Apparently I succeeded. So far, at least. After I got picked on for exceeding my space limit by a measly 1/4 of a page, I responded to explain to him why he shouldn't let my mistake prejudice his opinion of me. A bit melodramatic for a 1/4 page mistake, but, of course, I don't make up the game, I just play by the rules. And anyway, I have to admit that even though that lawyer is clearly picking on me for his own enjoyment, I am kind of enjoying the back and forth, too. Hopefully that means I am ideally situated to work for him. Because, from what I've heard from other people I've told about what has been going on, a lot of people wouldn't take this as good natured banter and would just be annoyed. I'm not annoyed. I'm interested, and a little exasperated, especially when I'm criticized. But the email I woke up to this morning really erased all that frustration from my mind. He complimented me! Check this out...
"Katie-It was your accomplishments as an English major that initially interested me. I am convinced that an English major magna cum laude college graduate can do almost everything required of a family lawyer except try the case. Send them to law school and they should excel. My experience with this comes from a UVA graduate who worked with me while deciding whether to attend law school. All you had to do is explain your goal and show her where the information was located. I learned then to get out of her way. Since you know where the information is located, the lesson for a supervising lawyer should be to get out of your way.
I believe lesson 2 is forever learned. I also believe your response showed perfect pitch between the tone of sincere acknowledgement of a lesson learned and the tone of exasperation that one of your greatest strengths was being questioned.
As for Shakespeare, I confess I am a bit of a neanderthal. We just never connected.
You are an engaging writer and your ability to communicate is singularly the best skill you can exploit to succeed as a great lawyer. By the way, while the worm references were great, the cobia cinched the interview. I owned and fished a 1972 Bertram offshore every weekend out of Rudee Inlet for several years. Our Legal Administrator was a mate for a charter captain just after college. He and his family are avid fishermen. Hmmmm, hunting and fishing stories. Competition with the guys. Very real and instinctively clever.You know the strings to pull. Good for you!
I look forward to your writing sample."
The truth? I love him. Love, love, love. I worked hard for that little bit of praise and it makes me smile on the inside to read it. I may or may not have read it at least ten times so far today. Totally earned that.
That also explains why he picked on me--English background. Well, that's a bit disappointing. I hoped he somehow instinctively felt that I would be a good addition and felt he needed to pressure me to get the information out that he wanted. But that's just dreaming. Whatever it was that made him sit up and pay attention, I'm very grateful for it. I also cross my fingers and pray constantly that this is my big break.
It's a bit unorthodox, but I like that, too.
Today I am also mourning the end of my spring break. I feel wholly unprepared to be back at school (probably the direct result of doing absolutely nothing school-related in the last week). I didn't get much of a break--I spent a fair bit of time stressing about job interviews and worrying about what to write for this super picky lawyer. But the countdown is still moving--just four more weeks of law school. Maybe it's good spring break is over--still gotta get through these last classes before I can be done for good!
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