Jennifer (Flinchbaugh) Beidel, Esq.: Family, Agriculture, and the Law

Name: Jennifer (Flinchbaugh) Beidel, Esq.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her

Hometown & Current Town: York, PA./Fenton, MI

Graduation Year: BS 2003

Major(s) & Minor(s): BS Animal Science, Business option; Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Minor

Additional Degree(s) and Institution(s): J.D., Penn State Dickinson Law, 2006

Current Professional Title: Law Partner

Name of Employer: Dykema

Brief Description of Your Role: I am a partner at Dykema Gossett PLLC, a 400-lawyer law firm. I am a litigator, focusing on white collar criminal defense work and internal investigations.

Why did you choose Penn State?

I grew up participating in the 4-H program through Penn State Extension. I did some on-campus activities like livestock judging and 4-H State Days. At the time, I thought I wanted to go to veterinary school, so Penn State was a very logical choice for me. In fact, I didn’t really consider many other choices. I really wanted to go to Penn State.

What clubs, organizations, or leadership roles were you involved in?

I was an Ag Advocate. I was also in Alpha Zeta, Block and Bridle, the Dairy Science Club, and on the Livestock Judging Team. I was also a counselor for the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences and a member of the Schreyer Honors College.

What inspired you to pursue your undergraduate degree?

It was partially my uncle, Barry Flinchbaugh, who was a Penn State alumnus. He also graduated from the College of Agricultural Sciences with a degree in animal science and went on to become a well-known agricultural economics professor at Kansas State. He traveled the world speaking and worked on Farm Bills with many U.S. Presidents and other politicians.  I saw the doors that a Penn State degree had opened for him and wanted to do the same.

The 4-H experience also provided me with exposure to all there is at Penn State, especially within this college, and that was really helpful as someone who didn’t have a parent or grandparent who had gone to college.

I knew that I was doing well enough in high school to go to college and that I wanted to focus on agriculture. That’s not something a lot of high school guidance counselors probably know a lot about, which is where being part of 4-H really helped.

What is a favorite Penn State memory?

I always had football season tickets as an undergraduate student. I loved going to the games with friends and being a part of that atmosphere. My dad and I have kept season tickets since then. Living in Michigan, I don’t get to go to every game, but it’s something nice to do as a family when we can. Now, we have some Penn State friends who have also moved to the Midwest, so we try to go to an away game as a group every year. It’s a nice way to stay connected to Penn State.

You mentioned you originally wanted to be a veterinarian. When did you decide to pursue law school?

I took an agricultural law class with Dr. John Becker in my junior year. I started out in animal bioscience and then I switched to animal science with the science option and then switched to the business option. Over time I realized the lifestyle of a veterinarian, specifically for large animal veterinarians, which is what I wanted to be, wasn’t going to be what I wanted to do.

At the same time, I took this agricultural law class, and it just clicked for me. Being a lawyer is good for my personality type – my mom would definitely tell you I’m argumentative. But, in Dr. Becker’s class it was the first time that a law career had ever occurred to me. I didn’t know any lawyers and had never considered the career path. Working through the issues and thinking and writing about them in that class made me realize that it was something I could do. Thankfully, my animal science advisor, Dr. Erskine Cash, was someone who was open to helping you figure out anything you wanted to do. Law school wasn’t something he was typically advising students about, but we worked together to figure it out once I decided that’s what I wanted to do.

How has your Penn State education influenced your career or life?

Having a science background has been helpful for me because legal writing and scientific writing are similar. You spot an issue and then systematically apply the law to that issue the same way you would go through the steps of writing a scientific research paper. With a lot of cases I work on and the internal investigations that I do, you’re going into businesses that are focused on science, engineering, or manufacturing. You must be able to understand and apply the law to those situations.

I have found having a different background than the more typical pre-law or political science has helped me navigate different types of businesses and cases. But that was not planned. It was a happy accident.

What are one or two of your proudest accomplishments in which your Penn State education played a role?

I once represented a client who was in the cattle industry. He was accused of a crime. In my opinion, his prosecution was politically motivated. The supposed victim of the crime had been heavily involved in the campaign of the sitting district attorney, and it really should have been a contractual dispute that should have been settled for money. However, this supposed victim used their connections to leverage the situation into a criminal charge that could have landed this person in jail. At the time I was representing him, his wife was pregnant with their first child.

The case went to a jury trial, and we were able to convince the jury that it really was an issue that should've been resolved over money. This wasn't a case where anyone had any criminal intent. He was acquitted and now he has four kids. His family sends me a Christmas card every year, and it reminds me that I really helped that family and impacted their lives in a positive way.

Being able to help people from all walks of life is something Penn State and the college instilled in me. Not all lawyers are used to dealing with people from different backgrounds, whether they be potential clients or juries. Having had different experiences than a typical lawyer has been really helpful when I think about talking to and influencing jurors and when I meet clients and witnesses.

You studied abroad in Australia as an undergraduate. What did that experience do for you?

It opened my eyes to what was out there. My family raised sheep when I was a kid and we traveled the east coast to show them, but that was the extent of my travel experience. We didn’t do international travel as a family.

Through that Australia experience, plus other trips with Block and Bridle and the Dairy Science Club, including a trip to Argentina, I just realized there’s so much more world out there and more to experience. It helped me gradually break out of my shell of being a first-generation farm girl from York and to learn how to communicate with people from all walks of life.

I think all of that got me to a place where I was able, when the opportunity presented itself, to go live in New York City and be a prosecutor. If I hadn't taken those gradual steps over time, I don’t know that I would have had the confidence to do that. When I was a prosecutor, I traveled internationally for my job and still travel a lot for work. When I look back to who I was when I started my Penn State journey, it is hard to believe all the places I’ve now been.

What has been the best advice you've ever received?

I think realizing you can't plan or control everything. You just need to make the best decision in the moment. That’s been my philosophy - trying to keep as many doors open as possible.

I thought I was going to be a vet, but then I decided to pursue law school. I thought I would stay in Harrisburg for my whole career, and then the firm I was working for had an office in Philadelphia, and it made more sense for me to go there to get more opportunities. Then, some colleagues encouraged me to be a prosecutor, and the opportunity was available in New York City. Then, during the pandemic, my husband and I moved to Michigan.

All of that changed my practice and life in ways that I didn't plan for, but I had laid the foundation to be able to take advantage of those opportunities when they presented themselves.

It's good to have a plan and have goals, but it’s even better to be open to other things that you never thought of. If you go through life being kind to people and leaving doors open, the choices will be there.

Why are you proud to be a Penn State Ag Sciences alum?

I am proud to have followed in my uncle’s example of being an Ag Sciences alum. He has since passed away, but we connected over that. I have also been able to help a lot of Ag Sciences alums who have gone into law or a similar professional career that maybe isn’t a traditional agricultural path. It makes me proud to have spun my animal sciences degree into something new and unexpected.