What I do
I love what I do.
It’s frustrating when people have a set mentality of what a lawyer is; or when they stereotype you because of their limited understanding based on American tv shows.
I’ve never ever been the “power suit” type, I don’t like the corporate world and I’ve never had a big career in mind. I just want to wake up, go to work and do my utmost to do a little something everyday that makes sense and is fulfilling. I’ve consciously stayed away from corporate / commercial firms for that reason, enduring much criticism from my peers at law school for setting my sights on what they deemed was a “lower caste” of law. Legal Aid law – street law, if you will. The kind that doesn’t rake in the cash.
But I’m glad I stuck to my guns. My passions, my hopes…it feels like God’s taken every prayer I’ve ever made about my dream job and converged it all here.
This Firm is a melting pot of passion-driven lawyers who have abandoned pursuance of a legal “career” to fulfill a common goal – to serve the people. Many of them once worked in huge corporate firms in London; but they broke away and accepted massive pay cuts because they wanted to get into people-centred law.
Street law is for the people, about the people. Here, legal advice and representation is free. Everyday, the brunt of clients who come to see us are homeless, unemployed, illiterate, poor – we advise them, defend them, find out how we can help them improve their quality of life. We fight off the Housing Associations who want them evicted because they cannot meet their rent expectations due to poverty; we make sure single mothers are getting child benefit, struggling parents get family allowance and the homeless have somewhere to sleep for the night. We appeal the cases that all the other law firms turn their backs on.
It’s frustrating when people have a set mentality of what a lawyer is; or when they stereotype you because of their limited understanding based on American tv shows.
I’ve never ever been the “power suit” type, I don’t like the corporate world and I’ve never had a big career in mind. I just want to wake up, go to work and do my utmost to do a little something everyday that makes sense and is fulfilling. I’ve consciously stayed away from corporate / commercial firms for that reason, enduring much criticism from my peers at law school for setting my sights on what they deemed was a “lower caste” of law. Legal Aid law – street law, if you will. The kind that doesn’t rake in the cash.
But I’m glad I stuck to my guns. My passions, my hopes…it feels like God’s taken every prayer I’ve ever made about my dream job and converged it all here.
This Firm is a melting pot of passion-driven lawyers who have abandoned pursuance of a legal “career” to fulfill a common goal – to serve the people. Many of them once worked in huge corporate firms in London; but they broke away and accepted massive pay cuts because they wanted to get into people-centred law.
Street law is for the people, about the people. Here, legal advice and representation is free. Everyday, the brunt of clients who come to see us are homeless, unemployed, illiterate, poor – we advise them, defend them, find out how we can help them improve their quality of life. We fight off the Housing Associations who want them evicted because they cannot meet their rent expectations due to poverty; we make sure single mothers are getting child benefit, struggling parents get family allowance and the homeless have somewhere to sleep for the night. We appeal the cases that all the other law firms turn their backs on.
I love what I do because this makes sense to me. I am passionate about what I do because every single day, I have a chance to do something to make a difference.
The dictum before me reads – “And even if society gives up on them, and even if they come to us having given up on themselves, we are never…NEVER…to give up on them. There is hope for everyone, and here we fight to prove it.”
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5 Comments:
hahah...aiya, after a while I got exasperated and it kinda stuck la. You have to see how gorgeous the Ercol is to truly appreciate the depth it gives to the blog name. **or am I clutching st straws here?** hahaha. It'll grow on you.
I knew your passion when you did law prac in a similar agency... and got emotionally caught up with your work! Great that you love your job! Look after yourself ok?
Hi bec..yeah, I tend to get emotionally attached..its so hard not to, especially when you deal with the homeless...but I'm learning. xx
=)
aiya, boasting ah! dont lah! shy lah! to be honest with you, a job is a job, isnt it. I suppose I'm just blessed to be able to do something I love. Miss you so much. Big hug for Chris. xx
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