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What Type of Lawyer I'm Becoming...

-- By XochitlRodriguez - 26 Feb 2013

INTRO

The only way I can broach the subject of what type of lawyer I want to become is by considering what type of person I want to be. The two thoughts seem inexorably linked; my deliberations about what kind of lawyer I want to become are framed by my conception of where I want this career to take me.

THE IDEAL

As a lawyer, I see myself as someone who is independent and self-sufficient. As a lawyer, I see myself as someone who can make her way in the world with confidence and skill, able and unafraid to go after what she wants and needs. As a lawyer, I see myself as someone who can be counted on to solve a problem, and someone who enjoys the challenges and rewards that go with finding a solution. As a lawyer, I see myself as someone who is aware of the world around her, who is constantly learning more about it, and who is equipped with the power and skill to improve it. This is the type of role I see myself playing as a lawyer, and the type of person I’d like to become partly by fulfilling this role.

All of these ideals are connected to personal goals that I see the study and practice of law helping me to fulfill. So, I suppose I want to be the type of lawyer who uses the occupation to get where she wants to be – personally, financially, intellectually, and socially.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, IN PRACTICE

The next consideration is the more concrete one of how exactly this plays out in practice, how exactly I’ll go about becoming this type of lawyer and person. While I thought the most important step to take in this direction was figuring out what type of law to practice or where to work, I feel now that the best thing to do might be to simply put the above-stated ideals to practice. Thinking of the type of lawyer I want to become in terms of the type of person I want to be is crucial; suddenly, the choices I make about what exactly to do and what specific practice area to pursue become less important than why I’m pursuing that practice area or what I get from and how I approach whatever work I’m doing.

It feels a bit unsettling to be unsure exactly what I want to do within the practice of law, but I suppose I’ll just go after what interests me at the moment and what will help me to get the training, experience, and money I need right now, because these are my most pressing concerns at the moment. I’ll take opportunities in this light, using them for my purposes until they no longer have meaning for me and it’s time to move on. In a way, this approach feels liberating, and it feels closer to what the person I want to be would do.

MOVING FORWARD

My immediate goals, then, are to learn how to be a creative legal thinker and a better “strategist,” to get experience in the fields that interest me, and to make some money along the way. All the while keeping sight of myself as a person and being sure to develop and grow personally as well as professionally.

-- XochitlRodriguez - 26 Feb 2013

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