ALPS In Brief Podcast - Episode 84: From Advocacy to Admissions: Insights from Meri Althauser

In this episode of ALPS In Brief, our Bar & Affinity Strategist Rio Laine discusses the journey of Meri Althauser from a dedicated solo attorney to the esteemed Director of Admissions at the University of Montana. In this podcast, Meri shares her experiences and insights on navigating the legal profession, including the challenges and triumphs of running a solo practice in family law.

 

Discover how Meri streamlined her practice to provide affordable legal services, the entrepreneurial spirit that fueled her success, and the critical importance of mental wellness for legal professionals. Whether you're an aspiring attorney, a seasoned practitioner, or simply interested in the intersection of law and education, Meri's story offers valuable lessons and inspiration.

 

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Rio Peterson: 

Hello everybody. Welcome to episode 84 of the In Brief Podcast, brought to you by ALPS. My name is Rio Peterson and I am the Bar and Affinity Partnership Strategist here at ALPS. And I'm also going to be your host for today's episode. So I'm going to be chatting today with Meri Althauser. Hello, Mary. 

Meri Althauser: 

Hello. 

Rio Peterson: 

Thank you for joining us today. 

Meri Althauser: 

You're welcome. Yeah. 

Rio Peterson: 

So Mary is the Director of Admissions at the Montana University Law School, correct? 

Meri Althauser: 

Right, yeah. 

Rio Peterson: 

University of Montana Law School. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yes, yes. Absolutely. 

Rio Peterson: 

And so today we're just going to be talking about your legal career. I know you spent some time as a solo and now you spend your time guiding the next generation of the lawyers out into the world. So we wanted to just sit down and chat about your experiences. 

Meri Althauser: 

Perfect. Happy to be here. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. Awesome. Thank you. We're happy you joined us. 

Meri Althauser: 

Good. 

Rio Peterson: 

So I think I wanted to get started in talking about your origin story. How did you become a lawyer? Was there a moment where you're like, "This is what I'm going to do?" 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, so law school and being a lawyer was actually never on my radar whatsoever. I started off going to music school. 

Rio Peterson: 

Oh, really? 

Meri Althauser: 

I played the violin and I shifted a bit from there because actually music school was so competitive, it made it no fun whatsoever. 

Rio Peterson: 

Oh, really? 

Meri Althauser: 

So law school was much better in comparison actually, if you can believe it or not. 

Rio Peterson: 

Wow. 

Meri Althauser: 

But I did some social work after law school and through that I kind of had a no more Mr. Nice Guy moment when one of my clients allowed her baby to be cared for by an extremely violent person that we knew of, had warned of. It was a headlines-grabbing incident, and I said, okay, no more. I want to go to law school. I want to represent kids in court in foster care and protect kids from abusers. And so within a matter of weeks I had taken the LSAT and applied for law school and was signed up for law school. I really didn't think it through honestly. It was just a very quick snap decision and the rest is history. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah, yeah. So let's talk a little bit about that history. So you went to law school and then did you end up defending children in court or did you take another path? 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, I did. So right out of law school, I worked with an insurance defense company, and we primarily worked on kind of car accident type cases, so it was just kind of a traditional launch into learning how to be a lawyer. But they did let me add on a contract with the public defender so I could take kids. So for a very small portion of my caseload there, I represented kids in court. I did that for about two years, and then I was invited to join a small firm in Missoula that we did sliding scale legal services. And so we did primarily family law and very small issues on a sliding scale, serving our clients anywhere from 75 to $150 an hour, and also continued with my contract with the public defender. So I did that a lot while I was there. I did that for about five years, and then I went into solo practice and continued. I've always kept few of those kids on my case load. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah, I feel like that had a big impact on you. Is that something that you felt like you were making a difference? 

Meri Althauser: 

It did. It's a small difference. On the big scheme of things, it's a small role to represent foster kids in court, but I got to do fun things like take Child Protective Services to court because they wouldn't pay for my client's prom dress or senior pictures, or they couldn't figure out how to get them to soccer practice or something. I got to fight to make life normal for the kids that for their life, their lives were anything but normal. And it was really a delight. And some of those kids I'm still in contact with today and say, "You were one of the only people that was actually a constant presence in my life when everything was total chaos." And so that was really a pleasure. 

