Meet your newest YLS member: District 1
The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section (YLS) works to facilitate the professional growth and public service of new and recently admitted Missouri Lawyers. The YLS Council is comprised of approximately 35 lawyers who are elected to serve two-year terms from districts across the state.
Maggie McConville was recently appointed to fill a vacancy and represent District 1 on the YLS Council. District 1 covers the northwest corner of Missouri and includes 16 counties.
McConville received her law degree from the UMKC School of Law in 2022 where she served on the board of several student organizations. After graduation, she returned to her hometown of Chillicothe, Mo. and joined Chapman and Cowherd. P.C. where she practices in several areas including family law, business law, probate and estate planning, bankruptcy, and real estate law.
McConville answered the following questions to help her constituents get to know her.
What are you most looking forward to in your role as a YLS Council member?
“I am looking forward to meeting and working with attorneys in their early legal careers from all over the state. YLS provides opportunities for new attorneys and services to the citizens of Missouri. I am excited to be a part of that. I am honored to represent District 1, and I hope to encourage other new attorneys to practice in rural communities like mine where we are always in need of legal representation.”
What made you want to be a lawyer in the first place?
“My parents have been telling me most of my life that I would make a good attorney. But I wanted to make sure that it was something I really wanted to do and not what I thought they wanted. I spent a few years after undergrad working in tourism and then I became a substance abuse counselor in a women’s prison. Working closely with those clients was one of the best experiences of my life. I realized I wanted to be helpful to them before they reached the prison system. Obviously, these women had criminal law matters, but many of them also struggled with issues related to family law, civil litigation, bankruptcy, and probate. I think that was the moment I decided I wanted to become an attorney.”
Who is your personal hero?
“My personal hero is my Mimi. She was an elementary school teacher, so that alone makes her a hero! But she also gave the best advice, and it is advice I still live by today. When I was little, she used to tell me that no matter how I felt about someone or how my day was going that I should be kind to others and always give them a smile. She would say that you never know what someone else is going through and your smile might be the best part of their day. I have really tried to use that life lesson in all that I do, and I think that is a great way to empathize with my clients. Everyone has a bad day here and there and some are worse than others. Many of the legal issues we assist our clients with are emotion driven and sometimes as the attorney we need to be the calming force that reassures them and supports them no matter the outcome. Even more so, I think this lends itself to how we as attorneys believe all people deserve representation despite any alleged guilt. I appreciate her advice and she will always be one of my personal heroes for the lessons she taught me.”