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| | | -- By Leyla Hadi - 25 Feb 2013 | |
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< | Questions and Answers at Interviews | | | | |
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< | I have been on a few job interviews for a summer position now. Why did you decide to go to law school? What type of law do you see yourself practicing and/or where do you see yourself taking your career? These questions require me to distort the truth when I respond, because the raw truth of those answers wouldn't be appropriate at a job interview. So, I say the truth, but in the best possible light. | >
> | What I Want
My career isn't the most important thing to me. I don't want it to be. But I want it to be important, and I want it to be meaningful, and I don't think I want to be "influential". | | | | |
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< | Why did you decide to go to law school? | >
> | I believe I have found the person with whom I want to walk through this magical and abysmal world; and so, to deal with the practical, real world stuff, I want to be able to make money so that we can live well. That includes paying off debt, which is something I've never dealt with before, and terrifies the crap out of me. That also includes the unconventional realities of a same-sex relationship: the $2400 fees for a three month "subscription" to a sperm bank which allows you to receive extensive details about the donor. The expenses that come with insemination.
I'll do what I have to do for a while to make money. I'll meet people to expand my network, I'll educate myself, and I'll question often and hard what I want, what I'm working towards, whether I'm happy, whether I'm helping the people I want to be helping, how I can take the next steps to get where I want to go. This semester provided me with enough education to know to be aware of the ways people are stunted and inhibited from networking and learning necessary skills to become independent lawyers. | | | Distorted version: I wanted to do something challenging with my career, but, being twenty-one, I wasn't sure what that was, and I didn't want to force myself down a particular route. People I spoke with advised me to consider law school, where I would be in a challenging environment that would open many more doors for me. So, I took their advice and took a year off in between to work at a law firm and see if I could see myself in the legal world. Turns out, I could. | | | Truth: I have no idea where I see myself taking my career; and I have no idea what type of law I see myself practicing. I want to figure it out, and the classes thus far have done little to help. Granted, there are a ton of resources here, from professors, to clinics, to courses. But how does any of it help me decide, help me with the choice? How will working at your firm this summer guide me? It won't. LGBT rights, immigration reform, criminal justice system reform, advocating against the death penalty, advocating for the legalization of marijuana, education reform, working with music leasing, bringing down evil corporations, working on US-Pakistan relations, representing the Lakers, representing celebrities, abortion… there is so much I am interested in but again, there's a gun to my head. I can't just jump from each area like I live in some kind of gargantuan legal rotational system. I have to go down a path. Even if I do end up working at a firm, how do I know where to go that will help me learn about any of the above? | |
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< | What I Want
My career isn't the most important thing to me. I don't want it to be. But I want it to be important, and I want it to be meaningful, and I don't think I want to be "influential".
The people in my life are more important. And naive as it may seem, I believe I have found the person I want to walk through this ridiculous and magical and abysmal world with; and so for me, to deal with the practical, real world stuff, I want to be able to make money so that we can live well. That includes paying off debt, which is something I've never had to deal with before, and terrifies the crap out of me. I'll do what I have to do for a while. And then, I can do some of the more interesting stuff, when I can afford to. But I have realized that meaning in my life will also, necessarily, derive from work. So since I am here, and I have two years to go, I better do what I can to figure it out. | | | How the Hell Do I Get There
I do have a general pessimistic attitude about the world, and do believe that forces of evil have made the world, and will continue to make the world, a very bad and sad place. But my last draft was defeatist nonsense, and I don't know why I realized that so soon after reading the comments, or why I had convinced myself of that for so long. I don't know as yet if I will actually accomplish change in the grand scheme of things -- if I will make an impact on the world at large, or at least, some part of the ridiculous system and structure through which we march on. But, I should do good, for a few people, for people who need it. I should because I believe in good, and because I will be in a position to do good. |
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