Yesterday was my last day of work at Parks & Crump, at least for now. I can not thank Attorney Crump and Attorney Parks enough for the experience, and I could not have asked for a better summer.
For the first month, I had a chance to meet a lot of bright and talented undergraduate students from all over the country who are interested in law school while I worked for the Summer For Undergraduates Program. The job also allowed me to meet various attorneys, judges, and justices in town, as well as more professors from the law school. It was a lot of fun. I remember thinking on Memorial Day how neat it was that I was getting paid to play volleyball with the undergrads at Lake Bradford.
That program ended in mid-June, and I immediately picked up with Parks & Crump, LLC as a paid law clerk. The work was intense. On my second day there, I had to write a Motion to Deny a Motion for Summary Judgment. I drafted complaints, researched questions of law for the partners, drafted Motions for Summary Judgment, drafted questions for depositions, attended and assisted with a deposition, a mediation, and a trial. Most nights, I did not get off work until close to 9 pm. I also had to work during some weekends.
The confidence I gained from this work is extremely valuable, though. And the firm also treated me to numerous lunches and dinners at nice restaurants along with trips to New Orleans and San Francisco.
So, to Parks & Crump, I say thank you so very much. I hope I showed my gratitude through my positive attitude and my work ethic.
Now, class begins for my second year of law school on Monday. Away we go.
Last night, I went to the Student Bar Association Orientation Social at Potbelly's, the club across the street from the law school. Last year at this time, I went to that social not knowing anyone. This time when I walked through the door, I was greeted almost immediately by 20 classmates happy to see me. I also met a few 1Ls, and I could tell from the expressions on their faces that they felt the exact same way that I felt last year. . . Glad and fascinated to be here, but wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into and whether or not I would make it.
It was a great time last night, and if last night is any indication of how this year is going to go for me, then it will easily be one of the happiest years of my life.
Now, time to read Evidence for my 8am class on Monday.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Showing posts with label The Summer Clerkship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Summer Clerkship. Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Points for Starting a Law Firm
A few months ago, I wrote a blog saying that my desire for a career was to work with a large firm. While I am still open to that and continue to actively pursue it, my experience as a law clerk this summer has also opened my mind to the possibility of starting my own firm at some point.
Counting the two partners, eight attorneys work at my office, Parks & Crump, LLC. My clerkship has been quite special in the exposure that I have received in how such a firm operates and makes money. I want to record here in list fashion some of the things that I have learned in what makes a firm successful. Much of this is common sense, but I think it is still worth writing down.
1) Parks & Crump has become successful by taking cases that no one else wanted. More specifically, they will take civil rights cases involving economically poor minorities. They have also endorsed a number of political causes for minorities in the community. The firm has earned a reputation as a champion for the underdog, and thus Parks & Crump is often the first firm those from a lower socioeconomic status call when they encounter legal trouble. However, the firm still does not take a case it does not think it can win.
2) A phone system that works, and competent personnel to answer the phones is key to keeping the business running.
3) Be conscious of your overhead costs. They can quickly balloon to unmanageable proportions.
4) Be careful with hiring a lot of people, especially early in the firm's existence. Good help is hard to find. And if you find good help, they will want to be paid well in order to stay with you.
5) A good office manager is just as important to your firm's success as a good attorney.
6) If you have an opportunity to develop any sales skills prior to starting your own firm, take it. So much of marketing your firm and having success in the courtroom goes back to basic selling skills.
7) Make the decisions on which cases you take based on business logic and not emotion. Avoid cases you can not win. Your good cases will most likely settle. The cases that could go either way are the ones that go to trial.
8) You have to be fearless. You can not be afraid to go to trial. Trial law is not for the faint-of-heart. Opposing firms will test you. They will try to "paper you to death" with motions in limine and motions for continuances. They will try to run up your costs of working the case. You have to be willing to say, "Bring it on!" As one of the partners told me, there is a streak of craziness that runs through all great trial lawyers, a willingness to roll the dice.
9) That being said, I think you should look to team up with another firm if it looks like a case is going to become expensive. Otherwise, you may run out of the necessary funds to try the case. The other firm will take a lot of the financial reward if you win, but they also absorb a lot of the risk if you lose, and you still establish a reputation as a lawyer who will to go to trial against the big firms.
