{"id":3370,"date":"2026-09-08T10:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T14:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/?p=3370"},"modified":"2026-09-08T10:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T14:52:12","slug":"law-spider-spotlight-sara-maynard-l20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/2026\/09\/08\/law-spider-spotlight-sara-maynard-l20\/","title":{"rendered":"Law Spider Spotlight \u2013 Sara Maynard (L’20)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tell us about your current role.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I am an Assistant County Attorney for Henrico County. The County Attorney\u2019s Office serves as an in-house law firm for Henrico County and its various boards, commissions, and agencies. When your client is a large locality like Henrico, no two days are exactly alike. Depending on the day, I may be working on a contract, advising a department on a legal question, working on a public records issue, researching a statutory question, or attending a Board meeting. The variety of legal work is one of the things I enjoy most about local government practice.<\/p>\n

I also appreciate that my practice is both intellectually challenging and focused on public service. Local governments directly shape the daily life, health, and economic well-being of the communities they serve through infrastructure, public safety, schools, zoning, parks, and the delivery of countless other public services. As local government attorneys, we handle the legal questions that arise in all those areas and help our clients navigate the law while accomplishing their goals.<\/p>\n

One of the most rewarding parts of the job is being able to see the real-world impact of the work. Whether it is helping a department move forward with a project, advising on an issue that affects residents, or helping ensure that the County is meeting its legal obligations, there is a tangible connection between the legal work and the community it serves. Being able to provide advice that helps my client accomplish something meaningful for the community keeps me motivated and excited to do this work every day.<\/p>\n

Did you know what you wanted to do when you entered law school?\u00a0 If not, how did you decide? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When I started law school, I was not aware that being a local government attorney was even a career path. I knew that I wanted to practice civil law and that I wanted to be as much of a general practitioner as possible. I enjoyed the idea of being able to work on a variety of legal issues rather than limiting myself to one particular area of law.<\/p>\n

Law school and the Career Development Office helped me narrow my focus and identify the things that mattered most to me in a career. I ultimately realized that I wanted a practice that would allow me to use a broad range of legal skills, work on interesting and practical legal problems, and serve my community. That led me to a summer internship with the Henrico County Attorney\u2019s Office during my 2L summer.<\/p>\n

That experience was invaluable. I was able to research legal issues that mattered to the community and present my research directly to a county official. More importantly, I got to see firsthand what it was like to work as an attorney advising a local government. I was hooked on this area of the law.<\/p>\n

After law school, I clerked for the Judges of the Henrico County Circuit Court. The clerkship was an excellent opportunity to see a multitude of different areas of legal practice and to develop my legal research and writing skills. It also gave me a better understanding of how litigation and legal disputes look from the court’s perspective. Ultimately, though, the experience brought me back to my interest in local government law. Fortunately, I was able to secure a position with the Henrico County Attorney\u2019s Office and transition there when my clerkship ended. Looking back, both experiences were important in helping me understand what type of practice I wanted and ultimately led me to where I am today.<\/p>\n

What courses would you recommend?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most beneficial classes for me were my clinic and my contract drafting class. Both gave me an opportunity to move beyond simply learning the law and to think critically about how attorneys use those skills in practice.<\/p>\n

My recommendation to students is to focus first on developing strong legal writing skills and then take as many clinics and externships as you can. Those experiences provide an opportunity to work directly with attorneys, apply what you are learning in the classroom to real-world problems, and develop practical skills while you are still in law school. They also give you an opportunity to build relationships with practicing attorneys and expand your professional network.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give students applying for a job in your office?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As the intern coordinator for my office, I can say that the things I am looking for in interns are a love of learning, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine desire to help their community. You do not need to come into an internship knowing everything about local government law\u2014in fact, we expect that you will have a lot to learn. What stands out is someone who is willing to ask questions, take on new challenges, learn from feedback, and take an interest in the work they are doing.<\/p>\n

I think those qualities are important not only when applying for an internship, but throughout your legal career. Particularly in local government practice, you will encounter legal issues that you have never seen before. Being comfortable learning something new and figuring out how to apply the law to a practical problem is an essential skill.<\/p>\n

I would also encourage students interested in local government law to take advantage of opportunities to attend networking and professional events hosted by organizations such as the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia. These events are a great way to meet attorneys from different localities and learn more about what local government practice looks like outside of your own experience. You never know when a conversation at one of those events will turn into a future mentor, colleague, or job opportunity.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give students on leveraging the Richmond Law network?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Do not hesitate to reach out to alumni who work in an area of law that you think you may be interested in. The Richmond Law alumni network is a tight-knit group, and alumni are generally very willing to meet with students, discuss their career paths, and share what they have learned along the way.<\/p>\n

Students sometimes feel like they need to have a specific question or a specific job opportunity before reaching out to someone. I don’t think that is necessary. If you are interested in a particular area of practice, reach out and ask someone about what they actually do, how they got there, and what advice they would give someone starting out. Those conversations can be incredibly helpful in figuring out what you want to do.<\/p>\n

I would also encourage students to view their network as something that grows over time. An alumnus you meet as a law student may introduce you to another practitioner, help you understand a particular area of practice, or become a professional contact years down the road. Who you meet and connect with through the Richmond Law network can only help you, so take advantage of the opportunity while you are in school and continue to maintain those relationships after graduation.<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0Sara Maynard | LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> to learn more about Sara Maynard (L’20).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tell us about your current role. I am an Assistant County Attorney for Henrico County. The County Attorney\u2019s Office serves as an in-house law firm for Henrico County and its various boards, commissions, and agencies. When your client is a large locality like Henrico, no two days are exactly alike. Depending on the day, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6951,"featured_media":3371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29934],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-from-students-and-alumni"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6951"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3370"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3374,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370\/revisions\/3374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}