An untraditional path to law school

When Matt Gaul was admitted to the Iowa bar during the admittance ceremony this past February, like every other recent law school student turned new lawyer, there was a sense of accomplishment and shifting to the next chapter. However, Matt’s path to law school was unlike most and just four years ago even he couldn’t have foreseen how the journey would start.

Matt grew up in Sioux City until his family moved to Sheldon when he was 10 years old. He attended the now-closed Spalding Catholic High School in Granville, with a graduating class of 22 students. Matt earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, with both degrees focused on business and human resource management.

As he completed his master’s degree, he started looking for Human Resources (HR) jobs in Sioux City and Omaha. His wife Mallory being from De Soto, near Des Moines, and him from northwest Iowa, they knew they wanted to stay close to both of their families. Matt saw an ad for a director of operations position at Crary Huff Law Firm in Sioux City, which involved accounting, HR and general business management. He applied for the position and was interviewed by his predecessor. She invited him back for a second interview with the partners at the firm. He recalls that he was 25 years old and sitting in a large conference room with a bunch of lawyers, which he admits, “was a little intimidating at the time because I didn’t know many lawyers before working at Crary Huff.” He felt fortunate to receive an offer, and he started in March of 2011.

In the summer of 2018, Matt realized that while he appreciated the opportunity, and loved his job, he was ready for a new challenge. He had an honest conversation with Cody McCullough, one of the managing partners at Crary Huff.

Matt and his wife had looked seriously at relocating closer to her family in the Des Moines area, and his intention was to help Crary Huff transition the responsibilities to a new director of operations while his family finalized their plans.

Cody knew that the idea of law school had been in the back of Matt’s mind. “I knew Matt’s potential. He is a good communicator, smart, articulate and checked all the boxes for what the attributes of a good lawyer would be,” said Cody.

With a family and the need to contribute to a household income, Matt didn’t see law school as a realistic option.

Cody asked Matt if he would be interested in law school if there were a way to make it work for him, his family and the firm. In a hypothetical sense, Matt agreed. Cody promised that if Matt wanted to go to law school, the firm could figure out a way to make it happen.

At that point, Matt and his wife were all-in on the idea. Within a week or so, Cody met with each of the partners individually, then the partners met as a group and agreed to allow Matt to stay employed with the firm while he pursued a legal career. “It was amazing how fast the plan came together, and I received nothing but support and positivity from all of the attorneys,” said Matt.
He immediately got in touch with the admissions office at the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law and enrolled in the fall of 2019.

Matt explained how the firm fully supported his decision, with each of the partners committing to the unique, innovative idea which required mutual trust and respect between the firm and him. “That commitment and enthusiasm to do something completely outside-of-the-box in order to develop a lawyer ‘in-house’ was necessary to make the whole arrangement work,” he said.
Cody explained how the process was strategic and very involved. The firm leadership, staff and Matt worked closely together to make sure they were balancing all interests,” he said, “It was not just good luck.

“On a business level, it just made sense. It is a great investment to invest in existing employees who fit with the firm culture, who are a good fit with clients and work well with other attorneys at the firm,” Cody stated.

Once school began, the firm was flexible with Matt’s time. In fact, firm leadership made it clear that his first and highest priority should be his family. A lot of his duties as the director of operations could be done during off-hours or between classes in Vermillion, South Dakota, at USD Law. The agreement was that the firm would be as flexible as necessary to allow him to get through school, and he would do what he needed to do to get his work done. In addition to that, the firm immediately hired his successor in a transitional role so she could learn the job while Matt shifted his focus to law.

Sara Lias was hired as director of operations at Crary Huff Law Firm shortly after the decision was made that Matt would attend law school. It was beneficial that Sara and Matt were able to work together so he could help her learn the ropes. As Matt’s law school workload picked up, Sara would take on more of the big picture responsibilities, and Matt would manage more of the things that could be handled during off-hours. Matt said, “Sara and I work really well together, so it was an easy transition. She was extremely supportive of me, and she did a great job learning the director of operations role quickly.”

It has been hard sometimes for Matt to completely detach himself from the day-to-day administration of the law firm, but he said it is great that Sara can bounce ideas or questions off of him when necessary. “That is one of the cool benefits for the firm of this whole experience—retaining knowledge and perspective,” he added.

Like any law student, Matt had to learn how to prioritize his time. In addition to his full-time job and family at home, he had to focus on his coursework. His son was seven and his daughter was five when he started law school. He decided on day one that he would not sacrifice those years of his kids’ lives, so it was not uncommon to see him reading Civ Pro or Torts textbooks at his son’s football practice or a soccer game. That meant a lot of late nights and busy weekends.
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His wife made her own sacrifices in terms of picking up almost all the slack at home, especially once COVID hit. She was working full-time, while helping to educate the kids and taking on a lot of other things so he could focus on finals or a writing assignment or a project. She never once complained, and would instead always ask how else she could help Matt. “I’m very lucky to have her,” expressed Matt.

