Jayme Walker represents plaintiffs in employment, civil rights, and personal injury as a part of the employment team at Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer. A graduate of University of San Francisco, School of Law, she also volunteers with the ACBA’s Volunteer Legal Services Program.
1) When did you know you wanted to be a lawyer?
I was a journalist in high school and I wrote an editorial column for the school newspaper. In one article I was arguing for student rights to free expression and I relied on some Supreme Court cases to support my argument. I was never very good at being objective in journalism, so that is when I started to think about becoming an advocate.
2) If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you be doing instead?
Something relaxing and low stress, maybe a massage therapist or yoga teacher. I would have loved to be a folk singer, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to make money doing that.
3) What do you know now that you wish you had known when you were first admitted to practice?
I’m not sure that I didn’t know these things, but you learn to go with the flow a lot better the longer you practice. You learn that almost every mistake is fixable and not to take everything so seriously.
4) What is the biggest challenge facing you as a lawyer today?
Law school debt.
5) What is your favorite part of being a lawyer?
Fighting the good fight. I represent plaintiffs who have been wrongfully terminated from their employment or who have been catastrophically injured due to the negligence of others. It is so rewarding to get justice for these people and it makes it fun to come to work every day feeling like you are making a difference and fighting the good fight.
6) What is your dream vacation?
One month in France, traveling from Paris to wine country from Bordeaux to the Loire Valley.
7) What are you reading now?
An interesting book about human evolution called Sex at Dawn.
8) What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
I like to sing and play guitar, but most people who know me know this.
9) What person, living or dead, real or fictional, would you like to have dinner with?
Joni Mitchell
10) Why did you decide to become an ACBA member?
I think it is important to be involved in the community in which you practice and I am trying to get more involved in VLSC.