Creating my Legal Practice

-- By SalvadorRosas - 19 Feb 2018

Law School serves to give me the skills necessary to manage my own practice.

"Oh, so now you want us to save you!" said the university administrator on the phone when I asked her if I would be able to participate in GSF despite not having gone to any of the "mandatory" events. Before that day, I had a completely different plan for how my summer would go. After all, I only committed to law school after working for two years as a general corporate paralegal at one of the top law firms in New York City. I had a specific idea of what my legal practice would look like. The firm would take me back with open arms for the summer, and then again next summer, and would ultimately offer me a full-time job. I would get $180,000 and seamless for dinner every night for 90 hours a week of due diligence on M&A deals. But now, on the phone with a woman I had never met, I was determined to take control of my own legal practice by expanding my options for summer employment. Much to my mother's delight, I was considering spending the summer in my hometown, Sacramento, providing legal services for Latino families, similar to what my mother does as an assistant coordinator for La Familia Counseling Center in Sacramento. I was reaching out to my network to start experimenting with what my practice could eventually look like.

Business model that consists of keeping fees reasonable for clients but are enough to cover the "nut."

The professional development staff was understandably concerned about the route that I was choosing to take for the summer. "Well do you want to be in Sacramento eventually?" and "usually we do not encourage you to do a public interest position unless you are planning to do it long term" were common amongst both the private and public interest administrators. Thurman Arnold talks about how society has created dichotomies that drown out practical solutions. These include Republican v. Democrat, Socialist v. Capitalist. On campus, this dichotomy exists between SJI, the public interest organization and, OCS, the private law organization. Like any other organizations, SJI and OCS have their own creeds, myths, and fears. When they see a student coloring outside the lines of the paths they have laid out for every student since before they even set foot on campus. I will not be participating in the Early Interview Program.

Learn how to work with and appeal to different types of people

Become an expert on entertainment law and immigration law

Participate in externships outside of the prescribed programs in place at CLS.

Continue to help put together asylum, U-Visa, SIJS applications through partner organizations in NYC.

My network in CA and NJ will provide a diverse and reliable client base.

Latino immigrants in CA and central NJ need basic legal services

Learn how to fill out I-485, Visa Applications, etc.

Musicians and independent filmmakers need attorneys to negotiate contracts and acquire funding for projects.

Learn how to do event contracts with venues, formation documents for independent production companies and record labels.

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