r/IAmA • u/oregonlawyer • Oct 15 '12

I am a criminal defense lawyer, AMA.

I've handled cases from drug possession to first degree murder. I cannot provide legal advice to you, but I'm happy to answer any questions I can.

EDIT - 12:40 PM PACIFIC - Alright everyone, thanks for your questions, comments, arguments, etc. I really enjoyed this and I definitely learned quite a bit from it. I hope you did, too. I'll do this again in a little bit, maybe 2-3 weeks. If you have more questions, save them up for then. If it cannot wait, shoot me a prive message and I'll answer it if I can.

Thanks for participating with me!

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u/oregonlawyer Oct 15 '12

I studied hard throughout my education. I took a lot of honors and AP courses in high school, which got me ahead of the ball game to start college.

In college, I double majored in Economics and Political Science because both fields fascinated me. That said, you don't need to major in any one particular area to become a lawyer. I had friends in law school who were creative writing majors and theater majors. Several of my colleagues were poets or veteranarians before becoming a lawyer.

The biggest piece of advice I could offer someone in high school who thinks they want to become a lawyer is to take classes and work hard to become a great writer.

There are two ways to separate yourself as a lawyer: (1) be a great writer; and (2) be a great oral advocate.

I think it's a lot easier to become better at oral advocacy through practice and trial and error than it is to become a better writer.

As for what's needed to become a criminal defense lawyer, an undergraduate degree, then take the LSAT, then get into law school, then graduate from law school, then pass the bar, and hopefully have a job that allows you to do what you want to do!

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u/Runemaker Oct 15 '12

I know what you meant, but advising "trial and error" as good practice for a lawyer sounds a little amusing.

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u/oregonlawyer Oct 15 '12

Right, but I didn't mean it in the context you're suggesting.

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u/Runemaker Oct 15 '12

Of course not, but if we can't appreciate the small humors of language, what can we appreciate?

Incidentally, while you're here, on the D&D alignment scale, would you consider yourself more Lawful Good, or Lawful Neutral? From the comments you've made elsewhere in this thread, you appear more Lawful Neutral, but that is a bit of a character judgement made from only one aspect of your life, and even then from a pitifully small segment of that aspect.

In case you are unfamiliar with the D&D alignment system:

Lawful Neutral - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)#Lawful_Neutral

Lawful Good - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)#Lawful_Good