Where's the faith?

Apparently, my friend has very little faith in me. I told her about an interview I have this week. Her response was, "What, in insurance defense?" I thought, great...she really has no faith that a decent firm would ever have interest in me.

I mean no offense to those who are interested in or who are currently working in insurance defense. My reaction to her comment comes from recent conversations we had. She and I have been talking about the job market and how insurance defense seems to have relaxed standards in hiring people compared to other areas of law. I've clerked for in-house counsel at a very large insurance company one summer, and I promised myself I would never go back. It's just not for me.

I find it somewhat insulting that she thinks that would be the only type of law office that would consider hiring me. Her initial reaction says a lot of what she believes I'm capable of. It's disappointing, but in a weird way, it makes me want to try harder.

This position I'm interviewing for this week is one that I have little interest in. It's for a criminal defense firm. I don't enjoy litigation very much, although I have experience in it. More importantly, I don't know if I'm capable of defending.

If you asked me five years ago, I would have gone on and on about it being my dream job. I guess I've been hit with a good dose of realism over the years. My idealistic thoughts of how the justice system should operate and who's capable of rehabilitation have changed drastically through law school. I suppose that happens as one gets older.

I wonder how I'll be able to get through the interview facing 4 attorneys who are all passionate in defense work. Still, I'm a believer in things happening for a reason. I'm going to go with the flow and see what I get out of it.