Jonathan Levin Philadelphia based attorney is a long term friend of mine and someone who I have admired for many years. It is fair to say that at school he was one of the misfits like me, which is probably what brought us together, yet he has gone on to become someone who fights for justice in our great state, and who is a serial winner! In his position as an attorney my good friend has wiled away in the justice system and gained quite a reputation for himself, I had a chat with him recently about what life is like as a lawyer, and here is what he shared.
Time Consuming
Jonathan made a joke about how time consuming his job is, yet I could see in his eyes that behind the joke there were some cold hard facts about what he was saying. When he is working a case Jonathan could spend up to 15 hours per day on research, planning and strategizing, as well as meetings with his legal team. Jonathan speaks candidly about the fact that whilst it is tough going to spend so many hours in the office, the passion which he has for the job drives him on.
Emotionally Challenging
Something which we don’t usually associate with an attorney is the emotional challenges which people like Jonathan face every day. A recent expose for example saw Jonathan defending a case which had a huge impact on a low income family, and during his time with the family he couldn’t help but become emotionally involved. The family didn’t have a huge amount of funds like the defendants did, and they were worried they would lose because of this. Jonathan tells me that the emotions of cases like this are something which he cannot avoid taking home with him, and that this is one of the toughest aspects of the job.
Studying Cases
Jonathan tells me that one aspect of the job which takes up much of his time is studying new cases and recent changes in the law. In order to be the very best that he can be at his job, he needs to understand all new changes within the law, and how those changes may impact him and his clients. It seems the studying never really stops for an attorney.
Paperwork
Although Jonathan does work within a team dynamic, he still needs to spend a great deal of his time filling out paperwork for cases. This could be any kind of court document from requesting witnesses and evidence, to bringing the original case before a judge. Jonathan is fortunate to have some assistants on hand who support with this, but nonetheless the paper trail plays a key role in his daily life, and this is also something which takes ups large chunk of his time.
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