To begin with, I had a full life and career as a technical writer before I went to law school. I graduated from law school at the age of 40, not 25. When people come to my office with a problem, Nancy LorenzenI have the life experience to understand their problem a lot better than a lawyer who went straight into the profession from college and who has never had a job title other than “attorney at law”.
I’ve been married, divorced, and remarried. I’m also a parent. My son is now 21 years old and making good grades at the local community college. I live in a middle class house in a middle class neighborhood. I drive a Honda Civic instead of a BMW. I answer my own phone. Heck, I even cut my own grass.
In many ways my life more closely resembles my client’s lives than my colleagues’ lives. And I’m okay with that. I think that what my clients want is someone who not only has the competence to fix their problems, but also the experience to understand their problems.