I Get Paid To Do This?

In general, the work that I do on a daily basis isn't glamorous. Forget everything you have seen on television about the life of a lawyer. Television lawyers talk - they argue with opposing counsel in the courtroom, in the judge's chambers, in their office, in opposing counsel's office, they argue with each other, etc. Real attorneys don't actually do that much talking - even, if not especially, the litigators. What we do is read a lot and write a whole lot. We hardly ever get to appear in a courtroom, and even then it is often just for a minute or two so the judge can ask us if we want a continuance (yes, we always want a continuance). We do wear suits . . . but usually only when we have to appear in court, which again, isn't very often.

So my day to day job is often rather tedious - an exercise in staying on task and paying attention to detail. I'm not crafting new constitutional norms or harassing a witness on the stand until they break down and confess. (Trust me, no one was more disappointed than I to learn that this was not normal, everyday behavior.)

But the firm that I work for is pretty generous, and part of that generosity is allowing us low-level associates to do a lot of pro bono work -- unlike some firms, there is no limit on the number of pro bono hours that count toward our yearly billing requirement -- and there is a lot of very interesting pro bono work out there if you want it. I have done, and continue to work on, quite a number of different pro bono matters - assisted a client in obtaining an order of protection against an abusive ex-boyfriend, helped an immigrant who fled from a small African country in order to protect herself and her daughters to navigate the bureaucratic nightmare that is our immigration system and gain asylum status here in the United States, helped another immigrant who was denied adequate medical treatment while in custody seek redress from the people in charge who should have known better, and others. But this year I've had one big pro bono case that has dominated both my time and attention.

It is a criminal appeal before the Seventh Circuit. I was assigned by the Court to serve as the attorney for a man convicted of felony possession of a firearm. It's a relatively simple and straightforward charge, but the facts of his case and his trial were anything but simple and there were actually a number of issues to explore in his case and a strong argument to be made that the handling of his trial had been unjust. Over the course of about six months I -- with great help from some more senior attorneys at my firm -- scoured the record, met with the client (in a very John Grisham-esque scene at the Terre Haute federal facility in Indiana), and put together a brief to the court laying out our arguments for why my client deserved a new trial. The government put forward their response, and we countered with our own reply. -- See. Lots of reading and writing.

Yesterday though . . . yesterday was oral argument. Yesterday, I got to be Perry Mason, Jack McCoy, Eugene Young, and maybe just a touch of Cousin Vinny thrown in for good measure. Oral argument is where myself and opposing counsel go before the three-judge panel who will decide the case and who have already read our briefs, and present our best 10 minute argument for why we should win and the other side should lose. I've been told that you rarely win a case on oral argument, but that its entirely possible to lose one there.

Argument went well. I served my client, and made a good case for his interests. The weeks before were filled with an incredibly amount of stress for a 20 minute total performance, but . . . I must admit . . . it was also a heck of a lot of fun.

So today I'm back, reviewing draft pleadings and reading cases for a memo that I have to write - not very dramatic. Yesterday, though, . . . yesterday was all about the drama. More please!

To be reminded...

. . . of why you miss where you came from, and why you love the new place where you are. Spent a weekend back in Washington here just a little bit ago. The first of what will hopefully be many annual get-togethers of the Livingston siblings. The two hour time difference did wonders for my ability to get up early and do a little photography before the day got going in earnest. It was cloudy and gray almost the entire time I was there - iconic Western Washington weather. I hadn't realized how much I've become accustomed to the landscape and foliage of the Midwest. Wandering the fire roads near my parent's place really did feel like reacquainting myself with an old friend. It's gorgeous county, but not without it's flaws and idiosyncrasies - just like Indiana and Illinois. I loved the trip and had a great time getting back up to speed with the family. I'm looking forward to the next time. But I have to say that -- for the first real time since I've moved from the West to the Midwest -- stepping out into that hot, humid morning at O'Hare didn't feel like walking into some curious and alien place - it felt like coming home.

Not exactly a surprise...

So I took the little quiz noted below to tell me what type of liberal I am, and apparently I'm a liberal elite. Who knew?

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Gotta Love This Town...

... even when it is colder than snot!

The Joy of Being a Stub...

So, when exactly do I get to start feeling like a real lawyer?

Been a few months now at the new job and haven't had much of anything that a marginally qualified administrative assistant couldn't handle. With a handful of exceptions, projects have either been thin or just lots of tedious detail work. The majority of my assignments have just been tons of proofing. Feels like being on law journal as a 2L all over again... except the copy I'm proofing is a lot more mundane now than those articles were back then.

My firm works on a regular year cycle (January through December) for advancement and pay/bonuses. The billing requirement doesn't really kick in until January, so any time we bill now until January 1st doesn't really "count."

In theory this is a good thing: you can take it easy, only take on projects that you are really interested in, and have nights and weekends free for the life that will be abruptly taken away from you once you have to start scrambling to get hours to keep up with the billing requirements. In practice, however, it becomes sort of an odd high-wire act. Everybody knows what is expected of us come January 1st, but what is expected of us until then is much less clear. Are we really supposed to act like our hours don't matter, or are only those of us who manage to bill like crazy going to be picked for projects come the time it really matters? If we don't have anything, is it really okay to leave at 2:00 to go home and pet your cats?

My firm is actually pretty good about this (as I'm continually finding out it is about most things). Nobody is going around checking your desk at 6:00 p.m. (or 2:00 p.m. for that matter) to see if your there, and, while they of course want you to be willing to help out if you can (gotta be a team player!) they also really seem to want you to go out and enjoy yourself if you really don't have anything to do. Oddly, just about the time that I figured this out, my work schedule filled up and I ended up spending several late nights and one weekend banging away at projects while more senior attorneys shook their head. They "had" to be there, what was my excuse? But now that's done and I'm back to doing next to nothing. Well, at least there is another couple of weeks to enjoy being slow. Once the new year hits, being slow won't be fun anymore.

Lovely, Lazy Thanksgiving

Chilling at home. Dinner with friends later.