Looking back on it, my journey to becoming a trial lawyer started when I was named the editor of my high school's student newspaper. The paper's advisor, the school's best English teacher, taught me how to write, and more importantly, how to tell a story. Trial lawyers are story tellers. At the time, I didn't know I was going to be telling stories in a courtroom because I thought I was going to be a journalist. So, I went to the best journalism school in the country, the University of Missouri,and worked on my writing and story telling skills. When I graduated, the country was in a recession and I couldn't land a job on a big city newspaper, so I decided to continue my education by going to law school. There I learned to think like a lawyer. When I graduated, I had two skills: how to think like a lawyer and how to tell a story. But, I had no idea how to use them together. Law school doesn't teach you that. As luck would have it, an experienced trial lawyer took me under his wing and guided me along the way. And, after many years, I was successfully using my two skills together to win for my clients. The great thing about being a trial lawyer is that everyday there is a new story to tell and a client who needs a voice. Now, in the twilight of my career, I'm also mentoring young story tellers so that those who seek justice will always be able to find a skilled trial lawyer. You know what they say, "everyone likes a story with a good ending."
