Pool of Uncertainty (Bad First Draft)

-- By ChristopherWilds - 25 Feb 2013

I wasn’t certain about what kind of lawyer I wanted to be when I first decided to come to law school. In many ways I’m still not exactly sure where I want to be in five years; however, I am constantly learning about what kind of lawyer I do not want to be. The idea of “pawning” my license for the illusion of security definitely isn’t what I want to do with my legal career. So for me, a large part of my journey through my first year is finding out what I want to do (not just what I don’t.) Unfortunately, many of my first-year classes have been unhelpful in this pursuit. I want to have a positive impact on my community, to be able to support my family, and to become a role model for younger people. The question is how can I achieve all of these with my legal career?

Meaningful Work

The role that lawyers played in the civil rights movement sparked my interest in becoming a lawyer. The possibility of working towards something that I actually believe in seemed like the perfect way to lead a meaningful life. However, there is no job position entitled “Thurgood Marshall” or “Charles Hamilton Houston” so I have to determine what is the best way to work towards something that I feel is meaningful. Is it joining an established organization such as the American Civil Liberties Union or the N.A.A.C.P Legal Defense Fund? Does a position in those organizations mean I’m simply a cog in someone else’s machine? Does it matter if it’s a machine whose purpose I believe in? These are all questions that I will consider during my time in law school and throughout the early years of my career. Ultimately, I have to do something that I feel is worthwhile.

Financial Security

It is a common perception (and perhaps a reality) that jobs engaged in doing meaningful public interest work don’t pay well. See http://www.nalp.org/sept2010pubintsal. Although it isn’t something that I had given much thought when entering law school, or something that seemed to be given much attention by law school faculty, it may be a god idea to have my own practice at some point in my legal career. This would mean more financial resources but also more sense of ownership and accomplishment. The work would be mine. Like Robinson in Lawrence Joseph’s Lawyerland, I’d be able to avoid being used more than I’m willing to be used. Like many law students, a large student debt looms in the wake of my law school graduation. Although I don’t dream about owning large yachts and expensive Hublot watches See(Hublot Watch Price List), I would like to be able to support my family financially. Part of my journey in discovering what lawyer I want to be will have to take into account my ability to help my family financially, and although my decision will not be based solely on what decision gives me the most money, it is something that I have to consider.

Role Model

My last major decision is more about the person that I want to be rather than the career that I want to have. Growing up I didn’t know any lawyers personally. One goal for me is to be a mentor to younger members of my community. Part of me being a positive influence to young people means more than perpetuating the stereotype that all lawyers have money. It isn’t enough to show the youth that if they work hard that they can attain material things. Instead, I want the young people in my community to know that if they work hard, that they can change the environment in which they live. Therefore, I will have to lead by example.

How do I get these?

Considering all of these things that I want out of my future legal career, I am still left wondering how I accomplish all of this. It is clear that the options prevalent in the Columbia Law School culture won’t satisfy all of my desires. Joining a large law firm and “making money” just won’t cut it for me. Joining a well-known public interest organization could be partially satisfying but may not be quite enough. One definite floating in this pool of uncertainties is that along the way I will need to develop the skills to be a great lawyer, so that I have the option to choose a career path that I want to choose and not one that I must choose.

Professor Moglen frequently mentions that students should develop the skills necessary to earn a living as a lawyer, not through “pawning off” one’s license, but through establishing one’s own practice. I must admit that the sense of freedom and accomplishment that would come from having my own practice is attractive. It may be a possible solution to my yearnings to do meaningful work while also making enough money to support my family financially. There is a possibility that I am the lawyer of the future that Moglen speaks about only pawning off a share of my license to an employer, while reserving the rest for my own practice. Nonetheless, I have lots to figure out before I get where I am going.

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