Imagine yourself as the protector and defender of justice. Your voice and reasoning containing the power to determine one’s fate. Your job’s purpose to continue America’s legacy and what it stands for: freedom, justice and righteousness. Power emulating from the very words that you speak. Righteous fists and lecturing hand motions used to prove your point. The courtroom’s eyes all on you. Vigorous schooling and years of training has prepared you for the very moment. You are a big shot lawyer, locking up criminals and protecting the innocent. Making sure wrong doers are punished to the fullest extent of the law. People looking up to you as they look up to Superman. This is what I dreamed of becoming. No, not Superman, with his inside out underwear and tights, but a lawyer.

Being a lawyer seemed like the perfect job for me. A job of intellectual stimulation and the opportunity to help people, while earning lots of money. That’s my kind of job! I wanted to be just like Elle Woods, in Legally Blonde. In fact, I her imitated in 7th grade when we had a debate about the bomb-testing in the Marshall Islands. Oh, the intense, immense rush I got from standing there, in front of the class stating fact after fact to say hey, this bombing was not fair. My voice rang clear and strong as I talked about the audacity of the bombing. Then, I confidently looked my opponent straight in the eye and said, “Do you think with all these casualties, babies being deformed, people killed, that the bombing was worth it?” My opponent had to ask me to repeat the question seven times so he could stall and think of an answer. I knew then and there that I wanted to be a lawyer. Even others would recommend the job for me. My dad said I was stubborn enough and my coach said I should be a lawyer since I love to read and write. However, after my interview with Mr. Elton Au, a lawyer, I wasn’t so sure. He gave me lots of information, experiences and the revelation that I had a lot more to consider.

For one thing, I learned that being a lawyer isn’t as exciting as I thought. The first thing I asked Mr. Au about was what he does. Mr. Au is the Deputy Attorney General and does collection work for the attorney general. He collects unpaid hospital bills. He rarely goes to court and never has ongoing trials. He says his first day on the job was “basically reading the manual”. Beginning lawyers usually have to start work as being assistants before even being in the court and have to eventually move up. Other beginning lawyers sometimes work as an apprentice too. I guess one thing I never thought about was that being a lawyer can be pretty boring at times. I learned from Mr. Au that being a lawyer isn’t just the fast-paced excitement of a trial, but also the tedious work of an office.

Another thing to consider is Mr. Au’s best and worst experiences. He said his best experience was receiving awards. He received several awards like working for 20 years, performance awards and Team of the Year. It must feel great to work hard and get the recognition you deserve. From this, I concluded that being a lawyer, hard work does not go unnoticed.

Despite this, Mr. Au said the worst part of the job was dealing with difficult people. He works with debtors, and collects their tax refunds if they owe money to the government. Since he collects their tax refunds, they get extremely mad. They scream things on the phone like, “You can’t do that! I know my rights!” It must be very difficult to deal with such angry people. This is a very important factor to consider because I’m not sure I could handle people yelling at me. Also, Mr. Au said that some of his co-workers are hard-headed. Mr. Au said “you’re probably going to find this whatever you do.” So, I guess working with difficult people is inevitable. Lawyers also work with a lot of different people like judges, clients, and opposing defenders or prosecutors. A lot of these people are headstrong and I am very headstrong and stubborn myself, so I can imagine a lot of unpleasant experiences arising.

Another factor to consider is a lawyer’s immense schooling. Lawyers have to take a super hard test called the Bar Exam. It is a five day test that consists of written exams, oral exams, and multiple choice questions. Mr. Au even went as far as to call the Bar Exam, “murderous”. But before you can even take the Bar test, you have to go through high school, four years of college and three years of law school. According to Mr. Au, in the first year of college, “they kill you.” Hearing this really made me worried, especially because I’m already dying as a freshman in high school! Competition for admission to law schools is very intense. To get into a good school you have to score high on the LSAT (Law Schools Admission Test). This is super important because the top 10% of seniors graduating from the country’s best law schools get opportunities to work with well-known firms. Although the outlook for lawyers is about as fast as average now, competition for job openings is keen because a large number of students graduate from law school each year. So, if I want to be a lawyer, I have to be able to step up to the competition and educational challenge.

The last thing to really think hard about is the benefits and detriments of being a lawyer. A lot of this depends on whether you want to be a salaried lawyer or work in a private practice. For example salaried lawyers have structured work hours while private practice workers may work irregular hours to conduct research of confer with clients. Mr. Au said that the reason he became a salaried lawyer was so he could have regular hours. He decided this when he worked at a private firm one summer and was ready to leave at 5 o’clock when the boss called a meeting that lasted a couple hours. Becoming a lawyer means a lifestyle of being very busy and not having a lot of free time. I would really have to put my priorities into perspective if I want to be a lawyer. I mean, what if I miss one of Megan Jr’s basketball games? Despite having irregular hours, private practitioners tend to earn more money. But, salaried lawyers get health and life insurance while independent practice lawyers are covered only if they pay for their own benefits.

One thing I don’t have to really consider is the pay of a lawyer. In May 2006, the median annual earnings of lawyers were $102,470! First year associates can make up to $100,000 per year! And, a lawyer with experience can definitely expect to earn well over that amount per year. Salaries of lawyers vary due to the type, size and location of their employer. For example, first year salaries on the west coast are from $80,000 to $100,000 while a first year associate in Phoenix, Arizona would probably earn $20,000 less. But, that’s still a lot to me. The year 2024’s projected median lawyer salary is $118,885! In the year 2024 I’ll be 29 years old, which means I will be out of college by then and already earning a lawyer’s high salary. The salary is definitely a pro to becoming a lawyer!!!

Interviewing Mr. Au and researching about lawyers has really opened my eyes to the different factors of becoming a lawyer. Before this project, I was so sure that being a lawyer was the job for me. Now, I know there’s a lot more to look in to. I even need to take a look at myself to see if I’m right for this job. Being a lawyer is just one of many possibilities that I have to explore. The opportunities out there are endless and I know I have the power to succeed no matter what I choose to do in my life.