From being yelled at by a NBA trainer to becoming an U.S Attorney - Albert Chang

Albert is a U.S attorney with a passion for community service. He was the Editor in Chief of the Michigan State International Law Review and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Albert’s currently pursuing an LLM in taxation at NYU.

Albert is a mentor for our Porte Accelerator - a 1-year virtual program where you are paired 1-1 with someone like Albert to launch your own initiative. Apply and enrol for the program here.

What did coaching basketball mean to you? 

Growing up basketball meant everything to me. I attended Richmond Secondary School− a school with a dynastic history in B.C. basketball. Basketball was the one thing that helped me make sense of this confusing stage of life. I felt a sense of pride and responsibility as a player, but even more so when I became a coach. 

Beyond the sport, I wanted to make sure that we are leaving the next generation of players better equipped to handle themselves off the court. I took pride in mentoring the kids to help them succeed in the classrooms and with their personal relationships. Lucky for me, that’s exactly what I got to do.

How did you get yelled at by a NBA trainer? What did you learn?

At the time, I was getting ready for law school and figuring out what to do with my legal career. Because of my background in coaching basketball, I was curious about what type of jobs are available in sports law. A coach who is a good friend of mine thought it would be helpful to connect with a former teacher at my high school because that teacher went on to be the director of strength and conditioning coach for a NBA team (I won’t give away his name but I will say the NBA team won a championship some time recently). 

Some time during the call, I shared that my biggest fear is to get stuck in a job that I don’t like and wouldn’t pay well. There were a few seconds of silence before either of us said anything. Next thing I know he was yelling at me over the phone: 

I was shocked. I had just met this person over the phone not more than 10 minutes ago and he felt strongly enough to curse me out over the phone. I finished up the call and thanked him for his time. 

It took me a couple hours to realize that he was right. I was saying no to all these wonderful opportunities because I was afraid of the work. I thought I was too good for these experiences− the same experiences, mind you, that I would have dreamt of having before I got into law school.

He completely changed my mind. I then understood that every role contributes to the bigger picture and humility is crucial. You are never too good for anything and everything you do is an opportunity if you want to look at it as such. 

I ended up pouring all my time into my studies and took every opportunity I could, big or small. When I graduated, I was able to look back and say I am really proud of my achievements, including being able to serve as the Editor in Chief of the Michigan State International Law Review and graduating Magna Cum Laude.

As a lawyer what was the most impactful project/case that you’ve worked on?

The very first case that I got to work on myself was for an elderly couple had fallen victim to a Ponzi scheme. They were at risk of losing nearly $250,000—their entire life savings.  It took some time, but I was able to help them settle the case for a small fraction of their life savings.

I received a heartfelt handwritten letter from the couple expressing their gratitude.

What’s a “T” shaped lawyer and how does this concept apply to students?

A professor, who has been a mentor figure of mine, came up with the idea of the T-shaped lawyer. The idea is that lawyers in today’s age should have deep legal expertise (the vertical bar of the T) and a breadth of knowledge in other subjects that allows for collaboration (the horizontal bar of the T).

The fact that this concept is groundbreaking was very interesting to me. I’ve always thought that as a young attorney, your job is to find some legal field that you are good at and become great at it. But this concept gave me permission, in a way, to bring all the skills and expertise I’ve accrued in my previous life into this one to make me a better lawyer.

Words you would like to share to your future mentee?

Don’t be timid, be afraid of asking questions or push back when you think something is wrong. I’ve found there’s so much value to going back and forth between topics. I will push you to have these types of interactions because I make mistakes more often than I’m right.

Albert is a mentor for our Porte Accelerator - a 1-year virtual program where you are paired 1-1 with someone like Albert to launch your own initiative. Apply and enrol for the program here.