lawyering.

"lawyer - n - professional bullshit artist"

Interesting, huh?  I found this definition on urbandictionary.com, and it's not surprising.  I've had a friend tell me to my face that lawyers are the scum of the earth (hahaha).  I never really took offense to the generalization that lawyers were horrible, money hungry sons of bitches, because I never really considered myself to be a "LAWYER."

At my current employment, I have been required to make certain appearances at various courthouses in New York and New Jersey, filing pleadings, attending scheduling/status conferences, and appearing for motions.  But last Thursday was the first time I had to actually present an argument before a Judge.  It was nerve-wracking, to say the least.

It was a simple motion to vacate a default judgment, which we were opposing.  Generally, when a party makes a motion to vacate a default judgment, a judge will grant this so that the parties may have its day in court.  I went in knowing that it was expected for me to lose this motion, but i was still scared shitless. During the two hours I had to wait for our case to be called, my stomach was churning, i was sweating, it was just a mess.  When our case was finally called, I thought I was going to puke from anxiety (side note: I do not handle pressure well. during the NY bar exam, I felt so sick during the 3hour multiple choice section, i rushed through the entire exam and left after about an hour).  Turns out, speaking before a judge isn't so bad.  We still lost the motion, but it was pretty painless.  The judge was fair, and I was able to make my (brief) arguments without projectile vomiting (though I think my voice cracked once or twice).

I (un)successfully argued my first motion. I still don't feel like a "lawyer," though. Maybe things will change in a year or two, when I'm some asshole ambulance chaser. :)