Get to know Lindsey Woods
Recently, we asked Lindsey Woods, a litigation associate in Porter Wright's Columbus office, to share with us about her decision to become a lawyer, her law school experience and how she plans to grow in her legal career.
Where did you grow up? Did you plan to be a lawyer?
I grew up in Powell, Ohio, although I spent about eight years in Chicago, Illinois before I moved back to the Columbus area for law school. I always planned to be a journalist, working my way up from my high school newspaper to the Chicago Tribune before deciding to pursue a legal career. Once I got my dream job on the sports desk of the Tribune, I realized even in that role that I coveted I was unhappy with my career. Law seemed like the perfect opportunity to keep using my research and writing skills while learning how to use them in a totally new way.
What class, activity, or experience in law school best prepared you for the practice of law?
I really enjoyed my clinical experience in law school. The first semester of my 3L year I signed up for the Civil Law Clinic, not really knowing what to expect. The client I was assigned was in prison about two hours away from Columbus, which made communicating very difficult. Keeping him updated on the case status and making sure I kept the case file updated was harder than I expected, which taught me the value of planning some extra time for staying organized and keeping clients in the loop about what's happening with their matter.
Most meaningful work experience.
When I was at the Chicago Tribune, I was asked to help on an investigative story about dangerous prescription drug interactions. The story was eventually published and nominated for a Pulitzer in Public Service Journalism. I was asked to help by a former college professor, Sam Roe, who had served as a mentor to me throughout my brief post-collegiate journalism career. Getting to work with him professionally and watching how the story came together was an experience I will never forget. Even though my career in journalism didn't work out, I still hold on to the admiration and awe I have to investigative reporters like Sam. I still check the Pulitzer nominations every year and try to support my favorite local and national newspapers and continue to be in awe of the tenacious, important work going on in newsrooms everywhere. The whole experience really underscored the mutual significance that facts and evidence gathering have to both journalism and lawyering.
Interests and hobbies.
I am an avid Blue Jackets and Ohio State Buckeyes fan. I also love anything having to do with food (cooking it, baking it, eating it, keeping up with new local restaurants). Once upon a time I was also the lead singer in a mostly-60s-and-70s rock-n-roll cover band and still sing when I get the opportunity.
Anticipated most difficult aspect of being an attorney.
One of the biggest hurdles that I try to stay cognizant of is losing sight of the bigger picture. Often when working on complex legal problems or working on one piece of a brief, it is easy for me to obsess over details and forget to bring it back around to the larger issue. Of course details are important, but through writing notes and seminar papers and briefs in law school, I think I've found a good balance between meticulousness and clarity.
A COVID silver lining story.
During my time in Chicago, I formed really close friendships with a group of wonderful women. Now we're scattered all over the country and it's gotten harder to keep in touch. However, once the COVID lockdowns started, we decided to do a weekly Thursday night movie Zoom. I think we've only missed two or three weeks in the past 10 months. It's been a wonderful tradition that keeps us in touch more than we were pre-COVID.
