Hon. Paula L. Feroleto '82

Segment Synopsis: The interviewer thanks Paula and asks her to provide her background. She was born in Kingston, ON. Both her parents were in medical school, when he finished they moved to Rochester NY. She went to St. Jerome's Grammar School, Our Lady of Mercy High School, and Georgetown University before coming to the UB Law School. She has 4 children from her parent's first marriage then 3 more from her parent's second. She's the first lawyer in her family and her sister is an attorney (no-one is in medicine). She jokes that she thought being a doctor was stressful, but law is just as stressful.

She got her undergraduate degree in languages. Her first job before law school was in Washington DC with the National Savings and Loans League, and she worked in their legal department, which encouraged her to go to law school. She has been happily married for 33 years and has 3 children, who are all graduates of UB Law School.

Her parents attitude towards her going to law school was thrilled and happy, particularly her mother. Growing up, she didn't really know any lawyers.

She didn't make the decision to go to law school until she was out of college and working in Washington DC, where there were a lot of lawyers who did many different things. Thus, she thought having a law degree would give her many opportunities. Her teachers and friends at Georgetown were sad she was leaving Washington, but weren't surprised and some of her colleagues were happy and supported. Her father was always rooting for her to become a psychiatrist, and she says that her family didn't really inspire her to choose law school.

She applied to two or three law schools but really wanted to go to UB to be closer to home. She also applied to Catholic university but didn't get in.

Her impression of UB in the late 70s was that since it was ranked very high, she looked forward to a good education. After being in Catholic and private schools, the state school was much bigger than her prior experiences. The interviewer asks her about the application process. She says she didn't do an interview, but there was an on-campus orientation.

When she first cam to law school, it was out in Amherst. The location didn't make any difference to her. Since she didn't grow up in Buffalo, she didn't mind its location in Amherst. There were 200 students in her class. She didn't know anyone at first, but thinks they had a very good group, and jokes that Alan Carroll says every group is the best. She does note that her class is very enthusiastic about reunions and very close knit. Women were 49% of that class, while she's not sure about the # of minorities. She can't remember the name of a dean, but recalls Dean Headrick and Dean Greiner.

Keywords: Amherst Campus; Application process; Children / Grandchildren; Choice of Law; Choosing UB Law School; Class Composition; Employment / Jobs / Wages; Family; Law School / Gender; Location; Role Models; Spouse; Undergraduate Education

Subjects: EDUCATION; FAMILY HISTORY

Segment Synopsis: Her fondest memory was of meeting her future husband the first day of class. She recalls they used to have social events, going to bars after exams, softball teams, and other fun outings. Her favorite teacher was Phil Halpern in Criminal Law and that was her favorite class. She makes a joke about tax classes.

She didn't do moot court, but recalls Jack Quinn at Quinn and McGeary Law Firm as a mentor. She doesn't recall going to court much except as a paid summer intern at Boreanaz, NeMoyer, and Baker; Boreanaz was a skilled cross-examiner and his transcripts were like a "work of art." She went to Federal Court to watch him, where the courtroom was almost always packed.

Paula believes there is no relationship between academic success in law school and career success, and gives examples from her classmates. She can't recall specifically talking with professors about career advice (though they were all approachable), but doesn't recall a specific mentor. She mentions there were probably a lot of social activities, but she mainly remembers marrying her husband and birthing two children in law school so she didn't have time to socialize. She never considered quitting law school, though she did lament the difficulties of the exam.

The effect of law school on her relationships and family was great. They could talk about classes together, and when they had kids, her husband taped classes for her and she was only out of school for a couple of weeks. Aside from her husband, she made friends with Michael Doran (recently killed in a plane crash) and Susan Eberle and Debbie Burhans (Lobello at the time) who both married attorneys.

The interviewer asks if she ever served as a mentor. She says she didn't in law school, but mentored many after law school. She says law school prepared her for challenges later in life well. The interviewer then switches topics to job searching. She jokes that the economy has ever been good at Buffalo, but that when she graduated Bethlehem Steel had closed down and her husband was thinking of moving west. He worked in Rochester for a while and the job market for the legal community was different, so they settled back in Buffalo. She found a job with Brown and Kelly in May after admissions and worked there until she was elected judge.

She always thought she would go into litigation, so that's what she did and followed that career path. She worked with Brown and Kelly in the Summer and Fall, through graduation. She jokes that she had two kids and had to be paid. She then describes her experiences with interviews and how children impacted her career path, and tells a funny story about her son picking up the phone for an interview. She notes that one interviewer didn't want to hire mothers of children, and many other employers felt the same, if they weren't as blatant about it. She said it discriminated against anyone with a family life, not just women.

Keywords: Academic vs. Career Success; Bar Admissions and Exams; Children / Grandchildren; Classes; Employment / Jobs / Wages; Fondest Memory; Judiciary; Law Professor; Mentors; Social Life; Spouse

Subjects: CAREER: GENDER; CAREER: LEGAL; EDUCATION; FAMILY HISTORY; UB LAW AS STUDENT

Segment Synopsis: Paula recalls using the Law School for job postings and seeing what was coming up for interviews. At the time they didn't have any other programs.

After being asked, she says she can't specifically recall which of her accomplishments she's most proud of. It's also hard to say if her experience as a practitioner was more rewarding than her time as a judge, because they're so different. The most rewarding part of private practice was knowing you made a difference in someone's life, and there were a few times she felt she helped someone who had a "raw deal." As a judge, she says she's proud about making sure justice was done. As an administrative judge, she's most excited about the GED program and sees it as an accomplishment. She was in private practice for 20 years and a judge for 9 years.

Paula says she's not sure if going to the UB had a profound impact on her career, though the connections she made (such as with her husband) influenced her career trajectory. The interviewer asks how professional opportunities for lawyers have changed. She says it's different now: A lot of criminal and personal injury law in the 80s is different now, and no-one expected foreclosures would be so prominent these days. She also thinks that the law is worse for people going into legal careers, but there's still space for lawyers in companies and corporations in "non-traditional roles." She never thought of doing anything different outside of a 'traditional' role, though. If she could do it all again, she would still choose a legal career--it's been very satisfying.

Paula says she and her husband were busy a lot, but never talked about law at home because they had children and worked at different firms. Unless she was on trial, she could maintain reasonable hours and not work weekends, and her husband wasn't on trial at the same times she was. There was more responsibility moving from associate to partner, but nothing that really impacted her family life.

She was surprised her kids ended up in law school and all 3 took different paths to get there. Their names are John, Joel, and Kathleen, and she describes when they graduated and where they are now. Paula also mentions her kids knew her friends from law school and grew up seeing them every now and then, and that convinced them UB was a good place for an education.

Her husband does phone-a-thons and raises money. As a judge, Paula employs interns over the summer and participates in a program to get students in the courts.

She advises people who've graduated from law school to have a balance in their life: You should be doing something that makes you happy and something you feel is purposeful.

The interviewer asks an inaudible question, and she says all people are different, and schools and firms may be good for different people--larger might be better for some, smaller might be better than others. She also says she enjoys meeting new students and interns, and it's exciting to be around people who are excited about the law. Lastly, when asked about what she would change about the law school, she jokes that a lot of people must have said location, but thinks Amherst isn't much worse than downtown, but would like the facility to be upgraded. The interviewer thanks her for her time and the interview ends.

Keywords: Accomplishments; Advice; Amherst Campus; Being a Lawyer; Choice of Law; Employment / Jobs / Wages; Family; Judiciary; Practice; Relationship with UB Law; Spouse

Subjects: CAREER: GENDER; CAREER: LEGAL; PERSONAL ISSUES; PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE