November 16, 2021
Working at Warrick & Boyn is a homecoming for new attorney Jamie Richardson in more ways than one.
Jamie grew up in Elkhart before attending high school and college in Michigan. But when she looked for a place to consider the possibility of law school after graduating with a degree in political science from Michigan’s Ferris State University, she found herself returning there — to Warrick & Boyn, specifically — as a file clerk.
“After talking with the attorneys and taking the gap year, I realized being an attorney was what I wanted to do, and that I was going to enjoy it,” Jamie said. “It was nice to be able to be at Warrick & Boyn while I was applying because I was able to have different attorneys look over my personal statement during that process.”
Those same mentors and colleagues at Warrick & Boyn also helped Jamie begin to envision her childhood home of Elkhart as a place where she could be a professional adult, too.
“Talking to people who knew the area helped me understand that there were all different types of people here — not just to round out my career, but to help build a social life that was my own,” she said.
Law school took Jamie away from the area once more to John Marshall Law School in Chicago (now University of Illinois Chicago School of Law). But her plans to take the Illinois Bar coincided with the unfolding of the Coronavirus pandemic. Jamie went on to take the bar in Illinois and passed it, but firms, many still committed to remote work amid COVID restrictions, were slow to add new lawyers while unable to train them in person.
So circumstances brought Jamie home again to Elkhart and Warrick & Boyn.
A conversation with Warrick & Boyn partners Andrew Hicks and Tim Shelly evolved into a job offer for Jamie in December 2020, but her score on the Illinois bar wouldn’t transfer to Indiana. Her new position would require her to prepare to take the exam for a second time.
“I took the bar twice within a year, which was rough, but it was also nice because I retained a lot of what I knew from the first exam,” Jamie recalled. “I am really lucky that, with Warrick & Boyn, I was able to work out a schedule where I was able to keep working and learning [on the job], but also allowed me to study so I didn’t have to take it a third time.”
Jamie passed the bar in Indiana on September 15. She is most excited about the litigation and business transaction aspects of her work and her ability to make the best decisions on behalf of her clients efficiently and with greater independence.
Away from the office, Jamie’s life in Elkhart is taking shape, too. She bought a house and is thinking about getting a dog next year, once renovations are complete. Jamie says she also plans on finding a United States Tennis Association (USTA) women’s group when time allows (she loves the sport, just like her mom). She also looks forward to skiing when she can this winter and being back on the water next summer.