Minnesota Lawyer
Avisen Legal, PA
Courtney McClimon has been with Avisen Legal, PA since its founding. In fact, as the boutique law firm was coming together, she did a lot of the detail work needed to get it up and running.And detail work is the name of the game for an office manager, as McClimon well knows.
“I work with the CFO on financial matters and with the COO on operational matters,” she said. “I’m also immediate supervisor to our legal assistant when it comes to the admin side of work. I make sure that she has the proper training and that she gets into more complex projects as she learns more. I guess you could say I’m a Jill of all trades.”
She’s not kidding, either. To prepare for photographs in a magazine article about Avisen, McClimon put herself in charge of ordering and assembling Ikea furniture.
“I came in wearing workout clothes and my Cubs hat,” she said. “I want the office to look good.”
A career in law wasn’t McClimon’s first choice, but it was always in the back of her mind. Her father was an administrative law judge, which got her interested in the legal world, but not necessarily the idea of being a lawyer.
“My bachelor’s degree from Iowa State is in fashion merchandising, design and production,” she said. “I worked in retail management for several years. I decided I didn’t want to be opening stores when I was 40.”
A later degree in paralegal studies was earned during the Great Recession, which meant she was competing for jobs with baby lawyers. But she did eventually catch on and is glad she did.
“A lot of our clients are doing excellent work, and I just like being a part of that,” she said.
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