Today was one of my better days because I heard Tom Mesereau speak. You may not recognize the name, but click on THIS LINK and see his picture (and read about him), and you’ll recognize the person.

Tom came to speak at Pepperdine this year on the topic of “Defending the Unpopular Client,” and I was disappointed that I was unable to attend. Thankfully, he came to Public Counsel today, and I was able to benefit from his wisdom. He exceeded my already high expectations.

It has been an adventure trying to find my way in this profession called “law,” and this summer has allowed me to finally discover a path. Now, I have every intention of becoming what is called a “plaintiff’s lawyer” – and a good one at that. The more accurate description is that I hope to be a civil litigator, but the best way to get the picture across to you is to get a picture in your mind of the cheesy commercials / backs of telephone books with car-salesman-looking guys saying, “If you’ve ever been in an accident…” You know, the ambulance chasers. The people who give lawyers a bad name. That’s where I’m headed.

And I get the negative connotations. But I’ll tell you, if you ever really ARE in an unfortunate situation and find yourself screwed over by insurance companies or other assorted large corporations, you’ll want me to be there. And you’ll want me to be good.

Tom Mesereau is a criminal defense attorney, and not a civil litigator. But we’re kindred spirits. And I’m not saying he’s Jesus or anything, but his reputation of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners is a lot more like the real Jesus’s than any church folk I’ve ever met.

Two bits of wisdom especially resonated with me today:
1. Tom has two goals: to exonerate innocent people, and to make sure the system isn’t abused by those with power. The latter is my kind of goal.
2. Tom said that the old saying that law school asks you to check your common sense at the door on the way in and then forgets to give it back on the way out is true. In the end, a trial lawyer must be able to connect with the common people. He’s speaking my language.

I have finally determined that I want to be a trial lawyer. And I want to be good at it. Now I’m lucky to be at Pepperdine because I want to be an excellent negotiator/mediator, too, and I hope in the future that I will negotiate many an appropriate settlement with wealthy corporations who should pay for damage they have caused to others. But if these big gorillas in the world jungle aren’t willing to bring about justice, I want to be able to connect with a jury of citizens in such a way that justice will be served.

I guess I’ve wondered what sixteen years of teaching and preaching were leading to next. I think I’m starting to see where.