This week, you are in for a real treat. We hosted Sarah Evenson, ALA President. Sarah is no stranger to the legal industry. As a previous law school student by day and MBA student by night, Sarah fills us in our her exciting career path and what led her to become the current ALA President. Have you heard of the pre-law scholar’s program that Sarah is highly involved in? Learn how she helps the next generation of upcoming law school students. Rob and Amanda dive into superpowers, diversity, and talent pipeline with Sarah. And have you heard of lawyer pearls? You do not want to miss this!
About the Guest
Sarah Evenson
As director of law school programs for Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Sarah leads the overall coordination and day-to-day management of the firm’s summer associate and law clerk programs. Most critically, she works at a strategic and operational level with each office’s hiring partner and the Firm Diversity Partner to determine hiring needs and ensure a strong diverse pipeline of future talent to the firm. As the Minneapolis office administrator, Sarah provides daily administration for the office including, human resource functions, facilities, financial management, and marketing functions.
Sarah has been in law firm administration since 2009 and worked solely in small boutique firms before joining Barnes & Thornburg, LLP. Prior to becoming a firm administrator Sarah practiced law for 8+ years. Sarah received her JD from Hamline University School of Law and her MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Her undergraduate degrees are in accounting and business finance from the University of WI – River Falls. Sarah describes herself as a creative problem solver and builder of strong teams and positive working environments.
As proof of that, her firm was selected by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal as a 2018 Best Places to Work in the Twin Cities (the only law firm on the list). Sarah herself was one of four people selected as a Best Places to Work MVP for going above and beyond in creating an engaging work environment. The Minneapolis office has also been listed for the last four years by the Star Tribune as a National Standard Top Workplace in Minnesota. Sarah was also recently recognized as an Unsung Legal Hero by Minnesota Lawyer for her work at Barnes & Thornburg, LLP.
Sarah is the current President of the Association of Legal Administrators and has served on its board since 2019. She has also served on a number of local, state and national boards throughout her career, including the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, Wright-Hennepin Electric Cooperative, & the Association of Legal Administrators Minnesota (ALAMN). In her free time Sarah likes to golf with her husband Tom and drink Mai Tai’s on the beach in Maui.
