Fellows Spotlight
Attorney Peter Arakas
- Why did you choose the legal profession as a career?
I initially chose another profession, coming to Connecticut to attend UCONN school of social work, practicing it for 8 years. The last job I had as a social worker was running an adoption program in New Britain. I was feeling like I wanted to do something that used a different part of my brain than social work was using. Lawyers were calling me about adoption, asking for advice and thought that I could do what attorneys were asking about.
- What do you enjoy most about being an attorney?
I enjoy the problem solving aspect in my legal career, as well as working with clients. I’ve always liked puzzles and the law is a lot about figuring out solutions to difficult issues.
- What is the biggest challenge you have faced in the legal profession?
After law school, I clerked for a federal district court judge for two years. Then I worked for an insurance company for five years which was great training. I was assigned a project and came to the conclusion that what the client wanted to do was not legal. My supervisor at the time put pressure on me to come to a different conclusion, which was a very tense situation. It was challenging to go against my supervisor but, at the end of the day, sticking with my beliefs and conclusion was worth it. I had to stand up for what I believed was right.
- What do you like most about Connecticut?
I love Connecticut's beauty except for January-March, but it’s really a beautiful place to live during the rest of the year. The fall has been spectacular, and I love the many hiking trails.
- Please share any community service you have participated in and are most proud of.
My time as President of the Connecticut Bar Foundation was especially fulfilling and rewarding. I also served as Chair for Connecticut Voices for Children located in New Haven, a policy research group that looks at economic and legal issues that affect kids. I am most proud of the work I accomplished by representing kids in abuse and neglect cases.
- Why is the Fellows Program special to you?
I took to the Fellows because it promoted volunteerism which I believe is very important, especially for lawyers. I was asked to become a Fellow sometime around ‘04 or ‘05 – at that time, the Fellows began their annual high school essay context. I was the first chair of this contest and it’s been really rewarding to see this continue over the years.
- 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.
The Annual Fellows meetings are always great events because it’s a chance to catch up and meet with people I rarely see. I was most involved and passionate about the Truancy Intervention Project that began sometime in 2006 or 2007. We got volunteer lawyers to agree to mentor and advocate for a child that was having truancy issues in school with the town of New Britain, Connecticut. We designed a program of volunteers working one-on-one with kids, serving as role models for them. The volunteer would be both a mentor and advocate, figuring out what was happening to cause the truancies. I took one of the first kids and one of the issues was that the boy’s mother was suffering from cancer. He would have to stay home and care for her in the morning until an aid came in later to assist. After that, he ended up having close to perfect attendance, and I saw him until he had his second child.
- Do you have any thoughts about, or ideas or visions for, the future of the Fellows program?
I would love for the Fellows to re-start up the Truancy Intervention Project again, acquiring proper funding and administrative support for it. I still think that the education programs the Fellows are currently implementing have been great, and I believe that they should continue doing them.
- Is there a fun fact about yourself that you would care to share with other Fellows?
Back in junior high school, my gym locker was right next to Billy Joel’s.
