If you need help researching anything about the law, Margi Heinen is a person you want in your corner.
Heinen, a research specialist at Sherman & Howard, has been at it for more than 40 years. She discovered her love of legal research when she was in library school and never looked back.
“Law librarianship really just resonated with me and it seemed like a terrific section of librarianship that I wanted to do more of,” Heinen said. She began her career working at a law school in Michigan and was eventually recruited by a law firm.
Heinen has worked over two decades at Sherman & Howard and does everything from research for attorneys, monitoring updates in the law and finding sources that are difficult to track down. With all these duties, she gets to work with everyone at the firm including those in the records department and more than 160 attorneys.
“When you get to work with people who are so intelligent and the firm itself has a strong emphasis on inclusion and equality and we work together really well and that just makes the workplace terrific,” Heinen said.
Heinen noted in her profession, one can never become stale and persistence is key.
“When I started doing librarianship, we were doing everything in print,” she said. “Now almost everything is online so the arrangement now to get resources is information systems. … So we’re constantly learning about the information systems, how to make them work and then how to teach the usage to attorneys and staff.”
She added currently Sherman & Howard has a small row of shelves filled with legal books because almost everything is online now. Heinen said for a long time, law firms preferred print because it can be easier to read, but over the past five years, the pressure has been to go online even more. The pandemic also made that push even stronger.
“Over the last two years it’s just been an enormous change,” Heinen continued. “Prior to that, there was pressure and changes were being made, but it really accelerated the last couple of years.”
What helps Heinen in her research process is taking careful notes. Another tip she received early on in her career is not giving up when you’re trying to find information. The network of legal librarians around the nation are also a resource Heinen taps into.
“One has to reach out when you get stuck,” Heinen said. “Across the country … we have a great network of law librarians. So sometimes when you reach a roadblock and you think, oh I’m going to have to tell this person I can’t find it … reaching out to one of these colleagues in our network is just a fantastic resource because somebody else may have stumbled on this same problem and has a way to help me through it.”
She said one difficult part of the job can be working with such diverse practice areas. With some tough spots, there are also some very proud moments for Heinen.
“I think the proudest moments really are when attorneys here at the firm send me a compliment,” she said. “When people recognize what you’ve done and are willing to maybe send an email to your supervisor or to the HR department … that is just wonderful to me because it means that I’m doing the job that we need to do.”
Heinen was also complimentary of everyone she works with at Sherman & Howard saying they work well together as a team and focus on how they can fix a problem rather than pointing fingers.
Mark Williams, an attorney at Sherman & Howard, nominated Heinen for this honor and provided an example of when Heinen went above and beyond her duty.
“We needed to get ready for a preliminary injunction hearing and within less than a working day she helped us find all of the [law] needed, compiled dossiers on all witnesses and the judge, researched and obtained orders form the presiding judge on similar issues all so we could get prepared,” Williams wrote. “Her work was invaluable and we won! The speed, quality, and thoroughness helped us so much. She is a lifesaver!”
Williams added her attitude toward her work makes her stand out.
“Margi never says ‘no’ or ‘it can’t be done [or] found,’” Williams wrote. “Rather, she says ‘let me see what I can come up with.’ That attitude allows her mind to free up and to be creative to find out as much law and information needed.”
Heinen added she’s able to offer a researcher’s and librarian’s perspective, leading her to see a wider picture and offer an understanding of publications and resources beyond basic legal ones.