10) Remember the client. While you must make a business decision about whether or not to take the case, once the decision is made to fight for this client you must dive into it with full gusto. Keep your client informed of what you are doing and show that you care about this outcome for them. Especially for the types of clients who come to Parks & Crump, our work on their case is one of the few rays of hope in their lives. Never forget how important they consider the work you are doing for them. Step into the role of being their champion, and do it with confidence. Give them hope. Life isn't worth living without hope.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Counting the two partners, eight attorneys work at my office, Parks & Crump, LLC. My clerkship has been quite special in the exposure that I have received in how such a firm operates and makes money. I want to record here in list fashion some of the things that I have learned in what makes a firm successful. Much of this is common sense, but I think it is still worth writing down.
1) Parks & Crump has become successful by taking cases that no one else wanted. More specifically, they will take civil rights cases involving economically poor minorities. They have also endorsed a number of political causes for minorities in the community. The firm has earned a reputation as a champion for the underdog, and thus Parks & Crump is often the first firm those from a lower socioeconomic status call when they encounter legal trouble. However, the firm still does not take a case it does not think it can win.
2) A phone system that works, and competent personnel to answer the phones is key to keeping the business running.
3) Be conscious of your overhead costs. They can quickly balloon to unmanageable proportions.
4) Be careful with hiring a lot of people, especially early in the firm's existence. Good help is hard to find. And if you find good help, they will want to be paid well in order to stay with you.
5) A good office manager is just as important to your firm's success as a good attorney.
6) If you have an opportunity to develop any sales skills prior to starting your own firm, take it. So much of marketing your firm and having success in the courtroom goes back to basic selling skills.
7) Make the decisions on which cases you take based on business logic and not emotion. Avoid cases you can not win. Your good cases will most likely settle. The cases that could go either way are the ones that go to trial.
8) You have to be fearless. You can not be afraid to go to trial. Trial law is not for the faint-of-heart. Opposing firms will test you. They will try to "paper you to death" with motions in limine and motions for continuances. They will try to run up your costs of working the case. You have to be willing to say, "Bring it on!" As one of the partners told me, there is a streak of craziness that runs through all great trial lawyers, a willingness to roll the dice.
9) That being said, I think you should look to team up with another firm if it looks like a case is going to become expensive. Otherwise, you may run out of the necessary funds to try the case. The other firm will take a lot of the financial reward if you win, but they also absorb a lot of the risk if you lose, and you still establish a reputation as a lawyer who will to go to trial against the big firms.
10) Remember the client. While you must make a business decision about whether or not to take the case, once the decision is made to fight for this client you must dive into it with full gusto. Keep your client informed of what you are doing and show that you care about this outcome for them. Especially for the types of clients who come to Parks & Crump, our work on their case is one of the few rays of hope in their lives. Never forget how important they consider the work you are doing for them. Step into the role of being their champion, and do it with confidence. Give them hope. Life isn't worth living without hope.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Sunday, August 2, 2009
San Francisco
I recently returned from a four day trip to San Francisco with the firm. The firm sent some of us to the American Association for Justice Convention. I attended a number of interesting seminars which expanded my knowledge on operating a firm and marketing myself.
The flight to the west coast was spectacular. I had a window seat at 36,000 feet, and our flight plan took us up the southern coast of California. A solid layer of white clouds which resembled cotton candy covered the Pacific Ocean far below for as far as the eye could see. The cloud cover did not break until just before the shoreline. Much of the shoreline was mountainous. One partner of the firm told me to never take a cruise in the Pacific Ocean because clouds like that will obscure the view for most of the trip.
As we closed in on San Francisco and flew lower in altitude, we passed directly over Stanford University. I could tell which school it was by the markings on the athletic fields. I also noted the Bay Bridge, which I first saw on television in 1989 during the World Series earthquake. San Francisco's airport is similar to New York City's LaGuardia in that the runway goes to the edge of the water. As the plane got lower and lower, we were still over water until the last moments when the runway appeared and we touched down.
My first morning there, I went on a 5k run sponsored by one of the city's law firms. The last part of the race was almost all uphill, and it was the first time in years that I had to start walking during a 5k and also the first time in years that I felt a little nauseous during the run. The hills in San Francisco are seriously steep, and the streets do not wind to accommodate the grade. I still managed to finish the race in a sprint, though.
Exploring San Francisco was great as well. The city is surprisingly cold. Highs were only in the 60s, and it seemed colder due to the wind coming in off the ocean or the bay. Fog is common. As it got dark, it would often seem to be raining as I looked at the light from the street lamps. I felt no water drops, though. A taxi driver told me that the warmest weather is usually in September and October where temperatures can go into the 80s. But always after 5pm, he said, the weather drops into the 50s. It is always cold at night in San Francisco. If you go just a few miles inland, the temperature range jumps dramatically, he said.
I took some time to walk through Chinatown and to see Lombard street, the most crooked street in the world. I also biked across the Golden Gate Bridge, which provided a spectacular view of the bay and Alcatraz island. Riding my bike along the Fisherman's Wharf area, I saw about 40 or 50 California Sea Lions resting or arguing with each other on the piers.
One of the partners of the firm treated us to some awesome meals. The Crustacean is a seafood restaurant owned by a Vietnamese family. The restaurant has a special kitchen apart from the main kitchen where only family members are allowed. In this special kitchen, the family members cook some of their famous dishes (the recipes to which are jealously guarded). I also enjoyed some crab cakes at Houston's, and a delicious Chocolate Sunday at Ghiradelli's. Both establishments are on the San Francisco Bay.
So, it was a fun time and I am appreciative of the experience. Still, I feel that my stories of San Francisco are only the run-of-the-mill experiences that any tourist could relate. San Francisco is different from New Orleans (another city the firm visited this summer). In New Orleans, in Las Vegas, in Philadelphia, in Miami, I felt like I could walk down the street and suddenly find myself in a unique adventure. I did not feel this with San Francisco. To really enjoy San Francisco and understand its character, I think one probably needs to have a lot of money and be connected with the appropriate social circles. Despite its liberal reputation, the city felt conservative and private. The clubs, the people, and the beautiful hilly streets all seemed quite tame. The most interesting characters of this city are sealed away from curious visitors like me in ornate Victorian homes. They eat their meals apart from me in those homes or in fine dining restaurants out of reach to me at this point in my life.
But perhaps one day I will come back under different circumstances.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
The flight to the west coast was spectacular. I had a window seat at 36,000 feet, and our flight plan took us up the southern coast of California. A solid layer of white clouds which resembled cotton candy covered the Pacific Ocean far below for as far as the eye could see. The cloud cover did not break until just before the shoreline. Much of the shoreline was mountainous. One partner of the firm told me to never take a cruise in the Pacific Ocean because clouds like that will obscure the view for most of the trip.
As we closed in on San Francisco and flew lower in altitude, we passed directly over Stanford University. I could tell which school it was by the markings on the athletic fields. I also noted the Bay Bridge, which I first saw on television in 1989 during the World Series earthquake. San Francisco's airport is similar to New York City's LaGuardia in that the runway goes to the edge of the water. As the plane got lower and lower, we were still over water until the last moments when the runway appeared and we touched down.
My first morning there, I went on a 5k run sponsored by one of the city's law firms. The last part of the race was almost all uphill, and it was the first time in years that I had to start walking during a 5k and also the first time in years that I felt a little nauseous during the run. The hills in San Francisco are seriously steep, and the streets do not wind to accommodate the grade. I still managed to finish the race in a sprint, though.
Exploring San Francisco was great as well. The city is surprisingly cold. Highs were only in the 60s, and it seemed colder due to the wind coming in off the ocean or the bay. Fog is common. As it got dark, it would often seem to be raining as I looked at the light from the street lamps. I felt no water drops, though. A taxi driver told me that the warmest weather is usually in September and October where temperatures can go into the 80s. But always after 5pm, he said, the weather drops into the 50s. It is always cold at night in San Francisco. If you go just a few miles inland, the temperature range jumps dramatically, he said.
I took some time to walk through Chinatown and to see Lombard street, the most crooked street in the world. I also biked across the Golden Gate Bridge, which provided a spectacular view of the bay and Alcatraz island. Riding my bike along the Fisherman's Wharf area, I saw about 40 or 50 California Sea Lions resting or arguing with each other on the piers.
One of the partners of the firm treated us to some awesome meals. The Crustacean is a seafood restaurant owned by a Vietnamese family. The restaurant has a special kitchen apart from the main kitchen where only family members are allowed. In this special kitchen, the family members cook some of their famous dishes (the recipes to which are jealously guarded). I also enjoyed some crab cakes at Houston's, and a delicious Chocolate Sunday at Ghiradelli's. Both establishments are on the San Francisco Bay.
So, it was a fun time and I am appreciative of the experience. Still, I feel that my stories of San Francisco are only the run-of-the-mill experiences that any tourist could relate. San Francisco is different from New Orleans (another city the firm visited this summer). In New Orleans, in Las Vegas, in Philadelphia, in Miami, I felt like I could walk down the street and suddenly find myself in a unique adventure. I did not feel this with San Francisco. To really enjoy San Francisco and understand its character, I think one probably needs to have a lot of money and be connected with the appropriate social circles. Despite its liberal reputation, the city felt conservative and private. The clubs, the people, and the beautiful hilly streets all seemed quite tame. The most interesting characters of this city are sealed away from curious visitors like me in ornate Victorian homes. They eat their meals apart from me in those homes or in fine dining restaurants out of reach to me at this point in my life.
But perhaps one day I will come back under different circumstances.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Superhumans
As many hours as I put in at the firm, it is still not the intense experience a summer clerkship or one's first job out of law school may provide. The atmosphere at my firm is considerably more laid back than in the largest firms in places like New York City or Atlanta. I make this claim based on talking with a couple of lawyers whom I met over the past few weeks.
About three weeks ago, the partners took me to lunch at a nice seafood restaurant in Tallahassee. One of their guests at the lunch was a law professor from a school in Texas. I sat across from her and had the opportunity to ask her many questions. She earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and her first job out of law school was with a large firm on Wall Street.
"Ah. How long did you work with them?" I asked.
She gave me a wry smile. "A year."
"Why? Why didn't you like it?"
"I really didn't know what I was getting into when they gave me a tour of the firm," she said.
The person giving her the tour showed her where the couches were, and then showed her the showers.
And she was thinking to herself, "Why are there showers in a law firm?"
She soon found out. She told me that it was not uncommon for her to work until 3 am. The partners gave her huge assignments that would be due on days like July 3rd or December 24th, so she never received a long enough break to see her friends and family during the holidays. The partners were impossible to please. Some were micromanagers who wanted you to check everything with them, other partners wanted you to leave them alone and make all the decisions yourself.
"And good luck if you wanted to get married and have children," she said.
She told me that someone would have to use cocaine to keep functioning in that system. I started laughing, but she said she was not joking.
So, she decided to quit the firm and become a law professor. . .
I met another lawyer in New Orleans during the Essence Music Festival. She worked at a large firm in Atlanta. I could tell that she was highly intelligent. She graduated from high school when she was 15, then finished college in three years before attending Florida State Law. Now 30, she has been a lawyer for several years.
"I've decided that the profession of law is mainly for men," she told me frankly. "It's kind of an unspoken proposition to a female in the field that you have to choose between having a family and dedicating yourself to the firm. It's really difficult to do both."
She talked about the long hours she put in at the firm in Atlanta. There are women who are partners at the firm, she said, "But when I see how they live, I don't want their lives."
So, she has recently quit the firm and has decided to go to medical school. . .
As for me, I'm not sure that I could survive in such an environment, either. I'm adjusting to the long hours at my firm this summer, but it is still not the hours these two women told me about. And I imagine they were expected to churn out more work products and in a shorter amount of time than what is expected of me. So far at least, my firm has not pressured me with deadlines that seem impossible to meet.
