My Path to Law - ABA Journal

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She has a limited range of motion and uses a motorized wheelchair for mobility. She also has a tracheostomy tube in her neck and breathes through a ventilator. Despite these challenges, Parker persevered through college and law school, graduating with both a JD and an LLM.</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Aug 1, 2024 1:30 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/080924_IAMeganParker-1.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/federal-aviation-administrations-chief-counsel-has-fought-challenges-with-resolve" title="Read Federal Aviation Administration’s chief counsel has fought challenges with resolve">Federal Aviation Administration’s chief counsel has fought challenges with resolve</a></h3> <p> <p>Marc Nichols describes his career and life’s trajectory not as a straight line leading him to the FAA but more of a wandering path in which he has fought against difficult circumstances and seized opportunities. The key, Nichols says, is to stay determined and embrace change. “Change can sometimes be your friend. It’s about mental attitude and perseverance.”</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Jun 1, 2024 1:40 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/020324_IA_Nichols_750x500px4.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/leaving-the-cage-a-love-for-canines-influenced-this-lawyers-work-to-outlaw-greyhound-racing" title="Read A love for canines influenced this lawyer’s work to outlaw greyhound racing">A love for canines influenced this lawyer’s work to outlaw greyhound racing</a></h3> <p> <p>People often ask me how I came to become a lawyer for greyhounds. In fact, the dogs led me to law school.</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Apr 1, 2024 1:00 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/040524_IA_Christine_Dorchak.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/a-second-child-during-chinas-one-child-policy-becomes-an-immigration-lawyer-in-the-us" title="Read A second child during China’s one-child policy becomes an immigration lawyer in the US">A second child during China’s one-child policy becomes an immigration lawyer in the US</a></h3> <p> <p>“I came into this world as the second child of my family during the stringent era of China’s one-child policy. To avoid governmental persecution, we took refuge in a secluded rural area where my mother was forced to give birth at home without any medical attention. As I grew older, my inquisitive nature drove me to question why my sister and I lived apart, and why I seemed to be the cause of additional paperwork at school.”</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Dec 1, 2023 1:30 AM CST</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/main_images/12012324_IA_LinchiLing.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/florida-lawyer-creates-the-role-models-he-didnt-have-through-a-childrens-book" title="Read Florida lawyer creates the role models he didn’t have through a children’s book">Florida lawyer creates the role models he didn’t have through a children’s book</a></h3> <p> <p>“It’s been my goal to try to change the imagery of what attorneys look like to kids,” says Okoye Morgan Jr., founder and general counsel of The Black Law Company in Tampa, Florida.</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Oct 1, 2023 2:40 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/Okoye_Morgan_headshot.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/web/article/van_kopp_my_path_to_law" title="Read Protecting the citizens on the ground—both in Afghanistan and as a lawyer">Protecting the citizens on the ground—both in Afghanistan and as a lawyer</a></h3> <p> <p>“Ideas are destiny. Mine sent me to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, to platoon leadership in Afghanistan, to the intensive care unit—and, eventually, to law.”</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Sep 21, 2023 10:36 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/main_images/Scvk_Headshot_(1)_copy.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/from-undocumented-to-attorney-at-law-a-journey-of-hope-and-resilience" title="Read From Undocumented to Attorney at Law: A journey of hope and resilience">From Undocumented to Attorney at Law: A journey of hope and resilience</a></h3> <p> <p>There was room for only two of us on our tiny raft, yet three of my siblings and I managed to cling onto its surface as my father waded through the Rio Grande, pulling the raft behind him. In front of us was the promised land: America. It promised an education and a better life.</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Jun 1, 2023 1:30 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/060723_IA_AntonioJaimes_2.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/how-law-family-and-history-shaped-my-career" title="Read How law, family and history shaped my career">How law, family and history shaped my career</a></h3> <p> <p>“Life is a dance. For more than a decade, the legal profession has been the floor on which I’ve danced. It’s been hilariously comical, painfully awkward and immensely powerful. At its best, practicing law is a medium through which we experience and discover who we are when the lights are the brightest, when we’ve fallen short and when we dare to lead. That is our profession’s genius. Here’s what I’ve discovered while dancing to our profession’s mesmerizing tune.”</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Oct 1, 2022 1:20 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/101122-IA-JasonStJulien.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/first-gen-full-circle-personal-tragedies-motivate-lawyers-work-as-a-reform-prosecutor" title="Read First Gen, Full Circle: Personal tragedies motivate lawyer’s work as a reform prosecutor">First Gen, Full Circle: Personal tragedies motivate lawyer’s work as a reform prosecutor</a></h3> <p> <p>I wish I could begin my story with some childhood aspiration like “I wanted to be a lawyer since learning of Thurgood Marshall’s crusades” or “This has been my passion ever since I first saw <em>My Cousin Vinny</em>.” However, the law forced itself into my life in a more direct way. I was born in New Orleans and raised through Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. I was a senior in high school when my father was arrested, convicted and handed a long sentence in state prison that he is still serving today. This traumatic experience left 17-year-old me with a load of emotions and questions that would take years to explore.</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Apr 1, 2022 1:50 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/Amando.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/my-journey-to-the-other-side-of-the-justice-system" title="Read From Defendant to Attorney: My journey to the other side of the justice system">From Defendant to Attorney: My journey to the other side of the justice system</a></h3> <p> <p>“The year was 2005. I was 27 and securely set in my ways; however, God had another plan for my life. By then, I was no stranger to the justice system, having been a defendant in most courts throughout Wayne County. … This time, however, I was at the center of a drug sting operation with a confidential informant and marked money. I was facing up to 20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for delivery of a controlled substance.”</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Oct 1, 2021 3:10 AM CDT</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/101121-Martell-750px.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/using-my-platform-to-help-move-america-toward-justice" title="Read BigLaw litigation partner uses his platform to fight for civil rights">BigLaw litigation partner uses his platform to fight for civil rights</a></h3> <p> <p>In law school, my plan was this: Spend two to three years at a large law firm and then return to my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, to practice civil rights law and run for public office. But life doesn’t always go exactly as planned, and my trajectory turned into an improbable 34-year journey in BigLaw, where I found my path and have made the kind of difference I always hoped for.</p> </p> <p class="article_list_dateline" style="padding:10px 0 20px 0;">Dec 1, 2020 2:20 AM CST</p> </div>  <div class="teaser-image"> <img src="https://www.abajournal.com/images/mag_images/MPTLJones,-Michael_3x3LARGEST.jpg" /> </div>  </div>  <div class="article-teaser"> <div class="teaser-content"> <h3 class="article_list_headline"><a href="/magazine/article/the-power-of-my-hearing-loss" title="Read The power of my hearing loss">The power of my hearing loss</a></h3> <p> <p>To many, it may seem ironic that a deaf judge presides over hearings. 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