University of St. Thomas Law Journal

Graduation Advice with Mary Szondy

By: Bailey Squires*

Graduating from law school is without a doubt a very exciting moment.1 It is the culmination of three years of endless hard work and determination, but once graduation day passes different challenges reach the forefront.2 Graduation brings the stress of studying for the bar exam, evaluating job options, and how to maintain and leverage the relationships each student has created during law school.3

I had the pleasure of meeting with Mary Szondy to discuss some of these concerns and stressors that law students feel post-graduation and she was available to give some advice. Szondy graduated from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2004 and is a member of the first graduating class.4 Szondy is a solo practitioner offering representation in the areas of guardianship, conservatorship, special and supplemental needs, trusts, and estate planning.5 She is also a former board member and a current mentor through Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL), a journal chair for the Minnesota Association for Guardianship & Conservatorship (MAGiC), and a mentor with the Mentor Externship Program through the University of St. Thomas School of Law.6

Connections

The first theme prevalent in the interview with Szondy was connections. Specifically, how to continue utilizing connections that one makes in law school, how to be involved with the school’s community post-graduation, and how to navigate networking after graduation.7

Maintaining connections made in law school allows referrals to be reciprocated in the future amongst peers.8 Szondy states that there is a stronger trust in referring someone to one of her peers from law school, because she can attest to their qualities better than a stranger.9

Szondy also discussed that there are multiple ways that she has seen peers be involved with St. Thomas after graduation.10 She has seen her peers become board members, adjunct professors, guest speakers in classrooms, and mentors through the Mentor Externship Program.11 As previously stated, Szondy is a mentor with the Mentor Externship Program.12 Szondy illustrates her timeline to becoming a mentor with St. Thomas as one that she wanted, but first needed to take time to see that she could follow through on connections for the sake of the mentee.13 Being positioned in a board position through MWL to make the connections to invite others to those experiences was a crucial factor in joining the Mentor Externship Program.14 Szondy imparts to others who want to join the mentorship program that “being a mentor takes time.”15 There needs to be “time to give” and there needs to be time to build enough connections to guide the mentee.16

Ultimately, networking is something that gets a little easier in practice.17 Szondy discusses that, post-graduation, one can narrow networking to a specific group that one likes to be affiliated with, and it takes pressure from having to spread oneself through a larger range of events.18 This also provides the opportunity for people that regularly attend those events to get to know each other better.19 Most importantly, Szondy emphasizes that to make events worth it, one should go to them with the intent to get to know the people there personally and professionally.20 Passing out a business card with no other connection behind it does not create a connection.21 In fact, one may not even remember the person attached to the business card.22

Bar Exam Preparation

The next theme prevalent throughout the interview with Szondy was the bar exam. Szondy discussed wellness during bar exam preparation, bar preparation materials, and how to overcome the feelings of not passing the bar exam.23

Szondy points out that finding things to “balance a [student] out” during preparation is important to well-being during bar prep.24 She swam, but she pointed out that anything that allows one to briefly detach from preparation is beneficial.25 Szondy also highlighted the importance of remembering to take care of basic needs like eating and sleeping.26 Taking good care of oneself is essential in making sure that one can follow through on what they are learning.27

For bar exam preparation materials, Szondy used a bar prep course, flashcards, and practice exams.28 A prep course allowed Szondy to focus on the multiple areas that are highlighted on the bar exam, and she highly recommends them to people studying for the bar.29 She also understood her learning style is more visual, so having the flashcards allowed her to visualize things and have repetition with topics.30 While this was not something she did, Szondy stated that studying with others is another beneficial method.31

While Szondy passed the bar exam the first time, she knew others who did not.32 Overall, Szondy says that “life things . . . happen” while studying for the bar exam, which deserves time as well as preparation, and sometimes that can get in the way of properly preparing.33 She encourages others who do not pass to not be so hard on themselves and to refocus on what they really want, which is to become an attorney, and if that is the case they will need to continue to work hard to pass the exam.34

Job Search

The last theme in the interview with Szondy was related to finding a job. Szondy discussed how to evaluate a job, what to do if one is struggling to find a job, and pride in one’s work.35

Szondy’s largest sentiment toward evaluating a job was “if you feel like you are    around . . . people who really don’t care about you, don’t work there.”36 Sometimes, this shows itself when people at work expect the employee to continue working during a hard time in their personal life or if people do not care that the work is impacting the employee’s home life.37 Situations like this should not be sustained longer than a short duration.38 Szondy also mentioned considering ethics in choosing a place to work.39 She states that after a while one gets to know “everybody that’s playing in [their] sandbox” and it becomes clear what their intentions are, which may seem contrary to the practice of law.40 It becomes challenging to be involved with people that behave like that.41

