July WLD Member of the Month: Monica McCoskey

Why did you become an attorney?

I did not start out planning to be an attorney. I was on a pre-med track, fully intending to become a surgeon. But as I shadowed in different specialties, I realized that the nature of surgical care, by design, is fairly episodic. There is no doubt the services and care provided by all of those doctors was incredibly valuable, but I found myself looking for something where I could walk alongside people over a longer stretch of time, through a problem that was still unfolding. Law scratched that itch in a way medicine did not. There is real intellectual rigor to it, and you get genuine problem-solving alongside your client, not just for them.

Over the course of your legal career, you have practiced in various areas of complex civil litigation and your current practice focuses primarily on business and real estate litigation. What do you like most about litigating? Do you have a favorite part of your job?

Litigation is a beast and many days I question why I chose to litigate. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) I thrive in the adversarial process.

If I had to pick a favorite part, it is probably the strategy of it. There is a chess-match quality to litigation, anticipating how the other side will move, finding the argument they did not see coming, or outworking them on the facts. Business and real estate were not necessarily where I expected to land, but the disputes are substantive, the stakes are real, and clients are counting on someone who is going to be fully invested from the first letter to the closing argument. That is exactly the kind of work I want to be doing.

You have been an active member of IndyBar, including the Young Lawyers Division and the Women in the Law Division (WLD).  What do you find most beneficial from your membership in the bar association?

Not being from Indiana originally, building a network outside of your immediate circle can be a real challenge. IndyBar makes it easier by hosting events that are already structured around connection, so it feels natural rather than forced. These events are also one of the few settings where younger attorneys can interact with judges and well-known practitioners in a genuinely casual environment, which is invaluable early in your career.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were starting out as a lawyer?

Confidence is most of the battle. The attorneys who appear most commanding in a courtroom or across a negotiating table are not necessarily the smartest people in the room, they are just the ones who have gotten comfortable with uncertainty and learned to project conviction anyway.

Who have been some of your female mentors or inspirations throughout the course of career?

Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff, who laid the foundation for my trial and oral advocacy skills in law school and has continued to show up for me at various career milestones since. When I think of what it looks like to be both brilliant and commanding, I think of her.

Judge Heather Welch. As a new attorney in Indianapolis, she took time out of an incredibly demanding schedule to talk candidly about navigating the profession as a young female lawyer. She consistently shows up for others, especially women, in the way she engages at speaking events and in the legal community broadly. She has a real gift for making people feel seen and heard.

I have been fortunate to be surrounded by several other trailblazing women in this profession and beyond who have cheered me on through the hardest stretches. Those women somehow manage to be exceptional lawyers, business owners, devoted mothers, and genuine friends all at once. I feel lucky just to know them.

And most importantly, my mom. She is the reason I never let being a woman in this field feel like a limitation. She taught me conviction and grit long before I ever set foot in a courtroom, and she is still teaching me that being a female in any room, in any field, is an advantage if you own it.

In addition to your professional commitments, you are also very engaged in the community. Are there any organizations or causes you are passionate about?

I am a volunteer and passionate advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This cause is deeply personal to me, having lost people to suicide. That loss stays with you forever. Mental health, despite so many dedicated efforts, remains taboo, especially in the legal profession. And the reality is sobering. Our profession has a devastating relationship with mental illness and the culture of toughness we cultivate does not always leave room for people to ask for help. My hope is that the legal profession continues to make the shifts necessary to create space for people to talk honestly about their mental health and to seek the care they need without fear of judgment or professional consequence.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Read, teach fitness classes at barre3, spend time with my friends here in Indiana, and get back to Michigan to see my family as often as I can.