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By Anna Sago
Growing up, Hope Adamson has always had a close relationship with her dad, Chuck. It’s a relationship that only deepened after Hope, then a political science major at the University of Missouri, asked to shadow the elder Adamson, who heads the employment trial division at the Missouri Attorney General’s office, during a trial.
“She comes out to this trial that ran six, seven days … so this was a long civil trial,” he said. “She saw everything … and at the end of it, her mom said, ‘Hope wants to talk to you.’ And I said, of course. Hope came to me and said, ‘Dad, I want to go to law school.’”
For Chuck, a journalist-turned attorney, it was exciting news.
“Law school has been a blessing, I know to her, certainly to me,” he said.
That news only became more exciting when Hope, who is now a 3L at Mizzou Law, decided to pursue a student position with the newly relaunched and renamed Child and Family Justice Clinic — the same clinic where Chuck practiced when he was a student at Mizzou Law.
For Hope, who was choosing between that and the Criminal Practice Clinic, her dad’s story had an outsized influence on her desire to enroll.
“I was looking at this clinic, in part because my dad told me he had a great experience there,” she said. “He was talking about how he had clients he was helping, and it sounded really good.”
Though Chuck has since moved away from practicing family law, his time in the Family Violence Clinic helped him prepare for a career as a litigator. It’s a skill that Professor Emerita Mary Beck, who ran the Family Violence Clinic during Chuck’s time as a law student, saw in him almost immediately.
“I specifically remember Chuck because he was nice, hard-working and capable,” she recalled. “I’m thrilled to see former students as judges, prosecutors, military lawyers, public defenders, in private practice, et cetera.”
For Hope, also an aspiring litigator, the draw is the same: The opportunity to be in court. Though it’s early in the semester, the younger Adamson has similarly caught the attention of Professor Danielle Dodd, who has directed the Child and Family Justice Clinic since it reopened in Spring 2024.
“Hope is doing great,” she said. “She’s currently working on two cases, with full representation. Along with this, she’s working within the community to connect the clinic with other organizations that serve our population.”
Working with clients is also a priority for Hope.
“A large reason why I wanted to do this clinic is because I wanted to get more experience talking to victims and just seeing that side of things,” she said. “I think that this clinic was going to be a good way to do that. I want to be the most sympathetic, caring person that I can be.”
For Beck and Chuck alike, it’s a full-circle moment.
For Beck, it’s one of gratitude, that makes her “a bit tearful, even.”
For Chuck, it’s one of pride.
“She has a similar brain to mind in terms of what drives her and what interests her, very similar personalities,” he said. “So, yeah, I think law school has brought us closer.”