Hard Work Pays Off

February 07, 2022

I am proud to say that my persistence and hard work has finally paid off - last week, I secured my mentorship for ISM. I met with a few professionals the week before, but ultimately decided that I would benefit best under Mr.Shavin and Ms.Chandler.

I sent them a request for another meeting and came up with some questions about starting your own law firm and obtaining new clients. I learned that Ms.Chandler actually started her firm with a partner right out of law school. This was surprising to hear because the research I have done said that it is very uncommon for first-year attorneys to start their own firm. Personally, if I decide that I want to start my own firm, I would work at an already well-established firm for a couple years before breaking off and becoming self-employed. After these initial questions, I asked them about if they had a mentor and if they had mentored anyone. Ms.Chandler was actually one of the more than twenty people Mr.Shavin has mentored. Hearing them talk about their experience mentoring and being mentored affirmed my decision to ask them to be my mentors. Once I clarified what their responsibilities would be in this program, they were happy to become my mentors.

During that meeting. I had quickly mentioned my plan for my original work. As of right now, my proposal is to select two cases used in mock trial competitions and create court transcripts for each case at different levels of court. This means I would write arguments for the defense and plaintiff for the trial court, appellate court, and Supreme Court. Mr.Shavin and Ms.Chandler seemed impressed with this idea, so I am confident that this will be an excellent way to showcase my learning throughout this year. Once they get approved by the district, I will be able to share my original work proposal with them and get some feedback. This will help me fine tune the details of my plan.

Aside from securing the mentorship, I have also been working on my presentation board for the Winter Showcase coming up. My idea for the board is to replicate the inside of the Supreme Court building. I have red, velvet curtains hanging from either side of my board and have pieces of wood that will serve as the justices’ table. I plan on adding nine chairs for each Supreme Court justice and will probably write their names above their respective seats. My biggest concern with this board is that people will not be able to tell I am recreating the Supreme Court. To address this, I plan on writing “Supreme Court of the United States” either above the justices’ seats or on the front of their table. Hopefully, this will make the theme much clearer to those not familiar with my topic. Additionally. I am playing around with the idea of introducing my mentors as “Chief Justices” on my board. Although it is unlikely that I will do this, it might make the theme more obvious and cohesive throughout the board. Aside from that detail, my plan for the board is finalized and I am looking forward to finishing up my board this week.