Please read and advise...I appreciate any criticism.
Without hesitation my mother approached a stern looking man to ask for one picture. This last photo would be the cover of our summer vacation album. For one moment we were a complete family again. Then suddenly a bell signaled the end of our session, and we quickly said our goodbyes. My grandmother wept as two guards came to escort my uncle back to his prison quarters. At the impressionable age of six this was my first encounter with the law.
My uncle's life was never the same. He would jump from job to job never really able to regain society's trust, and he was not alone. Many families in the Rio Grande Valley suffered similar legal consequences. As Mexican Americans, we lived side by side with undocumented immigrants, owed uncollectable debts, and sacrificed the opportunity of education in favor of a quick pay check. It was easy to understand my family's reservations when I accepted a paralegal position with a local law firm. I had made them proud by being the first in my family to attend college only to apply my skills in a system they felt had betrayed them. Undeterred, I sought to gain a better understanding of an influence that was constantly present in my life.
As the newest member of the firm, I had to overcome several professional barriers. My only prior work experience consisted of cleaning septic systems and mowing lawns. I eagerly accepted the responsibility of preparing cases for trial as an opportunity to understand a legal system I avoided all of my life. With this new challenge I discovered a structured adversarial process full of hundreds of legal documents. I initially found formal legal writing to be incomprehensible and rigid. Ironically, it was within the confines of legalese where I discovered a more interpretive approach to the law. My habitual readings of casebooks revealed an analysis of law that transcended time and tradition. Compiling the puzzle pieces of the litigation process forced me to think with an open mind. Gaining a better understanding of the law was empowering.
I took my newfound confidence and worked tirelessly. Each client's file held a personal story of hardship, but collectively they represented the prevalent social barriers of the Rio Grande Valley. While a case regarding the injury of an undocumented worker required me to gather meticulous details about her life, it also shed light on the conditions of many others in a similar situation. The content of many cases required me to bear in mind how unique yet pervasive certain problems were in my community. As part of the litigation team I was tasked with chronicling these unique situations through traditional legal tools. At times, this required adaptive thinking. I had to view the law from two perspectives-from a professional standpoint and additionally from my personal experience. Discussing the poor living conditions of Colonias in South Texas to a defense firm from New York was like teaching a foreign language. I was able to overcome this barrier by finding common ground much like a lawyer does when searching for relevant cases. Colonias became "rural housing" issues and remittance fraud turned into "financial service abuse." It was immensely fulfilling to know that in a small way my work was shaping the legal system's view of Latino issues.
My efforts did not go unnoticed. The firm rewarded my hard work by making me manager of the client intake division. I was finally given an opportunity to share my new world with prospective clients with whom I could relate. Only two years earlier I had walked into the same law firm with little idea of the true impact legal resources could have on my community. This was truly an honor and likewise a symbolic task as I would now serve as the first line of communication an individual would have with our legal system. In every meeting I dutifully provided an attentive audience, aware of the power that this simple action could have on the apathetic view held in my community.
Representing a cause, interest, or individual before the court of law can be one of the most honorable duties one can fulfill. I have carried this principle with me throughout my career in Washington, DC as a reminder that behind talking points and court decisions are people searching for answers. Obtaining a juris doctor will allow me to play a more proactive role in shaping public policies through legal action and ensure that those in need of representation receive the full attention of the law. I look back at my journey and do not take any of it for granted. Without my humble beginnings, law school would be just another opportunity rather than a life changing event.
