Crystle A. Watts

I’m Crystle Watts. I’m an attorney at Martin, Harding & Mazzotti in the workers’ compensation department.

I am from Middletown, which is in Orange County, New York. And I attended Middletown High School, and I went to community college there in Orange County for a few years. And thereafter, I transferred out to SUNY Buffalo and that’s where I obtained my undergraduate degree. I studied political science out there before coming back to Albany and going to Albany Law School. And after graduation there, I ended up at Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, and I’ve been there since.

I think I’m very lucky because in the work that I do, I’m able to meet a wide array of different people. You know, our clients from all walks of life, and no day is really the same, you know. It’s not just necessarily the research aspect of things which a lot of people think about attorneys performing primarily, but every day you’re interacting with someone new and getting to know them and their story. You’re able to, you know, provide them with some kind of guidance as to how, you know, this system works and and what they’re able to obtain, what their rights are, you know, what they’re entitled to under the law which a lot of folks unfortunately, don’t know because it’s a complex thing and it’s essentially written in a different language to some extent. So to be able to translate that to people and to ideally help them through that difficult time the best we can, that’s definitely a fulfilling aspect of my job.

When it comes to connecting with clients, I think the the most important thing is to let them know that we are there for them, that we are there to advocate for them. So I oftentimes try to ensure that the individual I’m speaking with understands all of their options. I think that’s a very important thing, you know. This person or their family has obviously gone through a difficult time, that’s why we’re having this conversation. So it’s not always something that we can understand as far as, you know, that difficulty that they’ve gone through, but to let them know that it is something that we care about, and to really let them know that we’re there to fight for them. So as best we can, get them everything that they’re entitled to and make sure that they understand how the system works and really get a good grasp on the different avenues and really what to expect through that process.