10/15/2020
"I got into law, not because it was a money-making opportunity, but because I saw it as a track to public service.
Yes, as a young guy, I thought it would lead to running for political office. But, as the years have passed and I’ve grown and balanced all the competing pressures that come with a lawyer’s life, I eventually began to see how public service could indeed be incorporated into my practice, whether or not I am in elected office. Actually, it is sort of our duty as lawyers.
In 2016, I took these thoughts seriously and began to dedicate myself to this notion of law as public service. I immersed myself in it, attending conferences, working with non-profits, churches, and community organizations, spending countless hours at think-tank seminars, listening and meeting diverse community groups, hearing about problems, organizing and speaking at events, and the like. I crisscrossed the country countless times and basically looked at life and people from a new perch.
During these last four years, I have gone into communities where nobody owed me anything and had no reason to trust me. I had to be aware constantly that I had to invest in others (without thinking about any return), trusting that eventually something good would come out of it. Having faith that my efforts would not be in vain made all the difference and gave me strength to keep going.
Yes, our country and our community face many difficult problems, and by extension, we necessarily do and will too, but, I am convinced that strong conviction can overcome a weak position.
I am happy to be strengthening my own position by joining up with Carlos, Robert and the team. We share a common vision and values, but different experience and tools.
And to provide evidence for my earlier assertion, this association was actually helped into existence, unbeknownst to me, by one of the community leaders from an organization that I had been investing countless hours in without the hope of tangible persongain from it."
