Law: Fantastic Things

Sometimes I read about what Kurzman wants to do with his life and I start to get that funny feeling that you get when you talk to people at old people cocktail parties.  Kurzman wants to be a doctor (one of societies favorite and most esteemed professions), I want to be a lawyer (lawyer finished below drug dealer on a recent societal impression survey).  Kurzman’s profession is about making people better.  My profession is about finding a way to let somebody get what they want – almost exclusively when somebody else doesn’t want that to happen.  Kurzman wants to cure cancer.  I want to go to trial with interesing cases and win.  Kurzman specifially plans to help make the life of children better.  I will most likely spend the first part of my career trying to make corporations better off.  Seriously, five years from now, when we are at weddings or other social events together, I have to imagine that the conversation will go something like this:  and what are you up to Kurzman?  Oh, not much, I’m working at X hospital as a pediatric oncologist.  Thing about that for a minute.  There are a lot of specialties that people have no idea about, but everybody knows pediatrics and everybody knows oncology (I’m remember our spelling lecture boy and girls – it applies to capitalization also) .   Oh, you help kids with cancer?  Wow! At this point, guys will all scratch themselves in an effort to determine just how emasculated they have been by listening to Kurzman’s accomplishments.  Some of these people won’t be sloches themselves, for exampling helping to run entire cities or teaching ages ranging from youngins to high school.  Then it will unfortunately be my turn, and I will have to say something like “oh, I work as an attorney downtown.”  To which the unavoidable question will be “what do you do” and I will answer with some practice….. it doesn’t matter what I say, it all boils down to “I help Corporate America get what they want.”

I’m fine with what I plan to do.  I’m actually excited.  Corporate America does some great things -mainly, it employes a whole bunch of people.  That said, it doesn’t make for the best conversation when the guy next to you is saving the world.  Thanks for that Kurzman.

What made me think of this?  Well, yesterday my friend ran (and finished) the Boston Marathon 3 hours and 18 minutes.  Thats insane.  Seriously, thats a gigantic accomplishment.  Did I meantion he trained for this, from start to finish, while being a law student?   Crazy.  Seriously, my friends are trying to cure cancer and running marathons.  I dont even have the coolest looking blog in my law school section.  That one appears here.