Send This Story
I Used To Be ... And Now I'm ...: Chemistry Teaching Fellow To Attorney
Harvard’s loss is legal world’s gain.
by Mary Welch
September 26, 2008
R
ita A. Sheffey has understanding and sympathetic parents. Fine. It's not unusual for
parents to support a child through the college (the University of Virginia), and then graduate
school (Duke University). The understanding part comes into play not long after Sheffey graduated
with her Ph.D. and was a research associate and teaching fellow at Harvard University School of
Medicine. She decided she had rather be a lawyer. Three more years of college.
"My parents never went to college. I guess I got enough degrees for us all," she says with a
laugh. "But they understood, and knew I wasn't happy teaching chemistry to freshman in Harvard's
medical school. They just wanted me to be happy. They never told me to get a job. Although in
retrospect, I might have benefited from taking a year off and getting a job. It never occurred to
me."
Today Sheffey is
putting that scientific and analytical background to good use as a partner in the litigation and
intellectual property department at Hunton & Williams.
Growing up in Bristol, Va., Sheffey had her eyes set on medical school. After graduating
from Duke with a degree in chemistry - and without an acceptance from a med school - she chose to
go to graduate school. "I loved chemistry and thought I would stick with school for a while. I
thought I could master this chemistry and reapply to med school. Then after a while I realized that
it didn't make sense to pursue med school, and so the natural progression was to get my Ph.D. in
biological chemistry. It was the next logical step."
She followed her graduation with a two-year fellowship at Harvard University. As she become
more involved in the academic world, Sheffey didn't like what she saw. "I realized it wasn't the
direction I wanted to go. To be a teacher in academia, you have to do a lot of research and
publishing. The research lab and library were isolating, and I couldn't see life in a lab. I wanted
to be with students, and I had friends who taught at smaller colleges, and I knew that wasn't for
me either."
Part of her problem with being a researcher was that she realized that she was
"results-oriented and a people person. I wanted to be with people - and I consider myself a shy
person. And I also liked instant gratification. I didn't want to work on things for years and maybe
have them pan out and maybe not."
A lingering interest in politics reared its head. "I was always interested in politics and
thought now was a time to make a change. It was the next evolution. I was accepted in Boston
College Law School."
She found herself. "I was 30 when I went to law school. But a lot of people in my law school
classes were older, and I loved it."
After law school she joined the Virginia office of Hunton & Williams and dealt mostly
with environmental law - everything from toxic tort cases to working on nuclear power issues -
partly because it used her scientific background and partly because, thanks to incidents such as
Three Mile Island, the topic was often in the news. "It was the '80s," she says simply.
Over time she has expanded that into other complex litigation issues such as product and
medical device liability, and trademarks. "Each case is different, and I love talking to the
experts involved in the cases. I can identify with them. It's just very rewarding."
Sheffey is also intimately involved in pro bono and legal aid work. She has led the pro bono
efforts at the firm's office for more than 10 years and also works with its Southside Legal Center
pro bono clinic. This annex, opened in 1995, serves residents who qualify for legal aid as well as
those who don't qualify for legal aid but can't afford a private attorney.
She also serves on a number of boards that focus mostly on helping the less fortunate. She
is active on the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation Board, the board of the Atlanta Legal Aid
Society and received the 2005 Outstanding Woman in the Profession Achievement Award presented by
the Women in the Profession Section of the Atlanta Bar Association.
Atlanta Legal Aid Executive Director Steve Gottlieb, who serves alongside Sheffey on AVLF's
board, described her work for that association: "Under Rita's leadership, AVLF has expanded its
work on the special education needs of children and the protection of victims of domestic violence;
it has also developed a special wills program for emergency workers and begun new pro bono
opportunities for transactional lawyers. It is impossible for me to think of anyone in Atlanta who
is more committed to promoting pro bono work for low income clients, and who does so without
fanfare or self praise."
Sheffey's volunteer work started out small. "I started volunteering and initially did
divorce cases, and then it grew from there. The more you do, the more you're asked to do. And the
more rewarding it is. My firm is very accommodating and flexible about it. It's just very important
to me."
Sheffey recognizes that it took her a little extra time - as well as a lot of schooling -
before she was able to find her true calling. "When I talk to bar groups, particularly to young
female lawyers, I tell them to find a career that fits their personality and character. It's better
to do something you enjoy. It surprises me that I enjoy working with people as much as I do because
I am shy. But, it's most rewarding."
So has she finally found the perfect career?
"Who knows!" she exclaims. "There still may be some more tweaking to be done!"
