Lane & Waterman is proud to welcome four new associates in the fall of 2020: Thomas Bush, Jenny Juehring, Austin Lenz, and David Waterman.

We sat down with each of them to learn a little about their interests inside (and outside) the field of law. First up is Thomas Bush.

Prior to joining the firm, Thomas worked at the Drake Legal Clinic in their transactional group. He also clerked for Paul Drey at Brick Gentry, P.C. Thomas received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Notre Dame in Political Science with a minor in Economics. Thomas received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Drake Law School. His practice focuses primarily on general transactional practice, including mergers & acquisitions, entity formation and governance, and tax. He also assists individuals with their estate planning needs including wills and trusts. Thomas also assists partners and clients with securities and intellectual property matters.

What was your favorite class in law school?
Food and the Law. Among other things, it was interesting to learn about and contemplate what role our government should play in informing us about food.

What is a book / podcast you’re into right now?
I recently listened to a podcast from the New York Times called Rabbit Hole. It’s basically about the rise of YouTube as a mainstream media source. The series focuses a lot on the algorithm YouTube uses to recommend videos to users. You might be surprised (or not surprised at all) about how manipulative it has the potential to be.

What is another career you would consider if not here practicing law?
I would love to be a business owner. Or a chef. Although, I’m sure I don’t fully appreciate the difficulty it takes to be either of those things.

What makes the area of law you hope to focus on attractive or interesting?
I was initially attracted to the transactional side of the law because of my interest in business. There’s so much that goes into running a company, and I enjoy learning about each small piece that helps drive everything forward. I’m also a very collaborative, solutions-oriented person, so I think it fits my personality well.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
This advice has probably been given to me in a number of different ways throughout my life, but ultimately it comes down to one phrase, “the obstacle is the way”. It’s very useful in helping me frame things I might be struggling with. This is also the title of a very good book by Ryan Holiday, so I hope I’m not violating any IP rights or anything.

Quick Round:
Law & order like shows – Yes or no?
I’ve never seen Law & Order so I don’t know. Not sure if this is similar, but my favorite show ever is True Detective (season 1 of course). Will report back when I watch L&O though.
Quad Cities style pizza – Yes or no?
Honestly, I feel pretty indifferent about QC Style, but if I had to choose, I’m going yes. Pizza is always pizza and pizza is good.
Oxford comma – Need it or lose it?
*Googles Oxford comma*. Need it. Definitely need it. We all need a little more commas to help our reading sometimes.