I paid
my annual bar dues about two weeks ago. A couple hundred bucks for absolutely nothing in
return.
I also
signed up for a mandatory ethics course. Again, a hundred bucks for nothing.
How
ironic I need to pay $100 to learn about “ethics” when I’m the one who is
getting fucked? I tapped into the five grand my law school gave me for that fake job thing they set up to pay these bills. (This fake job: http://cruxoflaw.blogspot.com/2012/07/strange-bedfellows-indeed.html.)
As I've said before on this web page and will undoubtedly say again many times in the future, an
update may be in order. My
total law related earnings for 2012 comes it at a grand total of $7,100.00. Run your head around that one a few times. I can honestly say that there was about $7k in income last year that is directly attributable to my having earned a law degree, getting the nod from the C&F folks, and passed the bar exam. Anything else I cobbled together had no bearing on my being an "attorney".
$7k.
To put that in perspective, I am in my early forties and was
making between $30k and $50k per year prior to law school. (That swing is attributable to my doing a few different things over the last decade.) Totally awesome. High five later.
As being an "attorney" is turning out to be right up there with ten miles of bad road, I have
begun applying for non-JD positions for 2013. A few thus far. I don’t know yet if my JD will prove to be
an asset or a liability. But, I’m leaning toward the latter. No interviews yet, but this is a recent development. I will try to share any developments either way on this blog.
I also began cold-calling local attorneys last month. Just flat out telephoning people out of the blue. One call led to a lunch meeting / interview. It lasted two hours. An offer of a part-time position doing research and writing for a small firm followed. I, of course, took it immediately without hesitation.
The job started last week.
So, I've got three things going on. First, I'm doing contract work for a criminal defense attorney. Basically, I'm doing legal research and writing motions. An occasional memo, and one court appearance. It's up and down. Some weeks I have two or three days to pull something together. Sometimes I have less than that, and I'm up working until two o'clock in the morning after making dinner for the family and getting the kids in bed. No matter how short the notice, I always say yes. Frankly, I'm afraid to say no. And, some weeks that attorney doesn't have a project for me. Like I said, it's up and down.
Second, I'm doing all kinds of odd jobs for another attorney related to a tort case. Some weeks I talk to a private investigator, do a little research, visit the courthouse, track down something or the other on the phone or internet. Whatever is asked, I just do it. This one is also up and down. Mostly down. Barely worth mentioning, actually.
And, finally, the part-time gig I started last week. It's looking to be about a twenty hour per week commitment. It may become more. We'll see. It is in an area of the law I pretty much knew absolutely nothing about until I jumped in last week.
I can honestly say that one thing law school taught me is that I know I can figure out an area of the law in a few short weeks. We did so semester after semester. New subject matter? No problem. So, thanks for that, law school. You're the tops.
That's it. That's what I'm doing these days. I'd like to be busier, but it's better than nothing. I am on track to match last years horrifically dismal $7k in law related earnings pretty quickly. So, I've got that going for me.
