Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

Part 6 - My Last Semester of Law School & Graduation

[Note:  I was going to include in this post today my experience in taking the Louisiana bar exam, but the post got too long.  So, I copied that material over to a draft of a new post for next time.  It was harrowing, so hope you'll stay on board and keeping reading.]

My last semester of law school was a bit easier school wise, but really hectic in every other way.  I was working mightily on my law review article, working sometimes long hours clerking and still sending out tons of updated resumes.  I spent a lot of time going by the career development office and scanning the bulletin boards for firms interviewing on and off campus.  I signed up for as many as I could and had the chance to interview with several good firms, which was exciting.  Making law review had given me a big boost.

I seemed to do really well in the interviews and felt good about all of them.

An aside:  One thing I had done earlier that third year was get my hair cut.  My boss, "Tim", was really blown away by my new look and thought it took 10 years off my age (I was now 47).  I don't know about that, but I felt more professional.  See below and judge for yourself - what do you think?

  Me & Tom my second year.

This is me at the end of my third year of law school.

Be that as it may, by the end of the semester after a good many interviews with firms and judges, I did not get one job offer to be an associate attorney, other than the one Tim made me to stay on with him at about a third to half less than most of the firms were paying and with no benefits, whatsoever. 

I've always firmly believed, although no one would or could say it, that I wasn't hired by any of the firms I interviewed with because of my age, despite my good experience (see my resume under the tab at the top of this page).  I mean, they could hire starving young associates who were practically half my age who could - and would - work the 60 to 80 hours a week it was probably going to require to learn the ropes, to keep up and to get ahead as a lawyer in a big firm.  I think I could have done it, too, at that time, but it would have been harder for me and the firms probably knew that.  I mean - let's face it - why hire someone older (they couldn't ask my age, of course, and I don't know how old they thought I really was - see above, what do you think - who has less work years ahead to get it all together, when you can hire someone really young and have them well on their way in a legal career by 30.   

More about that later - back to the story.

I had a while still to think about job offers because first I had to graduate, take the bar and pass it.

I didn't have much time to think about it, though, because the entire spring semester, besides everything else,  "Tim" was preparing for a big multi-party trial and I was deeply involved.  The trial was set and took place the entire week between the time school was out (the middle of May) and graduation.  As usual, I sat at Tim's table before the judge with all of the attorneys.  It was exciting working with him and being included in everything.  It made up for all of the long hours for months on end to get ready.

By the time the long hours every day before and at trial were over, it was time for graduation.  I was thrilled that my Dad, Mom and sister were able to come from Abilene, my daughter Rebecca and her husband and babies came from Dallas and my son Mark was there (one semester shy of his graduation from Mississippi State University).  Tom's daughters, Kristine and Kim, came, too, and it was a joyous time.

Here's Tom and me at graduation.

 

We had a big informal graduation party - an outdoor crawfish boil - that afternoon in Slidell in Tom's sister's big backyard and had a blast.  We invited our next door neighbors from our little duplex, friends from the newspaper in Picayune, and old time friends from years before.   We also invited new friends from my work with Tim and he and his wife came, as well.  

It had been a really tough three plus years, but I'd done it and survived intact.  In many ways, I felt I was a better person for having gone through so much, gotten more education and having had so many great new experiences.

But, there still was a mountain ahead of me to climb.  I had to intensely prepare for and take the Louisiana bar exam.  I'll share that experience with you next time.

To Be Continued . . .

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