Szondy states that there are different directions to go if the job search is not going well for somebody.42 One option is to reach out to the St. Thomas Career Services office to see what resources are available.43 One can also get involved with a section of the bar association or organization that one is interested in.44 These opportunities are great resources to communicate with others about what jobs are available and makes sure there is a focus to it as well regarding what one is interested in.45 This process ensures that people know you, know your interests, and know you are looking for work.46 Another option is to “hang a shingle” and become a solo practitioner.47 It was not Szondy’s goal to become a solo practitioner.48 After being laid off and not having other options, she decided to become a solo practitioner.49 Szondy approached this by reading resources that were available and talking to other solo practitioners during the process.50 While Szondy was in law school there was not a small firm class offered at St. Thomas, but St. Thomas currently has a course that provides a great opportunity to learn more about becoming a solo practitioner.51 Ultimately, Szondy encourages others to ask for help and to not be ashamed to do so if one is having a challenging time finding a job.52

Szondy takes a lot of pride in the work she does.53 The majority of her practice has fee waivers through various counties.54 Szondy feels that she is offering a service to someone that otherwise could not afford it if she did not accept the fee waiver.55 She is aware of the expenses that go into the situations that her clients are facing and is not willing to abandon the fee waiver price over the fact that others charge more and do things different from her.56 Szondy imparts to others to establish what makes them prideful in their work and to let that be a factor that guides them in the direction of their career.57

Conclusion

There is no doubt that graduating from law school brings out its own new sets of challenges, but after my discussion with Szondy, it is apparent that each and every law student is capable of crushing each milestone that comes post-graduation.

Szondy’s parting sentiment for me is that graduates should be proud of their efforts and should remember that on this journey we are all human.58 While embracing a change from being a student to an attorney, we need to channel our authentic self and do the things that help us feel comfortable within our own skin.59

This advice from Szondy to soon-to-be graduates can have helpful approaches and provide comfort to their career paths. The St. Thomas community is grateful to her for sharing her advice and the story of her education and career journey with us.

* Bailey Squires, J.D. Candidate, University of St. Thomas School of Law Class of 2026 (Associate Editor).

  1. Essential Steps to Take After Law School Graduation, LawCrossing (July 23, 2023), https://www.lawcrossing.com/article/900054734/Essential-Steps-to-Take-After-Law-School-Graduation/?form=MG0AV3 [https://perma.cc/PJZ8-YBYH]. ↩︎
  2. Id. ↩︎
  3. Id. ↩︎
  4. About Mary, Mary Szondy Att’y at L., https://maryszondy.com/about-mary/ [https://perma.cc/947E-C85U] (last visited Dec. 28, 2024); Pat Nemo, Intrigued by the Law, Univ. St. Thomas: Newsroom, https://news.stthomas.edu/publication-article/intrigued-by-the-law/ [https://perma.cc/WYK8-VGSL] (last visited Dec. 28, 2024). ↩︎
  5. Mary Szondy Att’y at L., supra note 4. ↩︎
  6. Interview with Mary Szondy, Owner, Mary Szondy Att’y at L., in Minneapolis, Minn. (Dec. 9, 2024) (transcript on file with author). ↩︎
  7. Id. ↩︎
  8. Id. ↩︎
  9. Id. ↩︎
  10. Id. ↩︎
  11. Id. ↩︎
  12. Id. ↩︎
  13. Id. ↩︎
  14. Id. ↩︎
  15. Id. ↩︎
  16. Id. ↩︎
  17. Id. ↩︎
  18. Id. ↩︎
  19. Id. ↩︎
  20. Id. ↩︎
  21. Id. ↩︎
  22. Id. ↩︎
  23. Id. ↩︎
  24. Id. ↩︎
  25. Id. ↩︎
  26. Id. ↩︎
  27. Id. ↩︎
  28. Id. ↩︎
  29. Id. ↩︎
  30. Id. ↩︎
  31. Id. ↩︎
  32. Id. ↩︎
  33. Id. ↩︎
  34. Id. ↩︎
  35. Id. ↩︎
  36. Id. ↩︎
  37. Id. ↩︎
  38. Id. ↩︎
  39. Id. ↩︎
  40. Id. ↩︎
  41. Id. ↩︎
  42. Id. ↩︎
  43. E-mail from Mary Szondy, Owner, Mary Szondy Att’y at L., to author (Dec. 30, 2024, 02:49 CST) (on file with author). ↩︎
  44. Interview with Mary Szondy, Owner, Mary Szondy Att’y at L., in Minneapolis, Minn. (Dec. 9, 2024) (transcript on file with author). ↩︎
  45. Id. ↩︎
  46. Id. ↩︎
  47. Id. ↩︎
  48. Id. ↩︎
  49. Id. ↩︎
  50. Id. ↩︎
  51. Id. ↩︎
  52. Id. ↩︎
  53. Id. ↩︎
  54. Id. ↩︎
  55. Id. ↩︎
  56. Id. ↩︎
  57. Id. ↩︎
  58. Id. ↩︎
  59. Id. ↩︎

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