Is anyone here in the legal profession? Where did you attend school and what inspired you to study law as a career?

I attended Duke Law. My father, now a judge, inspired me to become a lawyer. Growing up I saw how many people looked up to him in our community. At the time, I thought "it must be because he is a lawyer." Later I came to found out, it was actually because he is just a great human being. Nevertheless, I still wanted to do what he did for a living. That is, get paid to read, to write, to think. And most importantly, to have a opinion that people will listen to.

I went to UC Davis and have done a wide variety of jobs since graduation. I went to law school after a sober assessment of my academic strengths and aptitudes. I decided that law was the best way to apply my writing, speaking and analytical skills. I don't regret the decision, but I agree with one of the other responses to this question - I don't envy today's law school graduates, as it is difficult to get a job coming out of law school.

I never wanted to be anything other than a lawyer since I was 12 years old. After 20 years in practice I couldn't wait to get out of the profession. When I started I could take another lawyers word to the bank. At the end of 20 years, I couldn't trust anyone to live up to their word without memorializing it in writing. After leaving, I missed my court room work. Currently, there are not enough jobs for the lawyers coming out of school.