Working for a Law Firm - Application Essay

Job at a Law Firm - Application Essay

Significantly fewer students are applying to law school these days: They are responding to the fact that a law degree no longer guarantees a Golden Ticket. Success and money is their first interest--how they obtain it, their second. That may be their mindset: It definitely is not mine. Generating income to care for my wife and two young children naturally is critical. Yet, it is also essential for me to fulfill an important need in society and to receive personal satisfaction from the work I accomplish every day.

I began working for my uncle, a prominent products liability attorney in Los Angles in 1997. Throughout these past 11 years with the firm, first working part time as a law clerk while in high school and then full time in the accounting department during college. Frequently I wear several different hats in the office, assuming far more responsibility than that assigned to my position title, such as handling IT and network management tasks. Over this past decade in the law office, my interest and appreciation for the legal profession has continued to grow.

After graduating from Ferrahian High School in 1999, I began attending Santa Monica college and then transferred to California State University--Northridge several years later. In 2003, I received my bachelor's degree in psychology and then followed up at Gnomon School of Visual Effects for a Certificate in High-End Computer Graphics.

Now, at the age of 30, I am ready to take on my next new challenge. I am eager to make a positive impact by helping others with my professional expertise. Given my experience in the law firm and growing interest in this field, I look forward to receiving my law degree at University of West LA and following in my uncle's footsteps. Seeing the thankful look on the clients' faces after our attorneys achieve a favorable result is strong motivation for me to assist people in the same way.

It is always my hope that the products people purchase will be safe to use and not cause them or their loved ones any physical or emotional harm. Unfortunately, sometimes products are manufactured that have defective design and cause unexpected catastrophic injuries. Even as a kid, I had a passion for cars and engineering. I grew up around cars, was very interested in what makes them work, and have a fairly advanced understanding of the mechanics involved. Over the years, our firm has been involved in several automobile liability cases, and this knowledge has been very helpful. For example, our firm was the first to receive a verdict in a Ford Explorer rollover case where the jury voted that the design was indeed defective. More recently in Pannu v Land Rover, one of our clients was rendered a quadriplegic from a similar rollover in his Land Rover "Discovery."

I am very fortunate to have gained a great deal of knowledge and experience about a variety of pertinent legal subjects prior to pursuing a degree in law. In addition, I know firsthand how personally rewarding this career will be in the years and decades to come. I look forward to continually dedicating myself to the family firm and using my additional education to provide more clients with the professional help and support they so deserve.