Job Interview Narrative

Phoenix McCain-Novakowski

Molly Fenn

College and Career Prep

8 October 2019

"You’re not going to last long if you’re only in it for the money."

Family Lawyer

Mary Molinaro

As a child, one of the most difficult challenges that I faced was being heard. Not only at school or in public where hundreds of people could be present and easily drown me out, but also in my own family. Now, I know what you’re thinking, how is that a challenge? All you have to do is open your mouth and say words, and people around you (who aren’t deaf) will hear you. Hate to break it to you, but it wasn’t that easy in my household when I was a child. I was born into a family of eight kids, with two parents to tend to all of us. This didn’t mean that our house was chaotic or unsustainable, but as a family who really loved to talk about history and politics, it wasn’t easy either. Between my older siblings and I, the only way to be heard was to be the loudest. Of course, that meant you’d probably be shouted at in return for disturbing practically the whole neighborhood, but you would be heard.

Being heard was the start of my path towards wanting to become a lawyer, but that idea didn't occur to me until around the later years of High School. At first, it started out as a ‘family bonding’ type scenario. I just wanted a chance to voice my opinion about the latest political news or whether any of the previous bloodsheds of history were worth it. Though as I got older, through Middle school into High School, I realized that people hearing about my opinion wasn’t very appealing by itself anymore. I wanted people to hear me, but I also wanted them to understand where I was coming from and where I wanted to go with any claim that I made. I wanted to move people, to persuade them. And while it was certainly difficult, I came to appreciate the challenges thrown my way.

By now, I’ve been a Family Lawyer for approximately 30 years and have even become a specialist in my field. Most of my time is spent in my office, where I go over details of the cases I’m given and write papers to the state about Family Law issues. However, I do also spend a reasonable amount of time sitting on boards or being in a courtroom. When it comes to being in a courtroom, I’d like to clarify that just because I am a type of lawyer doesn’t always mean I have to go into court to represent a client. In cases where I do, I become what’s called a Litigator and my goal is to get the client I’m representing the proper support. In cases where I’m not representing anybody, I am a Mediator and am only present in the courtroom to act as a neutral facilitator. There is also the last category of a lawyer, those who focus on Collaborative Law (a new practice that’s only been present for the last 10 years), but I haven’t been put in that type of situation in a long time. Collaborative Law is when each party in a conflict has a lawyer party working to support them in a court case.

As someone who works in Family Law, that means I’m responsible for helping families sort out issues like divorce, custody or adoption, support, and property division. With that in mind, being a Family Lawyer is really draining; mentally and emotionally. The main reason it’s so draining is that I’m working with families during what’s possibly the most difficult time of their lives, so they’re not always the easiest to work with. I don’t mean they don’t want to come to a compromise to a conflict, I also mean that getting them to focus can be challenging. Another reason is that watching anyone suffer for such a long time is heartbreaking. One of the first things I learned while working towards becoming a lawyer for Family Law was that I needed to maintain a balance of being empathetic and focusing on the legal matter at hand. The final reason is that there will be times where I can’t do anything for a suffering family. I can work very hard to try and support them, but there’s only so much I can do in the name of assisting them before I actually end up making their situation more unbearable.

To even get a job in Family Law, you need to be prepared, intelligent, a hard worker, and someone who wants to help other people. In terms of preparing, it can take weeks to get ready for a trial. During these weeks, you’re required to work long hours in the office. Your work includes going over what you’ll be doing to help support your client, informing them about the entire legal process, and presenting your findings to the court or a judge. In terms of intelligence, because Family Law crosses over with other types of law (ex. if I’m working with families on property division, I need to be up to date with Property Law regulations), you need to be up to date on everything and be able to guide your clients to reasonable solutions. As for being a hard worker, this entire process is stressful and time-consuming. You need to be able to push through challenges and difficulties without breaking down constantly. Finally, as someone who wants to help other people, money, or fame cannot be a motivator. You will not last long as a Family Lawyer if money or winning in the courtroom is your main source of motivation. If those are your sources of motivation, it will be easy to get a bad reputation or become sick with stress.

Yet even with all these challenges, I can’t say I don’t enjoy my work. I don’t work for the money or the reputation (though I’d be lying if I said that the job paying well isn’t a bonus). I like being heard, persuading my audience, and helping people get to a final resolution. It feels like I’m able to give back to the community by helping people come to a complete conclusion to a complex problem. While I know there are some cases where I might not be able to help my clients come to the conclusion that they wanted, it fills me with a sense of joy and pride knowing that I can at least help give them guidance and support. Everyone faces challenges in their daily lives. When it comes to family, that can be one of the most difficult challenges of all. It’s my duty and my desire to help support those people who find themselves in such a situation.