Crary Huff’s managing partner, Cody, describes how Matt successfully graduating law school was a unique and special experience for all the members of the law firm. “What’s really cool is that we got to collectively as a group watch Matt, who we worked with as part of the firm, not only go to law school but succeed at law school. It was a great exercise for the firm. Everyone was cheering him on.”

The biggest challenge now that he is officially into his new career, is getting comfortable with “learning how to walk” again. He had been in the director of operations role for about a decade, and that kind of experience naturally brings a certain level of confidence and knowledge. “I have had to learn to be patient with myself as I ‘start over.’ I think I place extra pressure on myself because I already know the attorneys, and I want to contribute right away, but they have all been extremely gracious in their mentorship,” he said.

When asked what advice he has for other legal industry professionals considering law school, Matt said, “I think it is important that more people like me, nontraditional students with careers and families, have the opportunity to pursue legal careers. I really believe there is a pool of potential, talented attorneys lying dormant in our state, who would have a lot to offer if given the chance.”

In his time as an administrator, Matt said that he got to know many brilliant non-lawyers at law firms who would make exceptional attorneys. However, he added that attending law school later in life requires a certain amount of financial stability, flexibility with time and moral support.

“I’m fortunate to work for a firm that thinks about the big picture and was willing to invest in me in order to make law school happen, but the success of our plan was no accident,” he explains, “Crary Huff was intentional about how the firm approached the details of the arrangement and recognized the potential return on investment (ROI) that was perhaps not immediately evident, including the ability to make connections within the law school and with other students.”

Matt also suggests, “Firms should look broadly at where and how they recruit attorneys, and when a firm identifies talent, it should think creatively about how it can help open a door to a legal career that might not otherwise be available.”

He goes on to express his support for law schools supporting and recognizing employers who offer assistance to employees and students, and he encourages law schools to find ways to provide resources and support to nontraditional students who may be juggling “life” in addition to law school.

Cody said, “When we were able to identify someone we’d like to bring in as a lawyer, as a bottom-line business decision, it takes some of the unknowns out of the equation. It was not entirely a bottom-line driven decision, but I’m proud of the firm in that we now have a lot of touches with nonlawyers.

“It is not that unusual outside the legal industry for businesses to encourage staff to pursue education. Businesses do it all the time,” concludes Cody.

At USD Law, Matt got to know Dean Neil Fulton and introduced the dean to his colleagues at Crary Huff. Dean Fulton said, “Matt is a great guy. He was a real strong part of his class at the law school which is a testament to his personality. Matt is someone people gravitate to.”

As a law student, Matt took initiative: as a leader in student government, as a legal community connector and cultivator of partnerships, as an event planner and more. Dean Fulton explained how Matt was pivotal in establishing connections with the law school and nearby Briar Cliff and Morningside Universities in Sioux City, exposing local law firms to community organizations and students, introducing students to the local bar associations and organizing an event last year to bring the community together, which is now an annual event happening again this fall.

Dean Fulton goes on to say how Matt was “always trying to build connections, strengthen the law school not just academically but socially, and he was really well-respected and well-liked as a result.” He adds that the special thing about Matt is not only his unconventional path to law school but his personality: “Nontraditional helps but a lot of it is who Matt Gaul is.”

Matt’s career realignment has had a positive impact on his life. It has given him a new way to push himself, which was his goal from the start. At the end of the day, Matt said he wanted to feel like he was challenging himself and providing value. “My law degree has allowed me to accomplish this, all while remaining at an employer that I respect and appreciate immensely,” said Matt.

Most aspects of his life have stayed the same because he works with the same people, he and his wife socialize in the same groups and his kids were already fully integrated into school and activities, which consumes most of their time. “However, I show up to work and go home each day with a new sense of purpose and with new challenges, and I’m grateful for that,” he added.

Matt’s vision for his future as an attorney involves honing his skills to be good at what he does and serve as a trusted resource for clients and other attorneys. For now, he wants to take every chance he can to learn from the attorneys in the office and observe how they draft, how they manage files and how they find ways to add additional value to the services they provide to clients. “There is no better way to get good at something than to learn from people who are really, really good at something,” he said.
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One of the things Matt is most grateful for is that he had a real-time opportunity to show his kids that it’s never too late to do something “big” or set a new goal. He concludes, “I think they were also able to observe what it takes to really dive in and invest yourself entirely into a goal and see it through. Being able to share my law school experience with my wife and children is something that is uniquely special.”