Rio Peterson: 

And I think to me, that sounds like in the grand scheme of things, that is a really big thing and it's a very, I think, difficult existence to have when your life is constantly in flux and to have a constant presence. The fact that you still talk to some of them is testament to the impact that had. Yeah. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. I think it really kind of captures in the most purest sense the role of a lawyer, which is to be there for somebody when things are hard. And you can do tangible things. There can be to-do's on the list that you can accomplish, but it's always the most rewarding moments are when clients are like, "You were there for me. Maybe we didn't get what we wanted, or maybe we got the opposite of what we wanted, but I felt like I had somebody on my side, and that's what made the difference." 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah, absolutely. And I couldn't agree more. I think it's easy to lose sight of how important that is in the grand scheme of things. I mean, typically when someone has a legal problem, it's a very emotional, difficult time for them. They're not seeking legal counsel because life's awesome. Every is great. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. It's kind of an all bad news business. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. 

Meri Althauser: 

I'm sure there's areas of the law where it is good news and you're helping to amplify entrepreneurs and businesses and stuff like that, but that's not family law. 

Rio Peterson: 

Not family law. So you worked with the firm and you did some public defender work for several years, and then you moved into your own practice and became a solo. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yes. 

Rio Peterson: 

What inspired you to take that step forward? 

Meri Althauser: 

What inspired me to take that step forward was a desire for more freedom, certainly with working with three or four other attorneys and staff. Oh, here's a fun side hustle that I was also doing. I was running a fitness center. I ran a gym. 

Rio Peterson: 

That's awesome. 

Meri Althauser: 

Because I had started working out there and the owner was going to quit, and I liked the gym so much, I was like, "You can't quit. Okay, I'll just take it over for you. I can do this." And so I was doing that on the side, which was understandably difficult then for my partners to be like, "Well, when are you going to be at the gym? When are you going to be here?" It wasn't insurmountable, but it seemed like it would lend itself to more freedom to work that kind of side gig for fun and not have to kind of communicate quite as much about my plans because I just didn't know my plans and I needed to be more of a free spirit. 

Rio Peterson: 

More autonomy. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, totally. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. Was it scary stepping out onto your own like that? 

Meri Althauser: 

It wasn't scary for me because I knew I already had a reputation and a client base that would follow me by name. And because I had been running a firm together with other people, that was a good training ground. I felt like it would be really easy to just replicate what we were doing on my own on a smaller scale. And so that really gave me the confidence to do it without too much worry. 

Rio Peterson: 

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. That's great. Were there other support or any support systems that you pulled from or leaned on while you were getting started? 

Meri Althauser: 

A lot of the products that lawyers use just offer support, just like ALPS has somebody you can call and say, "Hey, I'm thinking of doing it this way," or materials. And the same with, I used CLEO and CLEO was like that, and the state bar of Montana. So I felt like no matter what it was, there was always a resource that was easily there to help. 

In addition, Montana is a really small bar. We don't have a million attorneys, and we keep in touch with our classmates and our professors. And so I had friends who were doing it who I could ask, "Okay, how do you handle this? What's it like? Is it scary? Do you feel all alone? What are the biggest struggles?" And so I was able to just survey my friends, even talk to my professors who were teaching the law practice class to get any information and support that I needed at all. The legal community is just like, "Yes, do it. You're going to love it." So I think Montana is a really special place in that regard. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. Oh, that's fantastic. I love when people support each other in being successful. Yeah. 

Meri Althauser: 

Totally. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. So speaking of challenges, what were some that you experienced? 

Meri Althauser: 

So there's always kind of a, oh, what do you call it? Now that I have to say it out loud, like imposter syndrome. 

Rio Peterson: 

Oh, yes. 

