Fellows Spotlight
Attorney Vanessa R. Avery
McCarter & English, LLP
(Former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut)
- Why did you choose the legal profession as a career?
My mother was the one who planted the seed for me to think about law school. I originally thought I was going to work in corporate finance or become an actuary – something that had to do with math since that was my favorite subject in high school. At the end of college, I thought I would go into teaching and education. My mom inspired me to go law school because she knew that I wanted to find a career where I could have some impact on the world, leave my mark, and build a legacy, especially as someone coming from humble beginnings. I viewed law as a way to give back to the people in my community and my own family.
- What do you enjoy most about being an attorney?
I love being the master of my own career. A law degree allows you time to figure out what you want to do with your life based on what drives you the most. There are so many different things you can do with a law degree. I value the variety that comes with having a law degree.
- What is the biggest challenge you have faced in the legal profession?
The biggest challenge for me is not necessarily about practicing law, but making sure I can strike the right balance between the homefront and working in my legal profession. I am a wife, mother, sister, and aunt. Family and the work I do in the community outside of the office is very important. I feel like I have found the right balance over the course of time, but in the beginning it was definitely a challenge because the profession is so demanding.
- What do you like most about Connecticut?
I love Connecticut, it’s home! I was born in New Haven and spent most of my entire life in Connecticut, it’s the best. Although it’s a small state geographically, we have a little bit of everything here – top universities, top corporations, government, military, close proximity to NYC and Boston, and more. It’s hard to think about what we don’t have! Connecticut is also a very family-oriented place. We have great towns, school systems, police and law enforcement. It’s also a great place to practice law as an attorney. The Connecticut Bar Foundation community is a very supportive community of attorneys.
- Please share any community service you have participated in and are most proud of.
First, I am very grateful to have been and continue to be involved with my sorority – Alpha Kappa Alpha – I joined as an undergraduate at Yale. It is an international service sorority with both graduate and undergraduate members, also serving as a lifelong commitment. I joined the sorority because of its commitment to community service. Being at Yale allowed me to give back to my home community in New Haven in a way that people had contributed to the community when I was a student. I joined the US Grant Foundation at Yale which works as an after-school summer enrichment program for New Haven students in math, writing, and other subjects that public school curriculums don’t necessarily offer. When I became a student at Yale, I was a teacher in the program that I had once been a middle school and high school student in, so that was one of the really nice ways that I was able to get involved. Through the sorority, I was also able to do lots of different types of volunteering through soup kitchens, helping with the local HeadStart Program, and partnering with other like-minded students who valued community service. In my role as US attorney, one of the things I was able to bring to the office was our community engagement. I helped ensure that, when we look at how we address crime in Connecticut, it’s not just about investigating and prosecuting cases, but also going into schools and educating students on crime. We partner with parents who lost children to violence, opioids, and overdoses, as well as law enforcement so they can come in and tell their personal stories and make an impact.
- Why is the Fellows Program special to you?
The Fellows Program has been tremendous! Through the foundation, we are able to educate other attorneys, law students, and judges about different topics. Before I became a part of the Fellows, I was able to contribute to some of those presentations and seminars. I was struck by the Fellows community, all of whom volunteer additional time to give back to the community and teach others. On top of education, the Fellows raise money for legal services, helping to finance nonprofits. These legal services and agencies are focused on providing services to low income, but they can only provide as many services as they have resources. I love that the foundation helps provide funds for these causes. Lastly, I love the people in the Fellows! Each of them are so accomplished in their own right who are willing to do such important work in a volunteer way. People like judges, justices, and law school deans who have very busy schedules set aside several hours of their time every month to make sure that people in need are able to acquire these crucial and necessary services. All of these reasons and more make the Fellows program so special.
- Please share any favorite Fellows-related memory (an event, a fellow Fellow, etc.), or tell us about your favorite Fellows program/event/committee that you attended or worked on.
One of my favorite Fellows programs is the Constance Baker Motley Series. It was born during the pandemic, shortly after George Floyld’s killing and right when we were in the midst of this national reckoning on race and justice. Being able to come together as a community with other great people who I love and respect, albeit virtually, was an amazing experience. It felt special to create something that is now self-sustaining and will continue for years to come. Another memory I have with the Fellows is the creation of the History Project for Attorneys of Color in 2012 in Connecticut. It included people from all different backgrounds, resulting in a diverse collective of attorneys and judges who are running and leading the foundation’s work. I think we take for granted the diversity and collaboration we have in Connecticut, but it doesn't exist everywhere. We were able to celebrate, document, and collectively lift up this diversity with a series of panels and a full-day symposium. I was proud to be one of the co-chairs of that program at the time and help with all the behind-the-scenes work. These are just two programs and memories that popped into my head at first because there are so many other events and people who make the Fellows so special.
- Do you have any thoughts about, or ideas or visions for, the future of the Fellows program?
My vision for the future is that we will continue to solicit new ideas in a way that allows newer Fellows to feel empowered to bring their ideas to the fold. I consider myself to be on the younger side, yet I wouldn’t want to foreclose some of the more cutting-edge ideas coming from people who have graduated much more recently than myself. For instance, newer generations are much more technologically proficient. I would love to see the Connecticut Bar Foundation and Fellows Program take advantage of technology in order to rise to the next level.
