Rochester women are making headlines. Lauren Peace
“You may not always be the smartest person in the room, but you can be the hardest working,” Amanda Carden Agins’ parents had told her. The fact that Carden Agins made partner at Harris Beach law firm, at 32-years-old, attests not only to how capable she is but also to how seriously she took her parents directive to work hard.
Truth to tell, becoming a lawyer wasn’t always her Plan A. “That’s because I always had Plan A-Z,” she laughingly says. “I wanted to be everything when I was a kid, a botanist, an astronaut, a pianist. I was just a lover of learning.”
As college graduation neared, she decided it best to streamline her options and took the LSAT’S thinking that a law career would give her “immunity from boredom.”
Displaying a comic’s timing, Carden Agins adds that had she not had the responsibility of repaying student loans, she gladly would have opted to be a food writer or one of Beyoncé’s backup dancers! However, she’s quick to note that being a lawyer suits her just fine.
Joking aside, she has repeatedly distinguished herself not only academically, as a magna cum laude undergraduate and magna cum laude law school graduate, but also as a member of the Konosioni Senior Honor Society, a peer-selected group recognized for outstanding leadership and dedicated community service.
At Harris Beach, Carden Agins areas of specialization include estate planning and administration, elder law and special needs planning. “I take my commitment to translating complicated legalese into a digestible format very seriously,” she says. “If my clients leave my office not knowing what they’re signing or what their estate plan really means, then I have not done my job.”
The fact that her desk is adorned with thank you notes from grateful clients is a sign that her caring and dedication has not gone unnoticed.
“Perhaps Mandy’s greatest attribute is her ability to synthesize complex legal issues and to present them to clients in an understandable manner. Her work ethic is second to none. She can be relied on to complete whatever task is presented to her not only in a timely fashion, but also thoughtfully and thoroughly,” says Audrey Peartree, Partner.
Carden Agins continues her commitment to community service having served as a member of the University of Rochester’s Planned Giving Advisory Council and through her pro-bono work for low-income clients.
Personal: Age 32, married, lives in Penfield.
Occupation: Attorney at Harris Beach PLLC
College name/degree earned/year graduated: Colgate University, B.A., 2007; University at Buffalo Law School, J.D., 2010
Recent work achievements: After seven years with the firm, I was elected to partnership at Harris Beach. We live in a world of instant gratification but making partner takes years of sweat, grit and hustle. The fact that it wasn’t an overnight success makes the achievement all the more delicious.
Current community activities and recent achievements: For Disability Awareness Week, I presented an educational seminar on special needs trusts in collaboration with Upstate Special Needs Planning and DeJoy, Knauf & Blood LLP. Working closely with financial advisers and accountants underscores my philosophy that estate planning is more than drafting documents — it’s creating a comprehensive and informed game plan that comports with my clients’ personal wishes and financial goals.
Biggest challenge: In my thirty-two years, I have experienced both overt and covert racism. One time at a concert, a boorish man used a racial slur against me and told the crowd that I couldn’t speak English. I then used my English degree from Colgate to deliver some choice words of my own. In moments of high emotion, I remember that I am my parents’ daughter, and the only limits are the ones I accept. It’s difficult to acknowledge that such ignorance is still out there, but I know that my perspective as a minority has made me a more empathetic lawyer and stronger woman.
A person or mentor who has inspired you? Why? My husband is the smartest person I know. We sat next to each other in law school and he’s been my co-counsel ever since. What inspires me most is that despite his formidable intelligence, he never acts superior. He also has the ability to be a chameleon to his environment without ever compromising who he is.
One piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in her professional career: Send handwritten thank you notes — there is no substitute for snail mail.
One thing you’ve always wanted to do but never have: Continue singing in the car with reckless abandon when I stop at a red light — with the windows rolled down.
A quote that inspires me: “One can live at a low flame. Most people do. For some, life is an exercise in moderation but given something like death, what does it matter if one looks foolish now and then, or tries too hard, or cares too deeply?” — Diane Ackerman
Arlene Hisiger is a Rochester-area freelance writer.
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