At Florida State, I've met people who can survive and thrive at the large firms where these two ladies worked. I call them superhumans, because they are incredibly intelligent and have an equally incredible work ethic to match. I had not met people like them until I came to Florida State. The amount of information that they can process and what they can churn out in such a short amount of time really amazes me. They are usually on the law review, involved in many other time consuming activities, and are at the top of their class in grades. One friend of mine whom I think fits this superhuman status told me, "I'm glad that I'm married. My wife reminds me to eat and sleep regularly."
If you are a student at an Ivy League law school, these huge firms will come looking for you. They will come to Florida State in the fall as well in something called the "On Campus Interview Program" or "OCI" for short. To get into most of the OCI interviews, though, you need to be in the top 10%, or perhaps the top 20% of your class.
Like I've said before, law school and the practice of law is extremely competitive. It is not for everyone. But I am happy to be here and happy to be in the competition.
Today is Sunday. I have to go into work in about an hour. I also put in about five and a half hours yesterday, Saturday. If I was at a Wall Street firm, however, I doubt that I would have had time to write this blog entry.
Universal Heath Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
About three weeks ago, the partners took me to lunch at a nice seafood restaurant in Tallahassee. One of their guests at the lunch was a law professor from a school in Texas. I sat across from her and had the opportunity to ask her many questions. She earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and her first job out of law school was with a large firm on Wall Street.
"Ah. How long did you work with them?" I asked.
She gave me a wry smile. "A year."
"Why? Why didn't you like it?"
"I really didn't know what I was getting into when they gave me a tour of the firm," she said.
The person giving her the tour showed her where the couches were, and then showed her the showers.
And she was thinking to herself, "Why are there showers in a law firm?"
She soon found out. She told me that it was not uncommon for her to work until 3 am. The partners gave her huge assignments that would be due on days like July 3rd or December 24th, so she never received a long enough break to see her friends and family during the holidays. The partners were impossible to please. Some were micromanagers who wanted you to check everything with them, other partners wanted you to leave them alone and make all the decisions yourself.
"And good luck if you wanted to get married and have children," she said.
She told me that someone would have to use cocaine to keep functioning in that system. I started laughing, but she said she was not joking.
So, she decided to quit the firm and become a law professor. . .
I met another lawyer in New Orleans during the Essence Music Festival. She worked at a large firm in Atlanta. I could tell that she was highly intelligent. She graduated from high school when she was 15, then finished college in three years before attending Florida State Law. Now 30, she has been a lawyer for several years.
"I've decided that the profession of law is mainly for men," she told me frankly. "It's kind of an unspoken proposition to a female in the field that you have to choose between having a family and dedicating yourself to the firm. It's really difficult to do both."
She talked about the long hours she put in at the firm in Atlanta. There are women who are partners at the firm, she said, "But when I see how they live, I don't want their lives."
So, she has recently quit the firm and has decided to go to medical school. . .
As for me, I'm not sure that I could survive in such an environment, either. I'm adjusting to the long hours at my firm this summer, but it is still not the hours these two women told me about. And I imagine they were expected to churn out more work products and in a shorter amount of time than what is expected of me. So far at least, my firm has not pressured me with deadlines that seem impossible to meet.
At Florida State, I've met people who can survive and thrive at the large firms where these two ladies worked. I call them superhumans, because they are incredibly intelligent and have an equally incredible work ethic to match. I had not met people like them until I came to Florida State. The amount of information that they can process and what they can churn out in such a short amount of time really amazes me. They are usually on the law review, involved in many other time consuming activities, and are at the top of their class in grades. One friend of mine whom I think fits this superhuman status told me, "I'm glad that I'm married. My wife reminds me to eat and sleep regularly."
If you are a student at an Ivy League law school, these huge firms will come looking for you. They will come to Florida State in the fall as well in something called the "On Campus Interview Program" or "OCI" for short. To get into most of the OCI interviews, though, you need to be in the top 10%, or perhaps the top 20% of your class.
Like I've said before, law school and the practice of law is extremely competitive. It is not for everyone. But I am happy to be here and happy to be in the competition.
Today is Sunday. I have to go into work in about an hour. I also put in about five and a half hours yesterday, Saturday. If I was at a Wall Street firm, however, I doubt that I would have had time to write this blog entry.
