an audacious attorney

I attended public schools in the 90s and early 2000s, including a Catholic high school.

I left a state college after my freshmen year, took five years to complete an associate’s degree at community college, had a child in my ‘would-be’ junior year, finished my undergraduate degree at a small local four-year university, and completed a juris doctorate at night during a global pandemic.

I passed the bar in 2021 and started working in my field with the government the following year.

I spent most of my teenage and young adult years working various jobs, including waiting tables, bar backing, retail, office work, and early childhood education. I worked full-time while in school and often had multiple jobs throughout as one doesn’t pay the bills.

My first legal position came through networking. I applied to various positions outside hospitality unsuccessfully leading up to my final year of undergraduate. My history degree didn’t garner much clout, and I wasn’t interested in teaching. I considered law school but wasn’t sure about the career path. Through a random connection, I was approached about an assistant position at a local law firm that had recently formed.

I worked as their legal assistant during my last year of undergrad through the first semester of law school. my little family then moved to the other side of the city, making the round trip commute to my office, campus, and back home daily most almost three hours. I registered with a legal temp agency; while I had limited options about where I would work or how long it would last– I was safe from the competitive process of landing new internships every semester but still had the opportunity to expierence different areas of practice while in school..

Using this unconventional method, I worked in many of the same spaces as my classmates without fighting for it, while being paid a reasonable wage, and having my positions carry more responsibility with substantive casework — not just researching for memos — At the the Office of the Attorney General, the local Public School District’s Legal Office, the Department of Corrections, and others.

naturally, at graduation my resume was stacked with government positions in niche areas of law, yet that was not where I wanted to work upon finishing.

Upon completing my education and passing the Bar Exam, I resumed my previous clerking duties with the Attorney General while actively seeking full-time employment as a lawyer. Eventually, when i was weeks away from resigning to teaching, I secured an unexpected position with the client, the Department of Corrections in Labor Relations.

I am now only months away from having my student loans fully discharged. while I am uncertain of my future prospects once I am financially free from the mortgage I was forced to take to finance it all– i do know that i want to keep working towards the total decarceration of the united states.