Monday Profile: Betina Schlossberg

Schlossberg taught Legal Spanish and English for Legal Studies at the University of Michigan and studied and worked in South America and Europe, before deciding to pursue a legal career in the United States. She attended Wayne State University Law School where she became interested in immigration law. Since going solo in 2010, she has devoted her practice to Immigration Law and to assisting international clients whom she can counsel in Spanish, Italian, or German. Schlossberg is also a Mediator and a regular volunteer with the Dispute Resolution Center of Washtenaw County. By Jo Mathis Legal News Residence: Northeast Ann Arbor. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Achieving goals and generating new ones. What is your greatest fear? Failure What is the trait you hate most in yourself? Giving the impression I always have time. What is the trait you hate most in others? Giving the impression they never have time. Necessary extravagance? Taking a couple of long vacations a year and travelling. Each trip, I try to visit a place where I feel at home and a place where I had not been before. What is your most treasured possession? My upbringing and education What do you consider the most overrated virtue? The capacity to make money When and where were you happiest? I try to be happy everywhere, all the time. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My height. I'd be tall. Greatest achievement: Getting to be who I wanted to become. What advice would you give law school students? After five years in practice, your grades won't matter, but your professional performance will. Believe in yourself and be yourself. Never give up. What would your ideal job be? My current job: Practicing law from the heart to get good results for good people. What one thing you wish people knew about your work? How much I devote to each client: it takes obsessive attention to detail to make sure everything is perfect. What is something most people don't know about you? That I'm an introvert. If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be? My mother, my husband, and my son. Who is your favorite character of fiction? Maxwell Smart. Favorite words: "Please" and "Thank you." Favorite movie: BBC Planet Earth. Favorite drink: Water. Favorite place to spend money: Florence, Italy. What is your motto? The only negative experience is the one you did not learn anything from. Where would you like to be when you're 90? In this world. Published: Mon, Mar 19, 2012