Lawyer, Author and Lecturer

Since graduating from Bates as an economics major in 1963, Steve Goddard has successfully enjoyed what can be considered four different careers. He cultivated his interest in journalism through a summer newspaper internship at the Hartford Courant and through two years of full-time work at the Lewiston Daily Sun while at Bates. These experiences led him to a career as a professional journalist in Hartford, Connecticut. However, after ten years Steve became frustrated with the required objectivity of journalism, and therefore began his legal practice in 1973. Through law, he hoped to become more of an victim's advocate. During the 1990's, Steve launched his writing career, publishing two books on transportation in the United States. Although Steve still enjoys practicing law and writing, he also has a third job. He also currently teaches history at Trinity College, and has previously taught at the University of Hartford.

Steve advises that students interested in a legal career take a wide variety of courses. He claims that a liberal arts background is excellent preparation for a legal career, as it helps broaden one's knowledge base. Steve feels that this comprehensive educational background will make students stand out, and allow them to be more effective in negotiation. Regretting his own decision not to pursue debating under the legendary Brooks Quimby, he recommends that future lawyers join the debate team as another way to hone their negotiating skills.

According to Steve Goddard, a good lawyer possesses strong organizational skills, seriousness of purpose, and the ability to think logically and sequentially. He says that someone who is serious and diligent will succeed in law over someone who is a disorganized genius, simply because organization is so important in the legal world.

Steve also suggests that students gain experience in their field of interest while they are still in school, be it through internships or employment. He can personally attest to the value of such experiences. His time at the Hartford Courant and Lewiston Daily Sun roused a love for journalism that carried him through the first decade of his professional life.

In fact, Steve has now returned to pursue his writing interest after a twenty year hiatus. He has written two books and is currently finishing the third. His interest in writing began with his Bates senior thesis. His economics thesis was on 'why the nation's railroads had imploded just as the interstate highway came into being'. Steve feels that writing this thesis was one of the best academic experiences of his life. He remembers thinking that it would make a fascinating book, but fresh out of college, he needed to focus on building a career and raising a family before he could get back to writing. Thirty years later, he finally had the chance to write Getting There, his first book on transportation in the United States. Most recently, in 2001 Steve received the $10,000 second prize worldwide in a writing competition sponsored by The Economist magazine

and Shell Oil Corp., among more than 1,000 entries from 80 nations.
When asked how he manages to balance his three professions, Steve replies with "writing is my golf". He views his writing as a recreational activity, not as a job. He says that while other people go out on the golf course to unwind, he sits down and writes.

As far as the future is concerned, Steve plans to continue practicing law for as long as his health permits. He is also planning on continuing with his writing, possibly focusing on the legal profession, and perhaps even a historical novel of Hartford in the 19th century.