Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway speaks to law students about her experience in public office. (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

Missouri Attorney General and former WashU board of trustees member, Catherine Hanaway, participated in a moderated conversation with WashU Law School Dean, Stephanie Lindquist, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom to discuss her recent appointment as Attorney General, Jan. 29.

The event was moderated by Adjunct Law Professor Oliver Roberts, who hosted Hanaway on a podcast for The National Law Review.

As the first female Missouri speaker of the house, first female Missouri attorney general, and first female managing partner at her law firm, Hathaway has been a trailblazer in the state. She said that leadership always came naturally to her.

“Pretty early on, I just couldn’t avoid leadership,” Hanaway said. “I don’t mean that in an egotistical way. I mean, when these people would ask for volunteers, it was like a genetic disorder, and my hand would go up. So I went to law school, thinking that I wanted to do something in public service.”

WashU Law student Adesola Orogade said that Hanaway has been very influential for her.

“It’s inspiring seeing women talk about themselves and inspire other people,” Orogade said. “ … it inspired me to learn more about people’s experience, because that helps me know that if they’re able to take risks, so can I, and so can other people.”

Hanaway also has a personal connection to WashU as a former member of the board of trustees. She told Student Life that being on the board has helped her understand better how universities run.

“I’m so much better informed that I would have been without that experience [being on the WashU board of trustees], and just smarter about how universities work,” Hanaway said. “And this one in particular.”

The moderated conversation covered topics from AI in law to partisan politics to Hathaway’s goals for her time in office. 

Both Lindquist and Hanaway acknowledged the importance of embracing AI as it begins to play a larger role in the field.

“I think that lawyers who know AI will replace lawyers who don’t,” Lindquist said. “Lawyers are not going to be replaced by AI.”

Hanaway continued with the same sentiment.

“I think [AI is] the future, and I do think that we can deliver better service to Missourians,” Hathaway said.

Lindquist also said that as the dean of the law school, she is trying to integrate AI education so that WashU law graduates are more prepared for this new world.

“I just decided that when I came on board that AI was going to change the way we practice law, and so WashU grads need to be at the forefront of that change,” Lindquist said. “We need to be on the crest of the of the wave, not scrambling up the back of the wave”

In a partisan position, Hanaway overcame challenges trying to work within the system.

“When you are in a partisan role, you need to come to expect that it’s kind of the occupation of half of the electorate to not like you,” Hanaway said. “But … criticism is really a gift if you can find the people that you think are credible sources.”

Hanaway said that her biggest goals in this position are decreasing violent crime, and she plans on doing this by ensuring there are regulations on what she calls the “vice squad.” This includes things like cryptocurrency ATMs, video lottery terminals, and legal substances concentrated to drug-like levels, such as Kratom and Hemp. 

“I’m concerned that if it continues to be that way, if we allow people to continue to just flagrantly violate the law, that we’re going to end up with real organized crime in the state,” Hanaway said.

She also discussed wanting to keep her identity as a practicing lawyer.

“I still want to be a lawyer,” Hanaway said. “I don’t just want to be a PR agent for the office [of the Missouri attorney general], even though, because we have a great communications team, I do spend a lot of time doing interviews and that kind of thing.”

In an interview with Hanaway, she told Student Life her goals for talking to the student body. 

“To inspire other people to go into public service, really is the bottom-line mission for me,” Hanaway said.

After the event, Lindquist told StudLife how Hanaway inspires her, too.

“[She] just decided what she was going to do, went and did it,” Lindquist said. “ … She’s fearless and not, not foolishly fearless in the sense of not appreciating risks associated with various things that you do, but she’s just fearless as a woman.”