Your Lawyer Too

Former United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once said, “It is the job of the legislative branch to write our laws. It is the Job of the Executive Branch to enforce the laws that are written. And it is the job of the judiciary to tell everybody else what those laws are.” I believe that it is the job of the lawyer to tell the judiciary what to tell everybody else.

I still remember the very first client that I ever represented. At the time I was still in law school. I was clerking for an attorney that had the foresight to sponsor me for my temporary license. He happened to be out of town for a two week vacation when a walk-in client came into the office. She was a single mom who cleaned houses for a living. She had four children and made between $18,000 and $20,000 per year. She was legally separated from her husband and a Separation Agreement was filed in the County Records.

According to the Separation Agreement, her husband was responsible for keeping up with the monthly mortgage payments on their home. To do this he had all of the mailing addresses with the Mortgage Company changed to his new residence. Then he simply disappeared. She came to see us on a Friday afternoon after a banker showed up at her home to show it to a prospective buyer. Her home was to be foreclosed the following Tuesday.

Never having done anything like this before, I mustered up my courage, prepared the legal paperwork to request that a Judge stop the foreclosure sale and I used my financial aid money to pay her filing fees. Trembling, I went before an emergency judge and requested that he sign an order stopping the sale. Nervous and unsure what to expect, I somehow found the words and the Order was signed. The sale was stopped. I was then able to work out a reasonable payment plan for the money that she was behind and, as if that were not enough, I was able to get her refinanced with new payments she could afford.

When I visited her at home to tell her the result, she started crying. It was then that I knew that I was in a profession that truly could be noble, if I let it. To this very day I visit her at that same house once every couple of months. I set up a table in her driveway and bring my laptop, a printer, and an extension cord so that I can give free legal advice to those in her poor, working class neighborhood, that want it. Her case was not just a case, it was a life changing experience, to her and to me. An experience that I keep with me and that I draw upon every time I am across from an opposing attorney or standing in front of a Judge. This former client, and all of my current ones are not just names on files. They are people and I am their lawyer.

If you want, I can be your lawyer too.

One of my very favorite past times---Spending quality time with future members of our Firm---My Niece and Nephew!