Universal Heath Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Monday, July 6, 2009
New Orleans
I just got back from my first ever visit to New Orleans.
For the Fourth of July weekend, the firm hosted a cookout in that city as part of the Essence Music Festival celebration.
Most of the staff of the firm stayed in a nice house on Tchoupitoulas Street, about a five or ten minute drive from Bourbon Street. Tchoupitoulas Street borders the Mississippi River, and I could see the ships at the loading docks and the huge cranes around them.
One of the places that I visited was the 9th Ward- the hardest hit area by Katrina, though it was evident that the whole city was hard hit by that storm. The 9th Ward felt eerie. As we drove through, I could imagine what it must have been like before Katrina. There were lots of nice houses, the weather felt great, and I'm sure people spent a lot of time outside socializing with each other.
Now, most of the houses are abandoned. Many appear not to have been touched since the storm, as litter and debris remains strewn across their yards. The most eerie aspect was seeing the dates spray painted on the houses. After Katrina, crews went through checking the homes for bodies. When they checked a house, they marked it with an X and the date. About one in three or four houses still has that mark. I saw "9/13 X," "9/25 X," "10/1 X", etc. haphazardly spray painted in orange on the walls.
I also spent quite a bit of time on Bourbon Street. On the morning of July 5th, at about 2:30 am, I was walking down Bourbon Street with thousands of others. Just ahead of me, I heard the "Pop! Pop! Pop!" of gun fire. It was a unique sensation and sight to see hundreds of people suddenly turn toward me and begin running. My initial fear was not of being shot, but of being trampled. I darted sideways and leaped up on a windowsill of one of the clubs. Leaning back against the glass as far as I could, I watched as hundreds of people ran past me. It also interested me to see a police officer across the street just casually watching all of this from the entrance to a restaurant. Eventually, people stopped running. I peaked around the corner of the window and hopped down. Police officers on horseback slowly made their way up the street toward the site of the shooting. I headed in the other direction and caught a cab back to the house.
I like New Orleans. It is a city that I want to visit again. After spending three days and nights there (without much sleep), my impression is that this is a city with soul, a city whose main inhabitants are unapologetically poor, but who know how to have fun and enjoy life. They sit in the streets and on their porches as the sun goes down, laughing and talking. Many of the buildings here looked old and dilapidated, but not run down. They teem with life.
But Katrina continues to have this city reeling. The French Quarter and Bourbon Street will stay a thriving force due to tourism, the incredible architecture, restaurants, hotels, clubs, and its reputation as a place to have fun. And New Orleans will continue to exist because of its location as a port city for the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. But driving along the levy wall in the 9th Ward, I felt that this place is not safe. The 9th Ward and the city remain a "soup bowl" below sea level, just waiting for another strong storm to come in a wipe it out again.
As one cab driver told me, "Everyone here now lives off of Uncle FEMA." Indeed, I saw the FEMA trailers clustered together in the 9th Ward. Another cab driver, a native to New Orleans, had an interesting perspective on Katrina and New Orleans. "When they blew the levies," he said, "they made it so the French Quarter stayed dry and the poor people got flooded."
I hope New Orleans can recover. I would have loved to see the city before Katrina. Bringing it all back is a problem, though. Restoring New Orleans is taking and will take massive amounts of money. And it is all so fragile. . . At least the river, the gulf, and Lake Pontchartrain were all beautiful and calm during my days there.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
For the Fourth of July weekend, the firm hosted a cookout in that city as part of the Essence Music Festival celebration.
Most of the staff of the firm stayed in a nice house on Tchoupitoulas Street, about a five or ten minute drive from Bourbon Street. Tchoupitoulas Street borders the Mississippi River, and I could see the ships at the loading docks and the huge cranes around them.
One of the places that I visited was the 9th Ward- the hardest hit area by Katrina, though it was evident that the whole city was hard hit by that storm. The 9th Ward felt eerie. As we drove through, I could imagine what it must have been like before Katrina. There were lots of nice houses, the weather felt great, and I'm sure people spent a lot of time outside socializing with each other.