Meri Althauser: 

Like I'm too young and I haven't done enough stuff. I mean, back then I was too young. And oh, you just couldn't hack it at a real firm. And those kind of things. You're always kind of have a bit of self-doubt or feeling like other people are questioning or judging you, which I don't know if that's really real or just kind of perceived because it's not like any other attorney was like, "Oh, so you can't hack it. Stupid effort." I've never heard that. My friends talk about other people that way. So that's certainly a challenge. I was from time to time worried about not having enough business, but that was also never really real. 

It was almost like the universe provides. You'd notice that I'm finishing up a big project and I'm like, oh, crap. After I finish this project, I'm not actually sure what I need to do next week. And then the phone rings with a lovely person with a very tangible need that you're like, "Oh, this is what I'm doing on Monday." So that never actually happened, and it was actually kind of fun to do creative. I worked with an SEO person, and so what ad words do we use? What do I post online? That kind of part was kind of fun. Although at the same time it felt like it carried a lot of weight, like if I don't do it right, I won't have anything to eat. 

But that never happened. And then really just having the buck kind of stop with you about everything. On the one hand, it's a real blessing. I can go on vacation, I can turn on my auto reply. I can decide that I'm not going to take any cases. I can kind of control my own income in that way. But at the same time then, every decision and everything, there's nobody to bounce the ideas off of. There's nobody to share in the project management. Any client question or question from client's mom or grandma or cousin, it's always back on you. And that can feel like a lot of pressure and it would just be nice to share that with somebody. But then you'd have to share it with somebody. You won't have the same autonomy. So it's kind of like a battle that you've chosen. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And it's funny about imposter syndrome. I think we all assume that everybody else knows what they're doing and they're going to know that I don't know what I'm doing. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. It's so easy to think that everyone's got it all figured out except you. 

Meri Althauser: 

Right? Yeah, I know. Why is that our default setting? I know I have that conversation with students at school all the time because they're really afraid of getting cold called in school, like they show on Legally Blonde, and then she always gets it wrong, and everybody's making fun of her. And really everybody's just thinking, "Oh, thank God they didn't call on me because I thought the same thing. I would've gotten it wrong too." Nobody's judging each other in class, but it is really hard to swallow your own advice sometimes. 

Rio Peterson: 

Absolutely. We're so good at giving it to others. We're just like, "I don't know. I've never heard that before." And something that you kind of touched on was there's nobody to bounce ideas off. There's nobody else around. And I would imagine that gets kind of lonely, and I know isolation is something that a lot of solos really have to deal with and navigate. Did you realize how isolated you were when you were practicing, when you had your solo practice? 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. I don't think I did. So I had been in solo practice for a number of years and I was having a conversation with somebody from my building who was a marriage counselor. I worked in a building where it was just like a coworking space, and there was all sorts of different people there, and he had left. So I was just having coffee with him. And then he said, "You know, if I look back on it all these years, I wouldn't have spent my time alone in that basement. It was really lonely." And he only realized it because he had left. And the thought had never really occurred to me. And I'm like, "What are we talking about? We see each other for coffee all the time." You can really call any of your friends who are attorneys to bounce actual legal ideas off of. It really had never occurred to me, the loneliness. And I didn't even really absorb it that day when he said it. 

But then when I got offered this job at the law school, and I have always loved my law school, and so every once in a while I've just considered going back. And so I kind of applied for the job for admissions thinking, I'm actually not sure if I want it yet because I feel good about what I've got going on here. And so they offered me the job, and the next day I went and I started reading the settlement brochures for the case that I was going to handle as a settlement master the next day. So that's where people send you, here's all the crappy stuff that this person did and why they're a jerk, and here's all the crappy things that this person did and why they're a jerk. And then I read them together and I find a way to mediate the case and get them to settle. And I spend all day doing so. And I started reading them and I started sobbing so hard, I actually fell to the ground. 

Rio Peterson: 

Oh, wow. 

