US District Court Admission
I spent all morning at the Western District of Oklahoma Federal Court gaining admission to practice in the Western District Federal Court. It was a long and boring process but well worth the trouble. The admission ceremony was at noon in front of 3 Federal Judges and the Chief Judge. It was a pretty cool experience and I have worked many years to get there finally. I was admitted to practive in Oklahoma last September and now I can practice in Federal Court as well. When I signed the roll of attorneys, there were only 7 attorneys with the last name that started with the letter Q. That roll of attorneys dates all the way back to statehood, so that is crazy to think that now there are 8 of us Q's on the roster!
It is really crazy to think that I have finally made it. But then I question, made it to where? I went from high school to undergrad and then straight to law school, so I have been in school constantly since I was 5 years old. So, basically I have gone to 7 years of college and counting kindergarten, a total of 20 years of education. Looking back, that seems crazy. If I live to be 100, I will have spent almost 1/4 of my life in school. If I live to be 50, I guess that is almost half of my life in school. So, now what? What am I supposed to do? I am "practicing law" but it sure is not as glamorous or a well paying as I expected it to be. I thought it would be exactly as it is portrayed on tv or in the books, but I was so wrong. I have a friend who is just beginning law school and he asked for my advice. I told him to run away now. I sm not sure that I would do it over again. At this point, I am not sure all the work and money is paying off. Hopefully in the future, near future, it will. My mom has always told me that anything worth having is worth working for. I worked for this little piece of paper and I am holding on to the notion that it will pay off-eventually!
It is really crazy to think that I have finally made it. But then I question, made it to where? I went from high school to undergrad and then straight to law school, so I have been in school constantly since I was 5 years old. So, basically I have gone to 7 years of college and counting kindergarten, a total of 20 years of education. Looking back, that seems crazy. If I live to be 100, I will have spent almost 1/4 of my life in school. If I live to be 50, I guess that is almost half of my life in school. So, now what? What am I supposed to do? I am "practicing law" but it sure is not as glamorous or a well paying as I expected it to be. I thought it would be exactly as it is portrayed on tv or in the books, but I was so wrong. I have a friend who is just beginning law school and he asked for my advice. I told him to run away now. I sm not sure that I would do it over again. At this point, I am not sure all the work and money is paying off. Hopefully in the future, near future, it will. My mom has always told me that anything worth having is worth working for. I worked for this little piece of paper and I am holding on to the notion that it will pay off-eventually!
posted by Miranda Quigley at 4:08 PM
2 Comments:
You didn't mention student loans, did you get through school w/out them. If so great, if not, you may be paying on them for ever.... My wifes an attorney, she works for a non-profit. She loves it! She has lots of flextime but the pay isn't that great. Other attorney's we know make big $ but work long hours. Tough choices: happiness or $$. For her being happy is more important.
Big Unit
I had to go the student loan route. I haven't started paying on them yet, but it is going to take awhile to get them paid off. I agree with your wife that happiness prevails over money. But living paycheck to paycheck is hard to find alot of happiness.
Post a Comment
<< Home