Now, most of the houses are abandoned. Many appear not to have been touched since the storm, as litter and debris remains strewn across their yards. The most eerie aspect was seeing the dates spray painted on the houses. After Katrina, crews went through checking the homes for bodies. When they checked a house, they marked it with an X and the date. About one in three or four houses still has that mark. I saw "9/13 X," "9/25 X," "10/1 X", etc. haphazardly spray painted in orange on the walls.
I also spent quite a bit of time on Bourbon Street. On the morning of July 5th, at about 2:30 am, I was walking down Bourbon Street with thousands of others. Just ahead of me, I heard the "Pop! Pop! Pop!" of gun fire. It was a unique sensation and sight to see hundreds of people suddenly turn toward me and begin running. My initial fear was not of being shot, but of being trampled. I darted sideways and leaped up on a windowsill of one of the clubs. Leaning back against the glass as far as I could, I watched as hundreds of people ran past me. It also interested me to see a police officer across the street just casually watching all of this from the entrance to a restaurant. Eventually, people stopped running. I peaked around the corner of the window and hopped down. Police officers on horseback slowly made their way up the street toward the site of the shooting. I headed in the other direction and caught a cab back to the house.
I like New Orleans. It is a city that I want to visit again. After spending three days and nights there (without much sleep), my impression is that this is a city with soul, a city whose main inhabitants are unapologetically poor, but who know how to have fun and enjoy life. They sit in the streets and on their porches as the sun goes down, laughing and talking. Many of the buildings here looked old and dilapidated, but not run down. They teem with life.
But Katrina continues to have this city reeling. The French Quarter and Bourbon Street will stay a thriving force due to tourism, the incredible architecture, restaurants, hotels, clubs, and its reputation as a place to have fun. And New Orleans will continue to exist because of its location as a port city for the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. But driving along the levy wall in the 9th Ward, I felt that this place is not safe. The 9th Ward and the city remain a "soup bowl" below sea level, just waiting for another strong storm to come in a wipe it out again.
As one cab driver told me, "Everyone here now lives off of Uncle FEMA." Indeed, I saw the FEMA trailers clustered together in the 9th Ward. Another cab driver, a native to New Orleans, had an interesting perspective on Katrina and New Orleans. "When they blew the levies," he said, "they made it so the French Quarter stayed dry and the poor people got flooded."
I hope New Orleans can recover. I would have loved to see the city before Katrina. Bringing it all back is a problem, though. Restoring New Orleans is taking and will take massive amounts of money. And it is all so fragile. . . At least the river, the gulf, and Lake Pontchartrain were all beautiful and calm during my days there.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Saturday, June 27, 2009
In the Groove
Like a distance runner gradually building up stamina, I'm beginning to get used to the long hours at the firm. Friday, they let me go at 6:30 pm and it felt a little weird- like I didn't know what to do with myself. As long as I get time to go for my jogs, have two meals a day where I'm not rushed to eat, have an hour after work to just unwind, and then get about 7 hours sleep, I'm good to keep going. Some days at the firm, it's pushing my time to have all of that. But most days, I can pull it off on schedule and stay in the groove. The most stress comes when I have an extra personal errand that has to be done during the day. It can throw off my whole schedule. Such details of life are inevitable, though, and I'm trying to get better at dealing with that stress when the situation arises.
Some reading this blog entry might think that this is not the life for them. They may be right. It is not easy. Spending time with a family would be challenging on this schedule. You just have to evaluate what you want out of life and what your value system is.
As for me, I like where I am at and the work that I am doing. The partners, attorneys and staff have all been very generous and supportive. I want to do good work for them and make a legitimate contribution to the firm's success. The founding partner, Mr. Crump, did me a tremendous favor by reaching out and hiring me for the summer. This is a great opportunity. I'm just trying to show my appreciation and that he did not make a mistake in bringing me on board.
When I tell other law school students where I am at and what I am doing for the summer, you can see the wheels turning in their heads and the jealousy in their eyes. They would trade places with me in a second. This firm has a great reputation in the community, and the people here work hard and play hard. I'm in a good place.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Some reading this blog entry might think that this is not the life for them. They may be right. It is not easy. Spending time with a family would be challenging on this schedule. You just have to evaluate what you want out of life and what your value system is.
