As promised, here’s a glimpse into a student’s (Karin Lund ’12) Career Exploration in her own words…
I’ll be honest. When I first considered becoming a lawyer, I basically pictured myself being dropped onto the set of Boston Legal. William Shatner’s office was down the hall from mine, I had a secret crush on James Spader, and Candice Bergen asked me to second chair her next murder trial. Interning at Idaho Legal Aid this January was pretty much the same – minus the whole scenario of Boston Legal. I do not believe we will see the goings on at Idaho Legal Aid, the law office in which I interned, as the plot for a new primetime drama anytime soon. However, working at Idaho Legal Aid has inspired me to become a lawyer even more then Boston Legal initially did. Hearing clients’ stories and learning about how attorneys help people confirmed that i want to pursue a career in the legal field. My Boston Legal friends can stay on television; I’ll go into the real world.
The real world is pretty scary. On the first day of my internship, my supervisor Mike said, “Remember, Karin, being a lawyer is simple You just have to find the truth.” During my month at Idaho Legal Aid, I learned that finding the truth is rarely “simple.” Idaho Legal Aid is a nonprofit law firm that helps low-income and mentally ill clients with divorce, child custody, guardianship, housing, social security, and various other issues. The attorneys at Idaho Legal Aid work with these people everyday to try to solve their problems. The first client I met was a blind, mentally ill woman who wanted a divorce and custody of her children. I listened to her explain her situation to Mike for over an hour and took pages of notes. After she left, Mike asked me what the truth was in her case. As I paged through my notes, I realized I had no idea. He told me that we had to figure it out because no other lawyer would likely take her case and that it was up to us to help her. At Idaho Legal Aid, the clients rely on the attorneys to improve their lives. They do not have the means to solve their problems themselves and without help, they would lose their housing or their children or their income. Mike has an obligation to find the truth behind his client’s cases and represent his clients to the best of his abilities. No pressure, really.
My time at Idaho Legal Aid has taught me that being a lawyer is not as simple as wearing a nice suit and making an argument in a courtroom. As cliche as it sounds, lawyers change people’s lives. No matter the outcome of the case, the client’s life is altered in some way. I now understand that if I become a lawyer, I will essentially be the voice for someone facing life-changing circumstances. Being a lawyer is a career one should not take lightly. While Boston Legal may have sparked my dream to become a lawyer, I now understand the real, serious (but sometimes still comedic) side of the legal field and I am more passionate about it than ever. Law school here I come!