Marcelino Herrera Juarez

You

are named after the man

who raised our father

who's impact was so profound

that dad chose to give you his name

(and he thinks naming kids after people is stupid

ask him what he thinks of your nephews name)



you and i have not always had

the best

relationship

constantly striving for the spotlight

we both

were

are



approval doesn't come easy in this family

and it's a fist fight to recieve it

thats what happens when you're 1 of 8 children

and your parents are just proud

that you're alive



and we are so similar in personality

that the competition is only natural

i mean damn, man,

you tried to take my birthday!



recently i reveald that i never really

got

what you did

and with that said

i still couldn't be more proud of you



we all have dreams

but we're all not

lucky

or talanted

enough to fufill them

and you

have



people pay you to dance

people pay to see you do

what you love to do.

sit on that for a minute

man

they pay me

because i do

something tangible

becuase i produce documents

becuase i stand in a court room for them

they pay you

for the way

you make

them

feel



i couldn't be

more proud.



and for all it's worth

you are the

Bourgeoisie

reminder

of how far this family has come

of how far this

last name has come

your father

dropped out of school

and went to the army

during the Viet Nam War

at age 15

you

dropped

out of school at age 16

and became a professional

ballet

dancer

and i

could not

be

more

proud.

On Power and the Law

I am not fooled by the fact that i am a lawyer. that i am part of "the problem" i do not think that i am any better then any of my counterparts who practice law. (but i do believe that i am happier) i know that most days i am no better then the lawyer who stands across the aisle from me. we both have the same job, to wield the law like a lightsaber, to cause damage, to win.



but i do believe that in a society full of people who feel entitled to...everything, some of us still feel blessed when we walk into a law school, when we are...accepted. and if we have forgotten how lucky we are then we have someone there to remind us that we don't belong there. We don't belong there so when your grades are not as high as your counterparts, when you are dissapointed after a test, remember that you are blessed to just walk through those doors.



On September 27, 2010 i attended a TRO (temporary restraining order) extension hearing with new client. When we arrived we saw that one of the our case managers was there with a client of her own for a TRO extension hearing as well. We all sat together for about 20 minutes and chatted. At some point an elderly man came across the partition and approached the client of the case worker. He asked if he could speak to her, she agreed, and they walked a little ways away and sat down to speak.



Sitting in this semi circle were this elderly man, who turned out to be the opposing party's attorney, the client, the case manager and the court appointed interpreter. I leaned over and said to my client, "it always makes me nervous when lawyers want to speak to clients who don't have representation." I then continued to lightly eavesdrop on their conversation.



it started off ok. he asked her about the incident. said he wanted to hear "her side". He asked questions about the date, time, where the incident occured, who was there. I let this happen until i heard him ask if she was drinking the night the incident occured. she said no. he then asked her if it was true that she had a drinking problem. at that time i jumped up and walked over to them and told the client, in spanish, that the questions didn't matter and she didn't need to answer them. The lawyer got visbly upset, asked me if i spoke spanish, asked me if i told her not to answer those questions and if i had told her that it didn't matter, asked me who i was, and then asked if i was her lawyer. i answered him. I said yes i speak spanish, yes that's what i told her, told him i'm a lawyer, but no i wasn't her lawyer. he then stood up and yelled at me, yelled, in the lobby of the domestic violence division of the 2nd judicial district court house. (word to the wise, if you defend batterers its probably not wise to scream on your younger female (of color) opposing counsel) He said, "then you can get away from here!" I told him, "you know what sir, i'm not her lawyer, but i can be." I walked up to the front of the DV unit and entered my appearance, walked back to them and told him to get away from my client.

We entered the court room 10 minutes later. He asked for a dismissal of the TRO in place of the Temporary Domestic Order that would be entered in the Domestic Matters case he was going to file. I told the judge we were not interested. he made an argument that they were the same. I told him the reasons why they weren't. He then asked for a restraining order only until the divorce was finalized. I told the court we weren't interested. I told the commissioner we wanted an OFP (order for protection) for one year. He then made some arguments about how that was unneccessary and it should be limited. I told the court we weren't interested. We wanted an OFP for one year and if we couldn't come to an agreement we were prepared to have a full hearing. We argued back and forth for a few more minutes and then we got a stipulated order of protection for 1 year.

Afterwards i was so dissapointed in that other attorney. being a lawyer gives you power. you have access and knowledge that so many people don't. that esq. behind your name is a like a cape. you can make, or crush, peoples lives. don't be evil. don't get it twisted i'm not saying we're better then ANYONE else. everyones job is necessary. but ours, well, we effect everyone. everyone needs a lawyer at some point. so don't let people walk away with a bad taste in their mouth over you. don't be "that lawyer" like every other lawyer. don't get...entitled. don't ever feel like the world is yours, treat your last like your first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErHT5cC5in8

always work hard. always prepare extra. never use your legal counterparts as a scale of how good, prepared, or empathetic you should be. set your own standards. be the lawyer you wish you had.