As for me, I like where I am at and the work that I am doing. The partners, attorneys and staff have all been very generous and supportive. I want to do good work for them and make a legitimate contribution to the firm's success. The founding partner, Mr. Crump, did me a tremendous favor by reaching out and hiring me for the summer. This is a great opportunity. I'm just trying to show my appreciation and that he did not make a mistake in bringing me on board.
When I tell other law school students where I am at and what I am doing for the summer, you can see the wheels turning in their heads and the jealousy in their eyes. They would trade places with me in a second. This firm has a great reputation in the community, and the people here work hard and play hard. I'm in a good place.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
Friday, June 19, 2009
8 O'Clock Shadow
This week, I started my clerkship at Parks & Crump law firm. Mr. Crump told me that it was going to be "Baptism by Fire," and he wasn't joking. The amount of hours that I am working has escalated significantly compared to the job I just finished as a mentor in the Summer for Undergraduates Program. Now, I get into work between 8 and 8:30 am, and usually don't leave until after 8 and 9 pm. I'll be doing some research for the firm this weekend as well.
I'm not complaining. Mr. Crump was very gracious to give me this opportunity. Most students in between their first and second year of law school right now do not have paid clerkships. And there are many students who are in between their second and third year of school (and even some that have graduated) who do not have paid employment and would gladly trade places with me.
Parks & Crump is giving me the chance to learn a lot about tort law and the operation of a plaintiff's law firm. It is a model that I want to understand very well. This firm was established in 1995 by two graduates of Florida State Law. They didn't have much money to begin a firm, but Parks & Crump's steady climb to become one of the most successful personal injury firms in Florida is truly remarkable. So I'm doing my best to imitate a sponge and soak in everything I see and hear. Working long hours is just an understood necessity for success.
After 8 pm one night earlier this week, I went to the office bathroom to wash my hands and face. I was dressed in a full suit. As I wiped my face with a paper towel and looked in the mirror, I thought, "Man, I need to shave."
In fact, I had shaved that morning before coming to work. I'd never had a problem with 5 o'clock shadow- but I guess 8 o'clock is a different story.
I suppose my facial hair has been growing like this for a while, but it is the first time in my life that I noted it. A quote from Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II also flashed through my mind as I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I had been at the office and in a suit for over 12 hours straight... "This is the business we've chosen."
But I'm not working any more than what the partners of the firm did and do. And I've seen the alternatives. There were times in my life when I was carrying mail for 12 hours a day in Washington, DC. Office work is a piece of cake compared to that, and I'm lucky and happy to be at Parks & Crump employed as a law clerk.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
I'm not complaining. Mr. Crump was very gracious to give me this opportunity. Most students in between their first and second year of law school right now do not have paid clerkships. And there are many students who are in between their second and third year of school (and even some that have graduated) who do not have paid employment and would gladly trade places with me.
Parks & Crump is giving me the chance to learn a lot about tort law and the operation of a plaintiff's law firm. It is a model that I want to understand very well. This firm was established in 1995 by two graduates of Florida State Law. They didn't have much money to begin a firm, but Parks & Crump's steady climb to become one of the most successful personal injury firms in Florida is truly remarkable. So I'm doing my best to imitate a sponge and soak in everything I see and hear. Working long hours is just an understood necessity for success.
After 8 pm one night earlier this week, I went to the office bathroom to wash my hands and face. I was dressed in a full suit. As I wiped my face with a paper towel and looked in the mirror, I thought, "Man, I need to shave."
In fact, I had shaved that morning before coming to work. I'd never had a problem with 5 o'clock shadow- but I guess 8 o'clock is a different story.
I suppose my facial hair has been growing like this for a while, but it is the first time in my life that I noted it. A quote from Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II also flashed through my mind as I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I had been at the office and in a suit for over 12 hours straight... "This is the business we've chosen."
But I'm not working any more than what the partners of the firm did and do. And I've seen the alternatives. There were times in my life when I was carrying mail for 12 hours a day in Washington, DC. Office work is a piece of cake compared to that, and I'm lucky and happy to be at Parks & Crump employed as a law clerk.
Universal Health Care Now,
Nathan Marshburn
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