Pursuits of Happiness

• Citation: Vol. 49 No. 2
• Publication year: 2023
• topic: Business of Law,Entertainment Law,Civil Procedure

PURSUITS OF HAPPINESS Vol. 49 No. 2 Pg. 8 Vermont Bar Journal June, 2023

Interviewed by Kim Velk, Esq.

PURSUITS OF HAPPINESS

Kevin Lumpkin - The Puzzling Attorney

KSV: Hi Kevin - and thanks so much for agreeing to talk with us about your "Pursuit of Happiness." As you know, for this feature, we interview attorneys with interests outside of the practice of law that help keep them balanced or provide fulfillment. Lots of readers of the Vermont Bar Journal probably already know you for your work as a principal at Sheehy, Furlong & Behm in Burlington and as the immediate past chair of the VBA Young Lawyer's Division, but many others likely recognize your name from the crossword puzzles you create for each issue. I want to hear all about that, but let's start at the beginning. Can you tell me a little about your origins? Where did you grow up?

KL: Thanks for thinking of me for this feature! I am originally from outside of Albany, New York but bounced around a lot as a child before finding my adoptive, hopefully forever home of Vermont.

KSV: Did you have your sights set on being an attorney in your formative years? When did you get on on that path?

KL: I actually went into college thinking I would be a doctor since both of my parents are in medicine. Second semester organic chemistry really killed those dreams, and I found that I took much better to political science classes.

KSV: Where did you go to college and law school?

KL: UVM and Vanderbilt - I have at thing for V schools.

KSV: What brought you back to Vermont after finishing your JD?

KL: It was always in the back of my mind, but what really brought me back was the opportunity to clerk in our trial court system - first in Bennington and then in Chittenden and Addison.

KSV: Can you tell me a little about your early lawyer jobs?

KL: There's not much to tell - I got some...