Today’s guest blogger, Sharon Calhoun, is a fifth-year litigation associate with Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg in Chicago. She is currently on sabbatical in South Africa.

During my fourth year as a litigation associate with Barack Ferrazzano Kirschbaum & Nagelberg in Chicago, I decided to seize an opportunity that few corporate attorneys will experience – to pursue a six month pro bono sabbatical in South Africa. This bold step in my career came about after I realized that I had an interest in human rights. As one can imagine, it is difficult to explore a new area of law while working full time for a law firm and I did not have an adequate outlet for exploring my new interest. Also, despite my curiosity for human rights work, I did not want to leave my law firm. A six-month sabbatical is a “happy medium” that allows me to remain with my firm while exploring my interest in public interest litigation full-time.

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