge and work in the solicitor’s office within the Office of the General Counsel. In law school and as a law clerk, I really enjoyed appellate work. That would be a dream job in building on where I am now.  

At what point did you figure out what you wanted to do? And how do you think the timing of that realization impacted where you are today? 

I’m still trying to figure out my path. One of the reasons I came here is that the field seemed like an important one. I could see myself learning a lot, growing a lot, and hopefully doing good work. I had an interest in doing environmental law. When I was clerking in Maryland, environmental law was on my mind. I got to work on an environmental law case and I was eager to dive into technical matters. I thought this work might be a good fit and make me happy. With that case, I found the beginning of my [place in public interest law].   

The timing of that realization was somewhat brought on by the fact that I had been trying to get into the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. And I just didn’t get a position. So, I turned away from that path and, with an open mind, tried to look at new possibilities.  

What type of skill-building experiences can law students pursue to start the process of being an effective advocate? 

Build strong interpersonal skills. I think it’s useful as a student throughout law school, but particularly in the first half, to gauge where your strengths and weaknesses are. Once you have more control over your schedule and opportunities, it’s wise to pursue clinics and internships and extracurricular activities, like a law journal or moot court, over classes.  

For example, I had the opportunity to improve my speaking skills in moot court competitions. That gave me a tremendous amount of confidence and experience to draw upon even in different settings as a lawyer. I learned to advocate for my work product, the things I research and write. Build that work-ethic. Build the demonstrated ability to analyze and communicate.  

Look at the experiences you have as an opportunity to develop relationships – whether that’s meeting alumnus at a networking event or getting to know the administrative staff at the office you work at over the summer.  

Be mindful of the body of work experience you’re developing as a student. I came to law school after working as a Peace Corps volunteer. My first summer, I worked at the Sierra Club. I was mindful as I looked at opportunities later on that I might be kind of pigeon-holed as someone who hasn’t shown a willingness to look at issues from more than one side. I encourage students to think about the experiences they are curating and how optically they come across to employers. Which isn’t to say your professional life should be super balanced. But being able to say, “I can look at an issue from multiple perspectives that different groups have.” That’s valuable.  

I was pretty active about [trying to achieve that balance]. My second academic year, I worked for a trade association called the American Chemistry Council. I decided to take more classes that were business-oriented to pick up more knowledge and skills and viewpoints.  

How do you suggest students build their public interest network and reputation? 

I still remember talking to my advisor about a scholarly article that I wrote, before she agreed to advise me. She told me to find a champion.  I have interpreted that, as a student and an attorney, to mean: find people who are going to advocate for you when you’re not around and when you’re seeking opportunities.  

In terms of putting that into action, it’s a matter of always doing good work. People are watching you – whether it’s your direct supervisor or someone attending a presentation you’re giving or a professor whose office hours you went to. You might not know who the champion is going to be. Be committed to doing good work for its own sake and for the possibility that it may connect you to somebody that can be a positive force in your career.  

Also, look for and be mindful of what opportunities there are for you to shine – whether that be a competition or writing an article. Look for ways to promote yourself.  This is coming from someone who is very introverted, so I had to be intentional about it. But you want to put yourself in a position for other people to see the quality of work that you do.  

 What opportunities do you recommend law students take to build that network, find those champions?  

Even though it’s difficult to balance everything, try to attend events that the law school offers, whether it is networking or educational. Going there to learn, to be curious, to ask questions – that’s another way that you may connect with people who can be helpful as you go forward.   

Talk to attorneys who are at different stages in their careers. Get as many perspectives as possible. I know when I started at FERC, I talked to someone who was previously a law clerk so he could share his experience working in that office. I also spoke to someone my mother knows, who has decades of experience in the energy law field. He had a different perspective. If we just talk to one person about something, it might limit our understanding of what we’re going to be setting ourselves up for.  

As a self-professed introvert, how did/do you network? 

I enjoy speaking to people one on one. The opportunity to have that smaller, more intimate setting is something I’m more comfortable with.  

As a student, I would send cold e-mails to people that worked in fields that interested me. I expressed that interest and said “would you be willing to meet for coffee or chat on the phone for a few minutes?” And then prepare some questions. You want to learn about what the person does, how they got there, and what you want to be mindful of.  

It certainly helps if there is some kind of connection – if they attended the same law school, the same college, maybe work in a city that you’re interested in. Look for things that you have in common, so the attorney wants to share some of his or her time. 

Get to know professors. You already have an established connection by taking their class. And even if it’s not somebody who is your current professor, if they teach something that you’re interested in, that can be a learning opportunity. I would hope that because the professor works for your law school, they would understand the value in taking the time to help you develop. You participate in the same community. 

I know that those one-on-one conversations are more comfortable than walking into a big room with a lot of attorneys or alumni at an event. So, I create opportunities to have them.  

How would you recommend students prepare themselves to be competitive candidates in the job market? 

The time you invest as a student when you don’t have to have a job should create a bit of freedom to know people that are in the legal community – professors, classmates, people with decades of experience.  

Only a certain number of people can be number one in the class or have titles or awards that lend credibility. Building relationships is close to being just as important. Whether or not you’re interested in public interest law, dedicating a portion of your experience as a student to building relationships is critical to whatever career you want.  

Can you recommend any valuable resources, websites, and organizations that have helped you in pursuing your career path? 

Talking to professors and the career development office. That’s the best resource because it’s a human resource. These people have the information, and they are connected to the employers out there.  It doesn’t matter who you know or how well you’re doing. What matters is who knows you.  

What would you have wanted to know as a law student interested in working the public interest law sector? 

Do your homework. Your school work, obviously. But “you” homework. Take the time to reflect.  Finding a job will pay the bills, but staying there is dependent on what motivates you. So, try to figure that out earlier rather than later. There can be a lot of signs about where you should go, what you should do, but it’s your choice. Have that sense of what you want to do. If it interests you and motivates you, that’s important.  

Learn as much as you can about the places you’re interested in working. I’ve had some experiences where I didn’t find the work engaging. It didn’t affect the work product, but it changed my happiness level. To the extent that you can as a student or an advocate, think about what makes me happy on a granular level (for example, writing or speaking) and at a higher level (like trying to improve the criminal justice system). Have an array of ideas of what you’d like to do. Figure out if the places you’re looking out will help you do that in the long term or short term. That is how you find a place where you can thrive   

Public Interest jobs can come with a lot of stress. How do you manage that stress? 

I’ve been a lifelong athlete and fitness enthusiast. I was pretty clear with myself that I had to make time to be active as a law student. I found that I needed more than just a physical outlet after I moved to Washington in 2016. I did not have as close of a community as I had when I was a student. So, I trained last year to become a yoga teacher at a place called Yoga District.  

I’ve been practicing yoga for a little over 10 years. But I’ve now been teaching and committed to having a meditation practice for about a year. I teach a class at FERC, here at the Commission, and will be teaching classes at the DC jail.   

There should be no shame or hesitation: make time for acts of self-care. Hopefully, those acts make you feel healthy and don’t promote negative behaviors or outcome. I noticed a considerable improvement in my well-being when I reached out, became part of this community of folks that were also training to become yoga teachers. Yoga District is such a wonderful community, and I feel much more connected to DC now that I’ve become part of it. Having a sense of community is very important. Try to cultivate that in and outside of work.