Meri Althauser: 

It hit me in that moment when I had something else to compare it to that, "Oh, my life could maybe not involve this amount of bad stuff," that I realized how hard I had emotionally been working in order to get this type of information from people. And then I just set the emotion aside and I start kind of working the Rubik's cube of it all. But really I felt like I was the only one working the Rubik's cube. Like they're going to tattle, they're going to tattle. They're going to try to pull each other in different directions. They're going to try to convince me to go in different directions, but I'm the only one with the cube that I can see it all and solve it all. And you have to set aside so much emotional baggage, even just to hear the bad things that people are saying about each other, that I just didn't really realize that emotional load that I was putting in until I had something else to compare it to. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yes. 

Meri Althauser: 

And that was a type of loneliness. It was just like, I'm the only one working this problem. So yes, I did have an aha moment where I was like, "Oh my gosh, I think I need to take a break. Maybe if we could change something." 

Rio Peterson: 

Yes. I think it's often something that we don't consider is that emotional work is work. It's a lot. It takes quite a toll on your body, both physically and mentally. And I think we were talking about this earlier, where you get so used to borrowing from your future self just to get through the day that you don't even realize that you're doing all of this and that you've hit a point that where maybe you need to change. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. And I even consider myself pretty good at managing the emotional toll. I didn't let people's moods bother me. I was able to work with the problem. I was staying healthy. I know once you've had a really crappy day, you need to kind of flush all of that garbage out of your body with some exercise, or time and nature. And I write articles on how to stay well as a practicing attorney. But that still wasn't quite good enough I think in that moment to realize when I had this realization that I might not have to have to work that problem anymore. And then came in the imposter syndrome syndrome, like, "Well, aren't I a dumb dumb? I'm not even doing my own wellbeing good enough." It spirals. Look, everyone's going to know I'm not supposed to here. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. It's difficult. It's a difficult reality to face, I think. Yeah. What's some advice you'd have for solos trying to balance life and their practice and the toll that that takes? 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. I think being able to identify the untold work that you're doing, really capture it, name it to tame it, find something to do to counteract or help with it. If I had to do it all over again, recognizing how lonely it is, I would find a way to be creative about, "Okay, how do I have a thought partner, but still the same freedom?" So maybe does that mean I contract with somebody during mediation days that we work together about it? Or do I at least have an assistant or an associate of some sort who I feel like can have my back from time to time? It might be how do we balance the being able to be autonomous but not be alone? Do they have to be mutually exclusive? 

But the second piece of advice would just be to follow regular all the wellbeing stuff. Other people's bad vibes are contagious, and so you need to be able to have a really good method other than just stuffing it down or ignoring it to not catch other people's bad vibes. And then you also need to take care. Stress that you feel actually just still lives in your body. It just lives in your blood. It's a cortisol. It's different hormones, and it'll stay there unless you flush it by physically moving it out of your body. So I think a default mechanism just to go home, veg out, have some beer or watch some Netflix, but that just lets it all stay there so you haven't actually flushed it. So if that's your coping mechanism, at least go for a walk first. [inaudible 00:20:46] some water. And it is amazing how some time in nature and some walks really do make you feel better. 

Rio Peterson: 

Oh, yeah, I know. I always say, I got to go for a stupid walk for my stupid mental. I think your body gets really good at convincing you that just sitting around is actually going to be fine. That's going to work out totally fine for you. But in reality, you need to be moving. And as much as it might suck to get out and get it started when you don't feel like it is really important, and it helps a lot. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. Yeah. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. That's really good advice. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, for sure. 

Rio Peterson: 

So you're not practicing anymore. You're not a solo practitioner anymore. You are now the Director of Admissions. And I know you were saying that sometimes law students can give you a hard time for not practicing anymore. How does that feel? What do you have to say to somebody who's thinking about maybe they've gone to school, they're a lawyer, and maybe they're like, I want to do something else with this knowledge. I want to do something else with this. What would you say to that? 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, I think just along the same lines as the imposter syndrome, I think the courage or anyone's goals to do something that is not a traditional legal job really feels like it might be shrouded in some sort of shame or that you couldn't hack it or something like that. Again, something that's probably mostly all in your head in that there are plenty of great pathways that don't have to involve legal practice, that include all the critical thinking, all the leadership skills. Really going to law school is learning how to take a whole bunch of balls of yarn that are all entwined, that all seem like they have the same priority and the same urgency, and being able to pull them apart into a nice order of operations. And we're going to do blue first, and then we're going to dig yellow. 

