Skip to main content

Introduction to my self-published book, Rambler's Road to the Law


People will tell you where they've gone
They'll tell you where to go
But till you get there yourself you never really know
– Joni Mitchell, “Amelia”
Long before the unemployment and economy crisis began, I never saw job security as a sure thing.  Maybe that’s because I began my legal career as a temp.  I grew accustomed to floating around, constantly experiencing different personalities and environments.  I somehow never entered a job envisioning it as my home for the next twenty or thirty years.  As a result of my rather nomadic career-style, I have had the benefit of learning from many different people. 


My working life began when I was about eleven.  I would mow our huge lawn and my dad would then give me $30.00 for an hour of riding lessons.  I also worked down at the local food Co-op to earn “work credit” to earn discounts off grocery purchases, as any customer could do.  The work credit could then be sold to others and this proved to be another source of riding lesson cash flow for me.

Through my combined experience in manual labor, food service, military and the law, I have experienced many different personalities, ways of thinking and doing things.  I believe these adventures eventually gave me a greater understanding of my legal responsibilities and overcoming the hurdles one must navigate on the way to becoming a lawyer.


Today of course, we have reached an economic climate which may cause job seekers to experience nomadic careers for a time, perhaps not by choice as I have.  I thought I was too good for certain jobs until a very wise friend of mine told me to get off my high horse.  I have always treasured his advice – though, as a result of his words I entered unfamiliar and scary worlds, I was also set free in many ways.

In writing this book, I hope to pass on some encouragement and lessons from my road to others seeking a legal career, whether that is as an attorney, paralegal, secretary, or file clerk.  In some positions, even attorneys may find that their responsibilities overlap with some of these legal staff.  You may start out as a support staff member, then move into another position, perhaps become an attorney.  Many of the concepts and experiences I share here relate to those of someone new to the legal industry or those of a young, inexperienced lawyer; however, there are techniques and nuggets which any legal professional or aspirant can take and integrate into their work, however it may suit them.  I share facts and hard-learned knowledge I wish I had known before embarking on my own voyage.

I also take into account the different circumstances law career seekers must face today, as opposed to what I experienced when I took my first paralegal job.  I recognize the harsh realities of the economy today and how it also impacts students’ ability to obtain educational loans.  Yet there are still many of us who experience that burning conviction that a legal career is our destiny.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.  You may just need more patience.  Of course most of us like instant gratification.  But you are not likely to find that kind of success in law school. 

For anyone looking to become a lawyer these days, an extreme amount of due diligence is needed.  A prospective law student should ask herself questions such as these: What kind of legal career do I want?  Do I want to make it into a top law firm and if so, am I willing to do what it takes to make top grades and obtain entrance to Law Review and Moot Court?  Is the big law firm life-style what I really want?  What can I do to start building my résumé before and while I’m in law school?  Do I want to have my own business and if so, what resources do I have to launch a business?  If I don’t have any resources now, what can I do to get them?  Do I understand just how much law school will cost?  How will I pay for it and how will that affect my life after I’ve finished school?

Ask yourself these questions, and more – all the questions you can think of about how to reach your goal in law.  And do it!  Also, life and career goals can often be moving targets, so what your goal is today may not be the case in five years, a year, or even less.  Much depends on whether you take the employee or business owner route.  Our school system doesn’t always tell you this – but this is a very important issue for you to consider.  To do so, you must educate yourself until all of your questions are answered.

Want more?  Buy full book at https://www.createspace.com/3683662!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Day 22 - Beck Diet Solution, Say “Oh Well” To Disappointment

Inigo Montoya: Who are you? Man in Black: No one of consequence. Inigo Montoya: I must know... Man in Black: Get used  to disappointment. Inigo Montoya: 'kay. The Princess Bride (20th Century Fox 1987) Just as Inigo shrugs off the disappointment of the Man in Black’s declining to reveal his identity and gets right back into the duel, so too must we shrug off those discouragements that go hand-in-hand with losing weight and keep truckin’ down the weight loss trail.   It’ll go easier for us if we do.  What if we just lay around bellyaching about how horrible it is that we can’t have that donut, can’t eat/drink exactly what everybody else does at parties, can’t just open the fridge and eat whenever we felt like it?  How much would we really accomplish that way?  Even if we do stick to our plans for a little while under that mindset, we’d be fighting an exhausting battle with ourselves every day and eventually give in.  Even the patience an...

Day 18 - Beck Diet Solution, Change Your Definition of Full

Sacha Chua via Flickr Naturally-thin people are usually good at the skill of eating to the point of normal fullness.  In general, this means being just as able to take a brisk walk after a meal as before the meal.  Eating past fullness doesn’t feel normal to thin people – it feels uncomfortable to them, says BDS.  But for people with weight problems, this overfull sensation may actually feel normal for a number of reasons – wanting to prolong the eating experience, taking advantage of food being around, wanting to load up to avoid being hungry between meals, and so on. If you’re worried about getting hungry before your next meal, just remember what we’ve learned about hunger – that it’s never an emergency and that we can withstand the sensations.  We have plenty of distractions and anti-craving techniques at our disposal to deal with cravings as well.  If you’re triggered to eat more because there’s food sitting around, like at a dinner or party, you c...

The Ogre

By Joseph Jacobs John Dickson Batten [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Shelley and I were friends almost immediately.  However her father did not like me.  The only reason I can imagine is that my family was too poor for him and that he did not consider me fit to be around his daughter.  Despite how her father felt about me, the moments when he was away at work as a lawyer, and when Shelley and I were together were the thrill of my life.  We did everything for fun, it seemed like there was nothing we couldn't do, no fun that we couldn't have.    Her house was an entire wonderland within itself.  An enormous granite-walled mansion, there were four floors of enchanting adventure for us.  The first floor held a kitchen where we made all kinds of goodies, an adjacent playroom where we played house, Barbie, watched "It's A Living," "Silver Spoons," "Small Wonder," "Dukes of Hazzard," "Laverne & Shirley," two mag...