MY CAREER THUS FAR
— or Why Where You Work Is Not
the Rest of Your Life
Now that I’ve been at the law school for about a month, I thought it might be interesting to tell you a little about my career. I also hope that it may help you realize that decisions you make now need not tie you down for the rest of your life. Nothing needs to be set in stone.
When I started law school at
My father had been a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He also was a very strong union activist.
He had died in 1990 while on strike against the New York Daily News; his fellow union brothers and sisters called him a labor martyr. I was 18 years old, a college sophomore. I wrote my history senior thesis on another labor martyr, Joe Hill, and decided to go to law school.
My dream was deferred for five years, when I worked instead in the private law firm world, in part to pay back enormous debt and in part for the experience. I worked on big cases for clients such as the Associated Press, AIG, Court TV, Glad Bags, Hasbro, and Rosti Restaurants.
Then 9/11 made me realize that the time had come to do something more personally meaningful. I networked my way to a position at a union in
Now I was set for the rest of my life. Ah, finally—my dream job.
Boy, was I wrong.
Within four months, I had left that position and moved into law school administration. For whatever reason, the labor job was just not the right fit. Perhaps it was the practice of law itself that was no longer my calling.
Now, after more than six years of working with law students, I know that this is what drives me everyday. I come into work excited about helping people find employment, talking with students about their options, connecting people with each other—and hearing about student’s “dream” jobs.
I use those quote marks not to be cynical, but as a reminder that one’s “dream” can change, that one’s career can be quite fluid, and that where you work now or right after law school is not the rest of your life.
I still have many friends in private law firms. I still stop at every union picket line I see to ask about the situation and offer my support. I am the same person inside, even if what I do in my daily life is different.
As you think about where you want your career to go as a lawyer, remember that there is no one “right” path. Some of you may be interviewing through OCI; others may have begun to research employers and request informational interviews. Still others may not be sure what to do. Please come in to meet with us and let us help you.
If someone in 1993 had told me that 15 years later I would be an assistant dean of a law school, working in career services, I would have laughed. Now, instead, I can smile.
