Most people have this idea that it’s a straight line from where you were, to where you are, when it comes to your career. Whether you’re a Hollywood star, or a chemist in a research lab, no one gets where they are by accident. However, once you’ve been around the block a time or two, you learn that most people reach their destination by some oddly circuitous routes.
Which is how I ended up becoming a lawyer when I was actually going to school to study marine science.
THOSE FIELDS ARE MORE INTERCONNECTED THAN YOU MIGHT THINK
Seen from a bird’s eye view, these two things seem completely unrelated; like I originally set out to get a job as a baker, and instead came home as an insurance claim adjuster. But there’s often a surprising amount of overlap between fields when you get out into the real world.
Marine science was my area of study both through undergraduate and graduate school, but in graduate school I began studying marine affairs. This covered all the political issues surrounding marine science such as legislation, designing marine parks, and all of the paperwork and red tape that has to be navigated in order to make sure that the right steps get taken when it comes to protected areas.
If that sounds frustrating, rest assured that it most definitely was. However, when I stepped away from marine science I still wanted to hang onto the public service element that I’d felt my previous field of study provided. So once I began practicing law I took a position with a non-profit in Miami, Florida as a public benefits attorney. I was primarily focused on social security and immigration law, and I worked exclusively with the homeless population of the area. I helped me feel like I was making a difference, and that the people I represented felt their lives being changed in meaningful ways by my efforts.
COMING NORTH, AND MOVING INTO PERSONAL INJURY LAW
Moving to St. Paul and practicing personal injury law was a bit of a sidestep, but it also let me maintain a lot of what I felt had been so important in my work in Florida. People who find themselves needing to seek compensation for personal injuries tend, for example, to be more working class in their backgrounds. And they’re usually in a situation they need help getting out of so they can pay their bills, and get back on their feet. That is a situation where I feel that I can help, and I’m never shy about rolling up my sleeves to see what options someone has, and to find a way for them to get their lives back in order.
FIGHTING THE SYSTEM (TO HELP THOSE IN NEED)
One thing that’s always been a central theme of my career decisions has been a desire to challenge the power structures as they exist; to stick up for those who may not have a voice. From the environment, to the homeless, to the hurt, my job is to make sure that those who might get caught in the gears of the system have someone on their side who can pull them out, dust them down, and make sure they have a fighting chance.
No matter what part of the law I find myself working with, that has always been the most satisfying thing for me.
If you find yourself in a personal injury situation, and you need to turn to someone for help, all you have to do is contact us today!