Being the lawyers we always meant to be
Years ago I remember reading a profile piece about Anna Martinez in Trial Talk, the magazine published by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, and thinking, wow, she seems so cool. In her photo, she was wearing these amazing glasses, and her answers to all the questions asked of her were witty and unexpected. She seemed so confident - like she was really doing it, you know?
Years later, I got the distinct privilege of working with Anna as a colleague, and I couldn’t believe how freaking organized she was. The job that I had at our firm was more of a “creative ideas” lady, and there Anna was just getting shit done. But what really blew me away about her was that every time we spoke, even if it was to say, “Hey, what if we did this thing you’re doing a little differently?” she was so unbelievably kind, humble, and gracious.
She and I have been through a lot since then, together and on our own. We’ve walked miles of circles around her house and mine, venting, problem solving, and scheming. We have fantasized about hexing our enemies and cried under the light of the full moon. We’ve cackled more times than we can count at our own jokes, and rarely a day goes by when I can’t count on Anna sending me an article about the latest legal chisme in our community.
Eventually we both left the firm we worked at together and started our own law practices. I remind Anna what a boss b**ch she is every time her very rational fear of instability threatens to send her back to being an employee, and she reminds me that I do really want to be a lawyer every time I threaten to start a new life on a faraway beach.
Though Anna and I are very different people, there are two things that we definitely have in common: we will not stop until we have the legal profession we all deserve, and we are deeply, deeply committed to helping others.
Law Garden wasn’t exactly a plan we had, but when it became the plan we had, we realized it was exactly what we’ve been working on without even meaning to for all these years. And when Anna texted me just the other day to say thank you for helping her be the lawyer she always meant to be, I said, “That.” That is what Law Garden is. A place for us to become the lawyers we always meant to be.
This profession that we’re in matters. There is hardly anything we might come across on any given day that some lawyer somewhere truly had nothing to do with. A teenager telling your kid not to jump into the foam blocks from the side of the battle beam pit? There’s a memo from legal somewhere threatening someone that if the teenagers don’t start enforcing the rules everyone’s getting fired. Second floor window in your office building won’t open? Lawyer’s orders. No diving board in your local pool anymore? Lawyers. 453 forms to fill out at the dentist’s office, every single time? LAWYERS.
You know what else (some) lawyers have done? Made us a society where access to even the most fundamental and basic human needs - food, water, clean air, healthcare, childcare, education, housing, and even liberty - hinges on how much money you have. And now, we’re all crumbling under the weight of the legal, political, and judicial decisions that got us here.
Law Garden is for any and all lawyers who are trying to figure out how to survive in this dumpster fire while also using their licenses for good. Because none of us went to law school to be doing work that hurts our souls, making other people a lot of money, or paying other people to live our lives for us. We welcome you with open arms, and can’t wait to change the world together.