Profile

Elleanor Chin

Name: Elleanor Chin

Title: Attorney

Occupation: Commercial Litigation

Business Name: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Location: Portland Oregon

Years of experience: 10 years

Education:

  • Bryn Mawr College, AB, summa cum laude 1993
  • University of Michigan MSW, 1997
  • University of Michigan JD, 1998

Website: www.dwt.com/People/ElleanorHChin

  • What does your job involve?

    Representing companies in disputes with companies and individuals. Talking to clients, writing letters, going to court, A LOT of project management.

  • What is your work environment like?

    The office is informal, as white collar offices go, but there are lots of times when I have to dress up and act like a grown up.

  • What kinds of people do you work with?

    Other lawyers, my co-workers (including secretaries, paralegals, technical specialists and lawyers)

  • Describe a typical day.

    Conference calls, email, reading, writing.

  • What skills are important in your job?

    Communication, organization.

  • What is your schedule like?

    I am generally in the office by 8:30 and leave at or before 5. Usually I check email in the evenings as well.

  • Do you travel for work?

    A few times a year.

  • What do you love about your job?

    It’s never the same. The people are interesting. I like solving problems. It’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

  • What don’t you like about your job?

    There are a lot of conflicting pressures to do the parts of the job that make money as opposed to the parts of the job that don’t. And I can never leave it at the office and forget about it.

  • What inspires you?

    Having tasks work out well. Having my clients appreciate the work and the relationship with them.

  • What advice do you have for teenage girls?

    Take a chance on doing something adventurous. Don’t get distracted.

  • Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would go back and do differently?

    Probably spend more time in my 20s focused on work and less on personal relationships.

  • What do you do in your spare time?

    Is this a trick question?

  • How do you balance work and family life?

    The best I can do is hope that if I’m stressed about both my family and my job at least I still like both.

  • What motivated you to go into your current field?

    Someone described it to me when I was 12 and it seemed like a good idea. Nothing else ever came along that sounded more interesting.