Autism Doesn't Stop Woman from Becoming a Lawyer

[Mary Terry]

You're uninformed. And insulting and demeaning to attorneys, judges, juries, and everyone else involved in the judicial system. You are particularly insulting to the young autistic woman in this article who just moved mountains to obtain her law license. You consider her effort and success and career choice as fluff. Yeah, right....

What, exactly, do you do for a living? Do you even have a "fluffer" job or do you just live on social welfare - basically living off the kindness of strangers? We now know you have no education and a false superior attitude toward those who do, such as the young woman in the article.

And, LOL, if you naively think law does not involve "fundamental facts of our reality" and that legislatures who write and enact laws are just making up a bunch of nonsense - you know, nonsense like equal protection for the disabled - then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

And, oh, by the way, if necessary, attorneys routinely retain experts who teach them whatever the attorney needs to know to adequately represent our clients. Attorneys learn everything there is to know about the tangential disciplines that affect their clients. This is why attorneys are able to rip the heads off doctors, chemists, mathematicians, engineers, and every other type of discipline in court rooms on cross examination every day, every hour of the week. Don't forget that every attorney has first obtained an undergraduate degree and sometimes more advanced degrees before entering law school such as Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees in every branch of the arts, the sciences, business, and everything else. Sometimes we don't even need an expert in medicine or chemistry to help us because we already hold degrees in those fields. Go figure!

 

[Mary Terry]

interpretation of laws not interrupting, lol

LOL - I kinda like "interrupting" laws - That's what happens when an attorney successfully challenges an existing law on Constitutional grounds.

 

[Aspychata]

Attorneys fight for the rights of the underprivileged, neglected social classes, they bring reform and challenge to corrupt agencies, companies, and even bad presidents.

 

[rse92]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but this is a topic of interest of mine. I am certain there are many autistic people in legal profession.

Getting there is not that daunting a road for autistic people. If you can get an undergraduate degree then you can get a law degree. From there it's a matter of passing the bar exam, which is the hazing every lawyer has to endure, and qualifying as fit.

BEING a lawyer is hard. Lots of lawyers drop out of the profession. The woman referenced in the article above worked in a law firm for a year and now has her her consultancy firm and does not actively practice. Many are underemployed or unemployed. Even those who are successful are under constant stress and pressure. Mental health issues and substance abuse are endemic to the profession.

 

[jleeb05]

I have mentioned this in others threads but I'm actually an attorney. During the assessment last week, the clinician mentioned that it was very rare for someone on the spectrum to do this particularly because of how legal education is structured. I've actually considered law school to be a form of hazing. The setup of most law classes makes no sense from a pedagogical perspective but we all have to go through it and once you do, you're part of the club.

Besides, some of the inherent difficulties people on the spectrum may face in law with things like perspective-taking, the social piece can also be an issue. It might be changing but in many classes, the Professor uses the Socratic method. They'll single out a student and just pepper them with questions about the case. It can be very intense, especially for someone with social anxiety.

I also think a lot of law is about who you know. From day one, my law school was all about "networking, networking, networking." I absolutely hate networking and I suck at cocktail parties so this was always a huge challenge for me. I do think it has impacted my ability to get jobs. In the end, I started my own law practice because I couldn't get hired at a firm and work at a university doing a job where a law degree is preferred (but not necessary to do the work). I consider myself incredibly lucky to have both but maybe I'm technically underemployed.

I have certainly considered getting out of the legal profession. It has pushed me to grow in a lot of positive ways but it is difficult when you're not neurotypical. When I had my shutdown and couldn't go to court it caused the Judge to declare a mistrial which was humiliating. Despite the difficulties, I'm going on 8 years as a licensed attorney so it's definitely possible.