Beth whipping up a batch of cookies in her kitchen.
From time to time this newsfeed will include a closer look at our attorneys. The posts will be on topics not necessarily about the law but about what is personally important to our attorneys outside the office. This is the seventh installment of our spotlight as we feature a personal story from Attorney Beth Lane. Beth practices in business and corporate law. Click here to see her bio. Thank you for sharing this glimpse into one of your passions Beth!
I became interested in cooking in middle school, starting with my fascination with this cooking show I used to watch on the Discovery Channel every day when I came home from school. I first put this interest into practice by baking cookies as gifts for my classmates for birthdays and various holidays – they’d make requests and put in orders and I’d churn out batch after batch, adjusting and honing recipes along the way.
Growing up in south Louisiana, there’s a cultural, almost genetic, compulsion to feed people. As I got older, I turned this inherent urge into a study. In between studying politics in college and ultimately law in law school, I would (and still do) obsessively read cookbooks and blogs, menus and magazines. I’d use every opportunity I could to create new recipes and try out new ideas. From Friendsgiving parties to roommate dinners to study snacks, I’d use my friends as guinea pigs, delighting in the success of creating something other people found delicious.
Eventually, I started my own catering company as a side business to my attorney day job. Though a lot of hard work, it brought me great joy to be a small part of milestones in peoples’ lives – new marriages and new babies, celebrations and birthdays.
The experience taught me that cooking is about people, as is my practice of law. The satisfaction I get from making someone a meal that they enjoy is not all that different from the satisfaction of helping a client achieve a positive outcome for their business. Cooking is the blending of ingredients and techniques to achieve a balance of flavors. My practice of corporate law applies similar principals – sometimes it needs a measured hand, sometimes a bit of restraint, sometimes a little out-of-the-box thinking – all to achieve the correct balance to meet a client’s needs while maintaining a comfortable level of risk and practicality. And like cooking, the true joy of law is being that small part of peoples’ lives and a minor player in the milestones of their businesses.