MY first loyalty is to all the Beatles. I practice law. Right now I have some down time due to disability. My area of expertise that I loved for the passion of it is const'l civil rights. I have other areas to earn money.
Religious Freedom Compared to Economic Freedom
by DT 14 Replies latest jw friends
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euripides
What State are you in Band on the Run? I practice immigration law in Missouri--now that's what we call a narrow practice--but it's something to do. Sorry to hear about your disability, hope you get on the uptick soon. I too have a long loyalty with the Beatles, in fact I was born in liverpool UK but grew up in NY myself. So put those together, AND ex-JW, weird huh?
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Band on the Run
Weird. I am an original fan. An American fan from Ed Sullivan, not a Liverpudlian Cavern fan. My home is littered with Beatles memorabilia. In fact, I tired of reading any book relating to the Beatles. I grew up in NY area so I saw all of them, but not all four at once. Paul McCartney gave me comp tickets when I was ill. I wrote to him at his business rather than general fan address.
I am admitted in NY. Worked for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Const'n, the U.S. Attorney's Office (S.D.N.Y.) and NOW Legal Defense Fund. Through good fortune, I was awarded a full scholarshp at a very top tier law school. Finally, I grew up and studied a corporate law track with const'l courses on the side. My goal was to work on the Hill or for the White House. My internship with the Senate shocked me. The sheer stupdiity of the staff. I spoke with people and found that only Ted Kennedy hired on merit. I am not talking mediorce. I mean the staff was dumb. I reacted by throwing my body at every major Wall St. law firm. Brilliance. I practiced corporate law, mostly antitrust issues concerning formerly regulated industries.
Unfortunately, illness struck and now I'm between jobs. Finding a volunteer position now is not easy. I volunteered for a disability rights practice. Part of me remains convinced that public interest law and poor standards are not the only game in town. I want to practice challenging, quality law again. I'm trying to not anecdotal experience skew my judgment. If I am going to bother doing it, I want discipline and high standards.
I find it very strange for JWs to become lawyers. How do you analyze and brief cases, do research, write, and then fall for the WT driivel?
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euripides
I grew up in NY in JWs, and went to graduate school and became a lawyer after I left the JWs, for the record I never really fell for it, I was pressured into it as a child--BUT, growing up I knew a practicing lawyer who was an elder. I think he had avoided going to law school under a very old exception allowing him to sit for the Bar based on an apprenticeship with other lawyers. The Society legal department msy have had a hand in his sponsorship, funidng etc, but the iront is that, while he may have been serving as occasional outside counsel for WT legal, his principal practice was divorce/family pratice.
I think any lawyer working for WT (or a practicing lawyer as an adult also functioning as an elder etc) must engage in an Orwellian doublethink, allowing them to use normal logical and legal thinking while at work, but suspend all disbelief when it comes to WT. Then again I suspect a lot of people keep those two things separate in their minds on a regular basis.
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Band on the Run
Perhaps I am too socialized and believe ABA marketing but it seems very hard for a lawyer to be a Witness. I am curious as to how they recruit lawyers today. I came across a law review article on JWs in Japan (misleading title, only about how wondrous Rutherford was; no references to any JW individual in Japan) written by a female lawyer. I almost exploded with rage in the law library. A female allowed to go to law school when my vast opportunities were to be a cleaning lady and cleaning lady. I doubt they recruit from law schools.
Yet if you omit any reference to actual JWs on the ground in Japan during WWII, her article was well-written. There was no WT aura in it. If I were not a former JW, I would not even know her background.
I've worked in collegial settings. It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall and hear them discuss legal theories and pesky little problems that must be addressed and then break out into JW lingo. A woman cannot instruct men but she can argue for the Society in court. I don't thik Paul would approve.
There are several lawyers here. I find it remarkable for anyone born-in and raised with such low, deferential expectations to compete in law school and pass the bar. I've found my deferential background to be a huge hindrance. I felt I could never litigate b/c of my Witness background ( or I could it but I would never be excellent), hence my corporate law track when I wanted to litigate so much.