My Life Interning as a Legal Assistant: Why I Do Not Want to Be an Attorney

"Mrs. Robinson," by Simon and Garfunkel, has been stuck in my head for over three days.

                
 That might seem like an odd opener to my first post about working in the DC metro area but there is a purpose to it. Here's a fact - there is almost nothing worse than having a song running through your head all day as you work 9-5 at a desk... nothing worse except the fact that you are working 9-5 at a desk. 

         

Why I do not Want to Ever be an Attorney

"I'm Biology major, pre-med!" - Me, during freshman year of college. Looking back, I see very clearly why I wanted to be a doctor/veterinarian/whatever medical profession I might have chosen - Money? Obviously. But a less known motive? I just really wanted to wear scrubs all day at work. Like - they're slightly less comfortable than sweatpants and a t-shirt! Who wouldn't want to wear that all day every day and still be seen as professional! But in the end, because of my brief pre-med experience, I am very familiar with that quiet unease that I'm doing what I'm doing for the wrong motives.

            As I have never interned in a law firm before, I am taking the opportunity to grow and improve my abilities and skills through every assignment. I am improving my phone communication skills, my technological prowess, and my abilities to draft, edit, and proofread documents. With that said, my first two weeks interning in my chosen field have been a wakeup call.

            The realities of 9-5, or 8:30-4:30, or however you prefer to squeeze in the 8 hour work day... Personally, I'm a get-it-doner. I get there at 8:30, earlier than anyone but my direct supervisor, don't take lunch or any other type break. Two 15 minute breaks + one 30 minute lunch break + 30 minutes early arrival = Laura gets to leave by 3:30! This system was only discovered after the initial week working 9-5:30 every day. Ugh. The reality is that a 9-5 job leaves you very little time to do anything but the necessities.

The simple truth is that no amount of money is valuable enough to make me work an unfulfilling eight hour job. Why? Let me break it down.

24 hours in a day.	8 hrs	Sleeping
16 hrs left.	1 hr	Preparing for work: showering, packing, everything.
15 hrs left.	1 hr	Getting to and from work.
14 hrs left.	8 hrs	Working.
6 hrs left.	1 1/2 hrs	Making dinner, doing laundry, cleaning.
4 1/2 hrs left.	30 min	Organizing everything for tomorrow, ironing.
4 hrs left.	1 hr	Paying social calls - skyping, hanging out, etc.
3 hrs left.		Did you go to the grocery store? Cut out an hr.

What are you going to do with a billion dollars and two to three hours? Fly to Europe on your private jet? I don't think so. Now, you could shave off a lot of time on some of this stuff - like sleep! Do human beings really need sleep? Nah. Do I really need to shower and look professional for work? Nah - the homeless look is pretty vogue right now! Do I really need to be social? Nah - I'll live under my cute little lonely rock!

            Both interns and lawyers spend all day pushing paperwork - requesting bills and records, writing detailed insurance claims, filing court motions, etc. While the cumulative effect is to compensate the client and reimburse them for medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional trauma, it is a drawn out process which can take months or longer. In a day to day environment, it entails working 9 to 5, sitting at a computer all day filling in forms and Excel spreadsheets.

            On the bright side, my office internship is excellent preparation for any career field I may chose, as paperwork is standard to any and every field of work. Yay. But it is just as valuable to recognize preferred tasks as it is to know when certain jobs are not as appealing. For me, I have never worked a 9 to 5 desk job before, so it is incredibly valuable knowledge to recognize that it sucks.

What Who do I want to be when I grow up?

            One of the reasons that I decided to intern with The Washington Center this summer was to further clarify my goals through the sieve of real experiences in the workplace. Since the beginning of junior year, I have questioned my status as a pre-law student. Despite being a pre-law minor, taking many undergraduate law courses, and making many connections in the Alabama law community, I did not feel wholly comfortable with my chosen path. It was a similar feeling to the one I had before changing from pre-med during my freshman year.

            My ideal career would be one where I actively participate in improving individuals and their lives daily in a meaningful face-to-face environment. Accordingly, at this point, I do not see my future in the legal field in any manner; I want to pursue a career in education and/or advocacy.

             In 3-5 years, I would like to have graduated from a post-graduate educational program and be working for an advocacy group in my extra time. Teaching primary or secondary school are two great options for me since I could enter Montevallo's excellent alternative master's degree. Alternatively, if I decide to pursue a career in higher education, I will get a degree in Political Science from a good university that can give me a scholarship and/or an assistantship.

            I have come to the conclusion that if I want to have a fulfilling life, I need to have a job that doesn't leave me feeling empty inside at the end of the day. In a job with no personal fulfillment, no matter the salary, I will always be looking for the fulfillment to squeeze into whatever free time is left to me. And if I don't have some basic me time in which I'm not checking off to do lists or rushing to reach the goal, I will burn out. That's just a personal fact. 

            But if I have a job that leaves me excited (or at least not dreading) the next day, I won't need to worry about cramming in some nameless fulfilling hobby. But in the meantime I'm learning more about me, the justice system, and the living hell that attorneys willfully/happily sign up for.

Keep an Eye out for My Next Blog Post!

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