Copyright Austin Daily Herald
It’s been something of a winding path through life for Emily Toland, an attorney at Adams, Rizzi & Sween Attorneys at Law here in Austin. Born and raised in Mankato, Toland was initially landing work in the political spectrum of professional life after graduating from Minnesota State University Mankato when she took a job in Madison, Wisconsin. There she spent 15 years at the Wisconsin state capitol, garnering experiences and talents that would come to be used in a different arena — law. “I considered going to law school even back in my early 20s,” Toland said. “I didn’t know what kind of lawyer I would want to be.” Things changed in her early 30s when a pair of events happened that helped wind back into a new professional life as an attorney. Professionally, Toland said she was looking for something different and was thinking again of a law tract. However, her decision was also colored by the loss of a close family member. “All of a sudden I was kind of the client before I was the attorney because I had to navigate through all of that,” Toland said, explaining that it gave her a window into what a good lawyer can do for people. “It was a good way for me to say this is the right time. I think I will take all of this life-time experience and use it for something good.” Toland went to law school in 2016, attending the Marquette Law School located in Milwaukee. The three-year program would go on to prove to Toland that practicing law was a self-confirming act and that she took special satisfaction in helping people by navigating them through a legal landscape across a number of areas, including real estate, family law and probate and estate administration among others. While settling into her new professional life, Toland knew she didn’t want to live in Wisconsin. Instead she felt the pull of coming back to her home state where she had family, moving first to La Crosse, Wisconsin before meeting her husband, Nathan Toland, and moving to Austin where she’s been living and practicing law for three years now. Even though she came to the world of law a little later than most, Toland is convinced that being able to build the life experiences she did prior to the switch went a long way in helping her get to where she is now. “For me I think it helped a lot that I was a little older,” she said. “Definitely, that’s probably one of my main take aways. Having a little bit of life experience, whatever direction you decide to go, is a good thing. It took away maybe some of that fear of failure for me.” A large chunk of her work is centered around estate planning, that includes wills, power of attorney and medical direction. She also spends time in outreach within the community. Toland said that while the work can often be challenging because she’s working with people and families in sometimes difficult circumstances, it’s also immensely rewarding. “It’s heart-wrenching work sometimes,” she said. “It’s gratifying, though, because you can really make a big difference for people in what is really a difficult moment.” And that’s a big part of why being an attorney has been so rewarding for her. The personal aspect and she goes out of her way to ensure that she is someone that not only can lead people through the legal hoops of a particular situation, but that she can do it in a way that is caring and trustworthy. She said that that side of practicing law is just as important as the law itself. “That counseling or therapy side of it is an important part of it,” Toland confirmed. “People can’t really work on the nuts and bolts of it sometimes until they talk through the feelings and emotions.” Toland credits the mentors she’s had in her life and in recognizing that aspect has done what she can do to give back in the same way. She currently is a part of the Mower CEO Program as a mentor for young entrepreneurs taking part in the initiative as well as spreading the word of just how satisfying being a lawyer is. “Absolutely, it can be a very rewarding profession,” Toland said. “I think it’s gratifying so long as you don’t sugar coat it. It’s a lot of work, long hours. I tell them to explore it. It’s never too late.” Having been a practicing attorney for the better part of 10 years now, Toland is absolutely convinced that it was the right decision and that there is no time for looking back. It’s at this point where once again she looks back to those experiences that brought her to this point. “Probably most of all of my life experience helped prepare me for it,” Toland said. “It gave me such a heart for this business. I’m so gratefully really for the opportunity to be able to plug into a place in Austin that has been such a welcoming community.”
