Let me retrace my steps to better explain how I got to this point:
I went to law school to be a public defender. I had no intention of doing Family Law. I took that class in law school and thought it was interesting in the way that reading the sordid details of someone else's life is interesting - and discomforting. I also took Public Interest law and it sort of appealed to my bleeding heart liberalism. I definitely felt attorneys who chose that path were altruistic and comparable to public defenders. I didn't view myself as going into that area of law. I was more attracted to the adversarial nature (that I perceived) of criminal law, plus I was intrigued at the notion of loss of "liberty.
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| My new Law Office Logo - courtesy of Andre Cotrim! |
So fast forward three years to post graduation and bar exam...I come visit my mom in Hawaii. At the time she was married to a person I am was not fond of. She was clearly unhappy in paradise. I determined that I should move here and help her obtain a divorce. So this motivation, along with several personal motivations, prompted me to move to Hawaii before I even knew if I had passed the bar in my home state. I applied for one job in Hawaii. Actually, I applied for one job out of law school. With the local Legal Aid agency - as a paralegal. It was the ONLY legal related job available on this island of 60,000.
Now, fast forward another ten years. I have been with this office the entire time. I went from being a paralegal working on disability cases to an Americorps Attorney doing all areas of civil law, to my current position as the managing attorney of the office. One interview, one place of employment for my entire legal career.
In late August I was running with a friend (running may be a bit of an exaggeration.. more of a jaunty walk) and talking about my employment issues. I love my job and feel that there is a lot more I could do in my position. However the compensation in the non-profit sector is dismal. This dismalness is made even more stark when one compares the rate of compensation to the never-shrinking law school debt. Add to this life events like kids, a house, family on the mainland.. and one is faced with a tough decision. Choose between continuing to do good work for people who would otherwise not have access to an attorney OR support your family. It's taken me ten years to get where I never thought I would be. But in that discussion with my friend, it was like a switch flipped and the decision was no longer agonizing. It seemed clear what I should do. And then I got excited.
So once the decision was made I went into full steam ahead mode. Set up a domain, got a website (still under construction), got my business license (admittedly, when I decided to start a "firm" I didn't think of it as starting a business..) and other necessary documents. I have a phone number - which used to be the number of an animal feed store that closed a couple years ago..and those are the only calls I've gotten so far.. I have a case management system, bank accounts and an online fax service.. I am for all intents and purposes READY!!
I also have an office space starting 1/114.. and 2 chairs. I have some ways to go furniture and supplies wise.. (but I also just got a Costco Business Membership..so that's cool!).
I'm excited at the progress being made and I'm excited for my next challenge. I'm also scared to death. Failure is not an option.
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