That's what thinking a lawyer really is. And it has so many applications elsewhere. So I know happy attorneys who are real estate agents and who run nonprofits. I love working at the law school. I feel like I can coach and mentor and help law students form good habits from the get-go so they don't get that burnout feeling that I got. I'm helping them at the source, and I feel like that's where my impact could be better. So we just need to erase any of that shame or judgment that we might feel about doing something different. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And I really love what you said too about all of those things that you learned to become a lawyer being just applicable to so many wider different settings and situations. And absolutely, critical thinking skills, there's a lot to be said for that in everyday life. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah, definitely. 

Meri Althauser: 

Absolutely. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. What would be some advice that you'd give to a law student, a new law student, or someone even thinking of applying to law school? 

Meri Althauser: 

Oh, my gosh. 

Rio Peterson: 

You're on the spot now. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. I think it's really important to make sure you know your why about why you want to be a lawyer. And then think more about that why, to make sure that it is kind of burnout proof or more universally applicable. So for example, when I said I want to go to law school to represent kids in court, that was super specific. And I did it, but it wasn't quite broad enough so that if I felt burnt out about representing kids in court, or really at the end of the day, it didn't pay enough and so it wasn't going to be a sustainable long-term big picture thing, I felt really lost. And so making sure that a goal is more process oriented, like "I want to go there because I want to be there for people in their time of need." 

Rio Peterson: 

Well, that's process. You can win on that every day. 

Meri Althauser: 

As long as you're not the person who ghosts their clients and actually isn't there for them. 

Rio Peterson: 

And there's a lot of different ways you can do that too. 

Meri Althauser: 

And there's a lot of ways you can do that. So yeah, so really honing in of that, why do you want to do it? Because it's a really big, I mean, it's a big financial investment. It's a big academic investment. But it's more emotional investment than I think we're really prepared for because it's not like you would think. Like, "Oh, if I'm going in to be a counselor," that's a big emotional investment and that's probably my strong suit. But people going to law school, their strong suit might be political science, history, logic. And there's not the same expectation or preparedness for the emotional investment that they're making for society. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. I think I'm kind of thinking about another Legally Blonde quote. I think the teacher, doesn't she say that the law is reason free from passion, doesn't she? 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. That rings a bell. 

Rio Peterson: 

So yeah, and I think it's such an interesting thing to say because it's just, I mean, the law maybe is theoretically free of passion, but the people who practice it aren't. 

Meri Althauser: 

No. 

Rio Peterson: 

There's feeling and emotion no matter what. 

Meri Althauser: 

And the real stories that got them there are real stories of real people's lives that have real consequences depending on how good you are at your reasoning. I think that kind of maybe tips over into more of a coping mechanism that's like, "Well, we'll just stuff it down." We'll just say it's free from passion, and we'll pretend it's free from passion and we'll be in denial that there's any emotion involved, and that's how we will be fine. 

Rio Peterson: 

If you have passion, you're doing it wrong. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yes, yes. 

Rio Peterson: 

And then you're burnt out. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah. Yeah. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. Absolutely. Well, is there anything else you want to add or you'd like to say to the audience out there, to our friends and listeners at home? 

Meri Althauser: 

Oh my gosh. Come to the University of Montana Law School. It's the best law school. Yeah. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yes. Fantastic. 

Meri Althauser: 

We're friendly there. It's a good school. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yes. Fantastic. You have great people to guide you. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yes. 

Rio Peterson: 

Awesome. Well, thanks so much for chatting with me today. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, you're welcome. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah, I really, really appreciate it, and I want everyone to know to stay tuned, because you will likely be around a bit more. We might be getting some content from you and having some more discussion. So yeah, looking forward to it. 

Meri Althauser: 

Yeah, likewise. 

Rio Peterson: 

Yeah. Awesome. Well, thanks so much. Thank you so much to all of our listeners at home and wherever you may be. Have a wonderful week.