We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Binkley . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.

Alright, Katie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

I first joined non-profit law firm Veterans Legal Institute (VLI) fresh out of law school. After spending all three years of law school volunteering in legal clinics at local homeless shelters, I knew in my gut that a legal career in public service was the right choice for me.

I relocated from Arizona to California and soon after found VLI. I showed up to the panel interview hoping to land my first job as an attorney and instantly felt at home amongst the VLI group. Compassionate work tends to attract compassionate people, and you could feel everyone’s dedication in the room. VLI is a nonprofit law firm which exclusively serves low-income, homeless and elderly veterans. This mission was personal to me as my late grandfather served in the Korean War as an Army Officer and paratrooper.

Four years down the road I absolutely know I made the right choice in joining VLI in its mission to serve those who served for us. I began as a staff attorney taking family law cases and learning the ropes of the courtroom. Since then, I’ve moved up to land as the Deputy Executive Director of the firm. Amongst other things, I’m now tasked with planning and strategizing for VLI’s continued success. My heart and soul is in this mission, as I’ve seen firsthand how the legal services at VLI can change the lives of veterans in our community.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m an Arizona transplant to Orange County California where I live and work from Newport Beach. As an attorney and Deputy Executive Director at Veterans Legal Institute (VLI), I provide pro bono legal services to veterans across Southern California. I am deeply proud of this work of this firm, serving 10,000 veterans in our almost ten years of existence. Veterans are a vulnerable population in our country, after serving veterans can face difficulty transitioning to civilian life and legal issues commonly arise. Couple that with the fact the population is likely to have experienced physical and emotional traumas leaving scars after service. At VLI we believe that these heroes deserve access to justice in a pro bono capacity, as no one should be priced out of justice and dignity because they can’t afford an attorney.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I pride myself in balancing my role as an advocate with professionalism. Litigation is rife with the opportunity to act from your ego, burn bridges and be blinded by emotion. I find my realism and logic help me maintain a calm and collected demeanor which leads to positive interactions with opposing counsel and parties. After all, as a legal aid attorney I’m not making money on my client so I have no financial incentive to prolong litigation to meet billable hours. Given the huge need for legal aid across Southern California, I’m actually incentivized to fairly resolve litigation so I can serve even more people who need the help.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Teamwork is not only good for morale, but it’s good for your bottom line. Having an unfriendly or stressful work environment can encourage your staff to pack up their things and leave. With huge demand for labor across the country, there are job options aplenty for people–particularly young people–who don’t feel valued or fulfilled at their workplace.

The nonprofit industry has a lot of turnover as wages and salaries can’t always compete with for profit entities. For employers in this setting, there are plenty of no to low cost options to help retain employees and stay within your budget. Flexible hybrid and remote policies allow employees to feel like they can have a life outside the office. Minimizing commuting time allows that employee time to spend on other things which bring them joy whether it be time with family, getting outside, exercise or rest. Nonprofit work can be emotionally taxing, and these employees especially need to take care of themselves so they can take care of their clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vetslegal.org
• Instagram: @veteranslegalinstitute
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veteranslegalinstitute/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiebinkley/

Image Credits
Lens of Lara