This is the first in our series profiling great legal minds.

Susan Crawford is a professor at Cardozo Law School and a Visiting Research Collaborator at Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy. She served as Special Assistant to the President for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy in 2009.

Spindle Law: Who influenced you most in your first few years of practice? How? If you have mentors now, who are they?

Susan Crawford: The greatest influence on my early practice days was a desire to return to work for The New York Times legal department. I had worked there for a summer once. I never made it back, but I did learn a great deal about intellectual property law as a result. I have been fortunate to have mentors throughout my career. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s really only now that I’ve shifted to being the mentor rather than seeking advice quite so much. I think everyone needs advice and guidance in their career.

SL: You are a prolific blogger. What sources do you use when researching posts?

SC: When I started blogging in Sept. 2003, I did it seven times a week. That went down to five times a week later in my career; now it’s once or twice a week. When I left law practice I wanted a voice–you can’t really have one when you’re representing clients–and it has been great for me to have the blog as a place to publish easily. I write posts about the things that have crossed my desk that day that I find interesting–both offline and online–with various levels of focus on policy issues and human interest stories. I try not to write about anything personal. My blog (and tweets) are mostly about what I’m reading, not so much about how I’m feeling or where I am physically.

SL: What advice do you have for law students looking to practice in IP or telecommunications law?

SC: My advice to all young lawyers and law students is to find the best lawyers and teachers that they can and to learn everything from them. I’m not a big fan of specialization in law school or early in practice. I think it’s important to get the best possible training early on from busy people who have time to focus on you.

SL: What advice do you have for practitioners–especially those who have not grown up in the digital age?

SC: I don’t feel I’m in a position to give advice to practitioners. The law firm world is tough these days. If they’re surviving and enjoying client service, that’s amazing. All lawyers now are in the digital age, as far as I can tell; you can’t make money from being able to look things up, and so lawyers have to have their fingertips on the best information possible at all times in order to be counselors. I can’t imagine how you would do that without being very close to digital resources.

SL: I understand you play the viola. How does music fit into your life? How do you find time to practice and perform?

SC: Thanks for asking. Yes, I play the viola. It’s part of my daily life. Last term I actually performed a whole viola sonata with another law professor. You can find our performance on YouTube.

Tags: cardozo, law professor, Spindle Law Interviews, Susan Crawford

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