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Well, I've come to the conclusion that my family must think that I am only pretending to be a lawyer. I must have some other job that I do to make money so we aren't homeless and the job I do is not important or relevant to any real legal work. 


I have reached this conclusion based on two events. They are actually semi-humorous, in a way, since they are just so strange. The first involved a conversation with my father, which went something like this:

Dad: Well, your cousin just got arrested on felony charges. He's got like aggravated robbery or something. 


Me: Is he in jail then or did he bail out?


Dad: I think he has his hearing today for the bail. These are pretty serious charges, right?


Me: Well, yeah...generally felony agg robbery is pretty serious. 


Dad: So he should have a lawyer?


Me: Yeah, that's a good idea. If he has his bail hearing today, they should give him an application for a public defender, so he can apply for one if he's not working. 


Dad: Well, if they are really serious charges, do you think he should get a public defender or should he hire a real attorney? (emphasis added by me)


Me: Dad! I am a real attorney. Public defenders are real attorneys. 


Dad: No, no, I know that--I just mean--you know what I mean!


Me: No, Dad, I don't. I'm just as much of an attorney as someone whose clients pay them. They only give out one type of bar exam and one type of bar admission. 


Dad: Yeah..ok, you're right. Sorry. 




Ouch...my own dad used the "real attorney" thing on me...sigh...


Event two occurred just recently, when a close family member was arrested for a DWI. Misdemeanor DWIs are kind of my bread and butter, since they make up about 40% of my caseload.  For those of you who have not been arrested in MN for a DWI or haven't practiced law in MN, I'll briefly explain that when someone gets arrested for a DWI, they get taken down to the police station and the cops read them the MN Implied Consent Advisory, which says, in a nutshell, that the cops think you've been drinking before driving and that they want you to take a test to determine how drunk you are. They tell you that refusal to take the test is a crime and that you have the right to contact an attorney to help you decide whether you want to take the test or not and the cops will give you time to contact an attorney if you want it. 


So, close family member gets picked up for a DWI.  His wife lets me know right away, since he called her from the squad car. So, I anticipate a phone call, since he'll get a chance to call an attorney and he knows what I do for a living. But, no phone call. Nothing. So I thought, well maybe he called someone else in the phone book if he couldn't remember my number. Nope. He just didn't call anyone. Now, he knows I can't represent him in court (my full time PD position doesn't allow for that) but he also knows that he could call me for some general idea about what he can expect. 


I can't help but wonder what it is my family thinks I do. Because clearly, they do not think that I am a real attorney who assists people on a daily basis with their DWI cases and other criminal matters. 


Man, even when I make it to my goals in life, I still can't convince anyone to believe me that I actually did it. Dang...