Interview with Kiersten Haugen, '16

Nebraska College of Law Author

02/08/2021 Added

77 Plays

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Kirsten Haugen, '16, discusses her career.

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[00:00:03.120]Hey, I'm Kiersten Haugen,
[00:00:04.550]I work at the FAA, in the regulations department
[00:00:07.440]of the Office of General Counsel.
[00:00:15.210]I actually began my legal career
[00:00:17.480]with the Army Corps of Engineers,
[00:00:18.870]which is another federal agency,
[00:00:20.450]that's part of the Department of Defense.
[00:00:22.920]I joined through the honors program,
[00:00:24.830]which I learned about when I was at the Pentagon
[00:00:28.550]doing the internship that Nebraska offers,
[00:00:33.080]for international-affairs-interested students over in D.C.
[00:00:37.350]I, over at the corps of engineers, I did environmental law,
[00:00:40.220]and a substantial amount of administrative law as well,
[00:00:44.300]kind of hoping to break into space law
[00:00:46.170]at one point in my career.
[00:00:48.110]But like, yeah,
[00:00:48.943]I guess after three or so years at the corps,
[00:00:51.060]I finally decided to try and start looking in earnest
[00:00:53.950]for something that was space-law interested.
[00:00:56.180]I'd done the Manfred Lachs Competition,
[00:00:58.550]which I'm sure some of the students will be aware of.
[00:01:02.320]A couple of years during law school,
[00:01:03.720]and that was a really enlightening,
[00:01:04.900]a really cool experience.
[00:01:06.200]So, I was hoping that I could kind of edge my way there,
[00:01:09.070]and I started to use my administrative law experience,
[00:01:11.580]my knowledge of just how federal agencies work,
[00:01:13.980]and how we issue rules
[00:01:15.720]to leverage a career with the FAA.
[00:01:18.290]I ended up applying for a job,
[00:01:20.010]I guess like more than a year ago now,
[00:01:22.400]and yeah, I've been enjoying my job here ever since,
[00:01:25.490]it's really exciting!
[00:01:31.170]I knew going into my interview
[00:01:33.400]that this was in the regulations division,
[00:01:35.270]that we would be working on,
[00:01:37.890]you know, federal rules that would eventually
[00:01:39.620]enter the Code of Federal Regulation.
[00:01:40.990]So brushing up, I think on my administrative law background
[00:01:44.160]and I was thankful
[00:01:44.993]that I took that course in law school,
[00:01:46.540]if anyone's still in position to take that
[00:01:48.290]I would highly recommend,
[00:01:49.240]so even if you don't want to work in government,
[00:01:51.210]it's just a good idea to understand that,
[00:01:53.120]how the regulatory process works,
[00:01:55.530]given its role in space law right now.
[00:01:58.840]So I brushed up on some of my administrative law,
[00:02:01.430]but also,
[00:02:02.850]I guess I would kind of advise anyone
[00:02:04.440]who's thinking of pivoting their career this way,
[00:02:06.700]that, you know,
[00:02:08.410]because of just the novelty of space law,
[00:02:10.310]it is so niche, it is so quickly developing,
[00:02:12.610]and it doesn't have just this long standing body of case law
[00:02:16.210]to rely on like every other industry would at this point,
[00:02:19.640]don't be afraid to leverage the experience that you have
[00:02:22.300]that is applicable indirectly.
[00:02:24.770]So, I would say heading into that interview,
[00:02:27.270]I was ready to talk about experiences I had had
[00:02:30.240]working with the Code of Federal Regulations
[00:02:32.340]in the Clean Water Act, environmental rules. (chuckles)
[00:02:35.460]Understanding how to apply
[00:02:37.820]a similar, a different body of law with a similar framework.
[00:02:41.100]The Administrative Procedures Act
[00:02:42.880]was extremely helpful,
[00:02:44.290]I think to explaining that
[00:02:45.920]where I don't have space knowledge. (chuckles)
[00:02:48.631]Where I don't space expertise,
[00:02:51.220]I certainly had knowledge of the legal structure
[00:02:53.760]and skills that would be applicable to that context.
[00:02:56.570]And I think that that helps
[00:02:58.620]persuade my current employers, (chuckles)
[00:03:01.134]that I'd be the right fit.
[00:03:07.520]Don't be afraid to try the extra-curriculars
[00:03:10.320]that are not what the typical law student goes through.
[00:03:14.560]You know, I wouldn't have understood,
[00:03:16.798]I definitely wouldn't have known
[00:03:18.710]how much I would enjoy space law,
[00:03:21.020]if I hadn't made time to do the Manfred Lachs Competition,
[00:03:24.510]which is time consuming,
[00:03:25.680]and when you're in law school,
[00:03:26.770]you have so many things on your plate already.
[00:03:29.730]You've got all of your coursework,
[00:03:31.230]and I'm sure many of you will have pressure to do,
[00:03:33.670]bar review, or moot court, or something like that as well.
[00:03:36.810]Many of you will be working,
[00:03:38.130]You've got a lot on your plate,
[00:03:39.260]and so trying to decide how best to divide your time,
[00:03:41.900]and be judicious in a way
[00:03:42.920]that's beneficial for your career, is not easy.
[00:03:46.220]But I would say that if you think
[00:03:47.900]you might have an interest in the area,
[00:03:49.480]it is absolutely worth the time
[00:03:51.410]to do something that everyone else isn't.
[00:03:54.370]I think that's beneficial for two reasons;
[00:03:56.100]One, always explore the things
[00:03:57.890]that you might be passionate about,
[00:03:59.040]because you,
[00:04:00.280]that's how you avoid (chuckles)
[00:04:02.210]establishing a career
[00:04:03.170]that you're not all that enthused about, number one.
[00:04:06.120]And number two, if you end up taking this step
[00:04:09.550]in pivoting your career in this direction,
[00:04:12.250]you know, these types of experiences
[00:04:13.650]are what will set you apart from other people,
[00:04:16.640]that you took time to take up a leadership role with
[00:04:21.000]a club that's essentially is moving in this direction,
[00:04:23.880]or you took on a fellowship.
[00:04:26.210]So as an undergraduate, I had a chance to study abroad.
[00:04:29.350]And my first year of law school,
[00:04:30.704]actually, I worked for a law firm in Montevideo, Uruguay,
[00:04:33.620]which I think even to this day, people are like, "What, why?
[00:04:36.704](chuckles)
[00:04:37.537]But, so I don't know,
[00:04:38.650]I was interested in international contracts
[00:04:40.640]and figuring out how these agreements
[00:04:42.370]would work on a bilateral stage.
[00:04:44.510]Do the weird thing, is my recommendation
[00:04:47.180]because employers will notice it,
[00:04:49.940]and I don't know that too many people will ever shame you
[00:04:52.750]for taking a chance and being bold in that respect.

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Interview with Kiersten Haugen, '16

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