Western State University College of Law

When I started at Western I didn’t intend to become an attorney. I was actually at Western for quote personal enrichment to understand the law to aide me in my business administration background. I had gotten my MBA; I was in manufacturing dealing with a corporate client, their legal department, and proprietary contracts.

So I’ll say yes, it comes from yourself to make whatever opportunity you want your law school education to become. To grow it whether you become an attorney or to use it as many of my classmates, or some of my classmates did, only as something to augment what they already, you know, whatever occupation they were in, whether they were CEOs or upper management, and you know employment comes to mind as another area and for me, you, know, for me I flipped over and went into law.

My switch was probably right before I graduated, when I became focused on well what am I actually going to do with it and I started clerking. And so at that point I was lucky, to me I felt I was lucky as I was able to get a clerking position which gave me sort of a heads up to understand pleadings, to understand filings and everything, so that by the time that I passed the Bar, the day after I got sworn in, I was already in court, I had to go make my first appearance and so that you know it worked out well in my case as far as making that transition.

I would tell a prospective student, well most of the ones that I talk to tend to be on the female side, it is a good time for females in the legal profession.

Because if you are committed to your study of law and getting your JD we all made our adjustments, and I don’t think it’s a hurdle, it’s just something we all had to do. It was a tough time, I’m not going to lie to the any of students that law school is easy, it never is, it’s a very mentally challenging, academic challenging area to go into, but you have to make that commitment because once you go out and pass the Bar, and become a professional, the things that you do you’re actually making or advocating and decisions are going to come down that affect the lives of your clients. So you do have to take it very seriously and understand priorities and understand sacrifice and what you have to do to up hold your duties as an officer of the court.

For Western, Western will give you the opportunity to give you a good education, but again it’s a two way street it’s just not like you go into Western and its a data dump, you know. Western is going to give you the opportunity to study to actually I guess you know to hone in on your own initiative do what you want to do. You can take that degree, but it will be up to you to do what you with it.

I’ve have been practicing since 89 and you do maintain very long close friendships. I am still in contact with my study partner in law school who’s enjoying a good practice of her own, and I am also enjoying and keeping contact with and am friends with my study partner for the law exam and he’s got his own practice so it is a unique campus where people don’t scatter so you are able to keep in contact with friends and through friends.