The Law and it's Process

Today my mentor and I went to the courthouse in San Francisco for an appearance. As we entered the courtroom, I sat down next to other lawyers who were there. My mentor then took us to a room behind the courtroom before the trial begun. In that room was the judge, who was sitting at his desk, along with other lawyers. My mentor introduced me to the judge and the judge asked me questions about my project and my future plans. He wished me luck if I ever wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer. Although I wasn't planning on becoming a lawyer in the future, it was nice to have a judge give his blessing. After 30 minutes of lawyers talking among themselves, we all went back into the courtroom. The judge then put on his robe and the trial began. It was a bit difficult to follow what was going on, as it was only the first appearance of the case. There was a lot of negotiating between my mentor, the other lawyer, and the judge. Afterwards, my mentor and I sat in the hall and he told me what ...

Third day, I went to my mentor's law firm in San Francisco. He introduced me to more lawyers he worked alongside with. They were all very nice, and some looked very stressed out. My mentor told me stress is a factor that comes along with being a lawyer, but it is avoidable in some cases. He told me about a case that he had coming up involving a DUI. He was defending the man who got a DUI for the third time in nine years. My mentor told me the background information of the case and how he planned to defend him. It was interesting to see all the factors that went along with the case. For example, my mentor told me the man had just gotten a divorce and had attempted suicide. These factors all played a part in the case, and could possibly effect his sentencing. It was interesting to see how all these pieces came together as my mentor presented his defense. He told me the first court appearance was scheduled on March 10. Although we just spent the day talking with the other lawyers and ...

Second day meeting with my mentor, we went to the Superior Court of California in San Francisco, a courthouse where he needed to make an appearance. He showed me the exterior of the courthouse, and how he needed to make an appearance to speak with the judge about his case. As we waited outside the room, I noticed many lawyers dressed in suits, carrying files and briefcases. It was interesting to see all these lawyers in this same place at once, about to present their case. My mentor then greeted another lawyer, and he introduced me to her. He said they went to law school together, and it had been a while since they had seen each other. Once the room opened, he told me to sit inside the courtroom. There were many different people sitting around me, those who have gone through this process before. The judge did sort of a roll call, seeing which lawyers were present and if their clients were there too. When called on, my mentor told the judge that he would like to reschedule their appeara...

The first day I met with my mentor and we drove to his office in San Francisco. It was at Pier 5 Offices, a law firm filled with offices for independent lawyers in the Bay Area. He gave me a tour of the office, and introduced me to other lawyers he worked alongside. Since it was my first day, we just sat it in his office and spoke about his job. I asked him questions about being a lawyer, how he came to become one, and if it was ever his first choice. He told me the story of how he chose this career, stating it was never in his mindset to become a lawyer during his high school years. He said he initially wanted to be a musician and how throughout his college years he eventually realized he wanted to be a lawyer. He gave me insight into the process in becoming a lawyer, the schooling he went through, and the stress that comes along with the job. I always knew being a lawyer was stressful, but hearing it come from him made it seem not that bad. He told me about the different colleges he ...