By Lindsey M. Welfley

Background

This year’s Outstanding Young Lawyer, Hannah Andazola, is continuing her family legacy in the legal profession as a fourth-generation attorney. Hannah was born in Seattle, but raised in Boise, her mother’s hometown. Both her mother and father attended law school at the University of Washington, then practiced law in Seattle, until relocating back to Boise when Hannah was three years old. Hannah graduated from Boise High School and continued to Gonzaga University to get her bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations before returning to Boise for a graduate program at Boise State University. She graduated with her master’s in health science with an emphasis in health services leadership.

In addition to Hannah’s parents, her maternal grandfather and great-grandfather were both attorneys. Considering her family’s history, a career as an attorney had always been on Hannah’s radar and she felt her graduate studies would pair well with a law degree. She attended the University of Idaho College of Law, graduating in 2018, and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar later that fall.

Career

After law school, Hannah was hired at a firm where she practiced medical malpractice defense. She quickly realized that she much preferred to be on the proactive side healthcare matters and didn’t find the courtroom to be a natural fit. She notes, “I think there are some people who just are natural litigators, and others who aren’t. I wasn’t in that group and that’s okay with me.”

Ready to make a pivot, Hannah heard about Smith + Malek from her dad and he encouraged her to consider joining their growing healthcare practice. Hannah started with Smith + Malek in January 2019, where she has been ever since. She started with a general civil and business litigation practice, but by 2020 had transitioned to working in the firm’s healthcare team full time.

Role Models

Throughout her life, Hannah has looked to her parents as roles models, especially after having her first child. She comments, “They showed me how to juggle being a good lawyer and an involved parent.”

In this same line of thought, Hannah expresses her appreciation for her colleagues at Smith + Malek. She highlighted that everyone she works with is supportive of the culture of balancing work and family. Hannah looks to those around her at work and can see colleagues living the example of healthy work-life balance. She emphasizes the encouragement she finds when she can observe her colleagues and think to herself, “You are doing so well at both of these things [maintaining a practice and being a mom], it is totally possible.”