Corinna (Cori) Coser is a litigation attorney at Sarasota’s Bentley Goodrich Kison whose practice focuses on business and real estate disputes. A graduate of UCLA, Coser got her J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, where she served as president of the Law Association for Women and the Student Health Law Association. In Sarasota, she is the incoming secretary of the Sarasota County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, and volunteers with the Booker High School Law Institute, Take Stock in Children and Legal Aid of Manasota.
We spoke to Coser about how getting involved with organizations like Legal Aid of Manasota and the Young Lawyers Division can make a huge difference when you’re just starting out in your career—especially if you’re new to the area.
Did you always want to practice law?
“I recently found one of those journals that had pre-written prompts in it from when I was younger, and in it I said I wanted go to law school. Apparently I’ve been wanting to do this forever! I’ve loved rules my entire life—my siblings will tell you that. Plus, the reading and the learning drew me to civil law. It’s all over the place. You have to get comfortable with the unknown because you’re constantly learning. I know so many random facts about so many aspects of what it is to be a civil lawyer. It makes it really fun.”
Why is community involvement so important, especially as a young lawyer?
“When I first moved to town, it was very hard to meet people and make Sarasota feel like home. So now I’m passionate about helping new lawyers meet other people and making them want to stay. We can’t get young people involved unless we keep them here. So it starts with getting them to want to be involved and showing them the value that comes from that.”
What kind of value does Legal Aid of Manasota provide?
“Young lawyers have a great opportunity with Legal Aid of Manasota in that we can learn so much. We can take on cases and understand what it really is to handle a case on our own. Plus, we can help someone who needs representation, so it’s a win-win. It comes full circle when the client gets the outcome they want. Plus, young attorneys get mentorship along the way.
“It can be hard for young attorneys to really find their place here. Organizations like the Young Lawyers Division and Legal Aid really make it more worthwhile.”
How can Legal Aid get more young lawyers to take on pro bono cases?
“Focus on the learning opportunity. As much as we are busy, volunteering is not only good for our career development, it’s a rewarding experience because you’re helping someone who doesn’t have legal expertise or the funds to hire a lawyer. It’s a sacrifice and it takes time, but the mentorship, rewarding feeling and overall experience make it worth it.”
Tell us more about that rewarding feeling.
“It changes your whole experience. You can be stuck thinking about your billable hours and spend far too much time working on cases, but having an outlet [like Legal Aid] makes that worth it. It takes you out of the grind of practicing law and makes you feel like you’re really doing something good for the community.”