My Final Blog Post

By Connor Roe, A Grateful Summer Associate

Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot about the law this summer. I have even become the go to source for my buddies wondering how to get out of a traffic ticket. But even more than that, I’ve learned a lot about people, and myself. First off, people. I got to witness first hand how good people get themselves into trouble. Most of our clients are genuinely good people. They are what 99% of the world would call normal. They have families, jobs, pets, and interests. But it becomes so easy for them to get into trouble by indulging too often in their vices or by just not caring what happens to them. For example, take one of our embezzlement cases. The client was very nice. She was a grandmother. But for whatever reason she began to feel entitled to more money than she was getting paid, so she stole. She was caught and referred to us to work out a plan for her to pay back all of the money she embezzled. It’s easy to steal when you’re “entitled”. From her, I learned that humility is key in keeping yourself out of trouble and to always remember that the world doesn’t owe you anything.

Another one of our clients was an attorney himself. He was incredibly wealthy. He had an expensive home, a fast car, nice watches, a family, and a great job. But he was unhappy. I can’t tell you why. I can only guess that there was something in his life he couldn’t fill. Some need to have more, more, more. Or maybe some sort of boredom or complacency with the life he had become accustomed to. So he drank to feel better. And sure enough he got arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI, under section 4511.19 in Ohio Revised Code. I wasn’t lying about learning the law), got his car towed, and inevitably ended up in our office. From him, I learned that taking joy in life can keep you out of trouble. Unhappy people take risks. Dumb risks. And they wind up getting help from us. They try to fill the unhappiness in their lives with one of the vices that ALL of our clients struggle with at least one: sex, alcohol, drugs, or greed.

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Since the first time I saw A Few Good Men, I wanted to become an attorney. This summer I learned that law isn’t all Code Reds and murder trials (Although I’ll admit that I always suspected it wasn’t). It is, however, an incredibly exciting field. But more importantly I learned what kind of lawyer I want to be. I want to be the kind of attorney who genuinely cares about all of his clients. Much like the staff here at Koffel Brininger Nesbitt. I learned it’s not just about clearing a client of all charges, it’s about getting them the help they really need. I also learned from the investigator at this firm what it really means to dig deep on a case and work tirelessly until all the facts are known. I’ll take all of the lessons I learned from my summer here and apply them to whichever profession I end up in.

Finally, I want to thank everyone here at Koffel Law for helping me out these past few months. I know it’s never the most fun thing in the world to have to teach a rookie how to do every simple task but I greatly appreciate everything you all have done for me. Everyone here is a great person and this has been an incredible experience for me. Thanks again!