With so much media devoted to life in Las Vegas and the practice of law (I haven’t actually counted, but there are more than a few TV shows and written articles about Las Vegas and lawyers), one would think it was all cool and exciting to be a lawyer living in Las Vegas. Not so much. Maybe sometimes. For some. But for the rest of us, being a lawyer in Las Vegas is a grind. You start your day early, work straight through the day most of the time, work late, and maybe bring work home at night and on the weekends. One case closes and another one opens. You finish a motion/hearing/trial and you prepare for the next one. The fact I practice criminal law, family law, and personal injury, also means that I shift gears all day long between different types of cases, clients, and opposing counsel. As for living in Las Vegas, it is a fun town. But as a local, working as hard as I do and with the responsibilities I have, I leave the partying for the tourists.
Cool? Exciting? Maybe in a sense. . . while the work itself can be a mental and physical grind, the point of it all is pretty cool, and can well be cause for excitement. The point of becoming lawyer, for me, wasn’t to get rich–God knows there are limitless ways to get richer quicker. I didn’t become a lawyer to be admired and respected–given the perception of lawyers by many people, admiration and respect would be silly reasons to enter law. I became a lawyer to help people in need. I recognize that doesn’t really sound cool or exciting (corny maybe?), but I have always rooted for the underdog–for the guy who was going up against The Man, The System. Now I’m in a position to help.
I get to represent the guy who is accused by the State of a crime he didn’t commit or, at the very least, the guy whose rights are being trampled. I get to help the mother (or the father) keep the children safe from an abusive parent. I get to help the family recover from their injuries, when an insurance company won’t pay for the negligence brought on by their client. I get to help check The Man, question The System, and I think that’s pretty cool.
