Alumna Jordan Bates JD ’09, on the importance of self-care in the legal profession

Jordan Bates has worked nine years as a staff attorney at Youth, Rights & Justice (YRJ). The 45-year-old nonprofit organization provides court-appointed counsel to children and parents involved with DHS in the dependency system, and youth in the juvenile delinquency system.

Jordan thrives on the work that she does for YRJ because she has the client contact she always wanted in a law career. Her cases allow her to make real changes in clients’ lives and policies that impact them. While Jordan is deeply motivated by the organization’s mission, she admits that work is not easy. She spends a portion of her time on Special Immigrant Juvenile status cases which are immigration cases of minors who have been neglected, abused, or abandoned by their parents. Emotionally, she says that the work can take its toll, but over the years, she has learned to set healthy boundaries and appreciate her role as an attorney and not a social worker.  Having those self-care tools, allows her to continue to serve clients who usually do not have anyone else in their corner.

As an alumna of Oregon Law, Jordan regularly meets with law students through the Child Advocacy Project. While she was in law school, she worked with Professor Leslie Harris as a fellow with the project, and now she shares her expertise with the next generation of lawyers who share her interest in finding justice for vulnerable youth and families.

One piece of advice that she gives to students is that they always consider what they are passionate about when choosing a career direction.  Otherwise, she says, “they won’t be effective or provide quality representation to their clients.”