Monterey Times

San Joaquin College Of Law recently issued the following announcement.

Tell us about yourself and your journey to law school.

I graduated from Fresno State in 2002 with a degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders with an emphasis in Deaf Education Studies, so my initial career choice was to become a teacher for the deaf. I was a decent teacher and I enjoyed it, but my sign language skills weren’t totally where they needed to be in order to teach deaf children. So, I decided to teach mainstream kids. In the meantime, a friend of mine that I knew through the Miss Tulare County Pageant kept telling me I needed to go to law school. With my personality type, she always felt that being a lawyer suited me well. Part of the pageant system included an interview process where you were asked to answer pretty significant political debate hot-topic questions, and I was always able to express myself really well, so she felt law was the perfect career. So, I took her up on her suggestion, I applied and decided to attend law school.

How was your experience as a student at San Joaquin College of Law?

I loved it. I admittedly wasn’t the best law student mostly because during my entire first year, I was Miss Yosemite Valley. I was focused on volunteering and trying to win Miss California, as well as working full-time still as a teacher and also working at a law firm in a reception position, so my focus was a little bit off the first year. I adjusted it in subsequent years but that first one was just a little tricky. While I was at SJCL, I made the best of everything. I was the Student Bar Association President my second to last year and I received a scholarship as well. I served on a variety of committees, was a Delta Theta Phi member, and I was a Moot Court semifinalist. It felt awesome being a finalist because academically, my transcript was not as strong, so I never in a million years expected to do as well as I did. That gave me a boost of confidence to know that I made the right career choice, I just needed to refocus and realign my priorities.

My favorite thing about SJCL was and still is the communication with staff members. Earlier this year, Professor Larry Artenian and I were on the phone going over a preschool contract and the validity of certain clauses in light of COVID-19. Clearly, he’s got better things to do, but those are the kinds of relationships I was able to build because the school was smaller, and they individualize their support for each student. During the times I didn’t pass the Bar, there was always somebody there willing to talk to me about the next steps. I spent an entire summer with Professor Purvis studying MBEs (Multistate Bar Examination) and he didn’t charge a dime to help me. He had no obligation to do that, the same way Larry had no obligation to answer all my contracts questions, but they did and I think that’s something special about the school and it remains special with my experience.

How important is it for new law school students to have that individualized attention?

If you don’t take the time to get to know your professors or your professors don’t know you, there comes a time that you need something then it can be a little more difficult identifying what help is available to you. I think it’s important that all of the students take the time to get to know the faculty because when you do that, you have a much higher rate of success with a built-in support team. Nobody should be afraid to do that or be intimidated by their professors because they’re there to help you and every single one of them will go above and beyond to make sure every student has exactly what they need. You certainly don’t get that at some of the larger law schools.

When did you realize what type of law you wanted to practice?

I didn’t know at all. I focused on litigation in law school and I did litigation for seven years following. Because Moot Court went well and folks thought I was a good arguer, I pursued trial work and I thought I would become a trial attorney. I was a paralegal during school and continued working as one until I passed the Bar, so by default it seemed like the right path for me.

But in 2010, I made a big life change by moving from Northern to Southern California and my primary reasons were because I wanted to surf, to be closer to my brothers and because I’m a huge music lover, I’d been attending a lot of shows out here. So, during Memorial Day weekend in 2010, I packed up my car and moved to Southern California. At that point, I started really loving the idea of being a music attorney and I kept applying for positions at firms and record labels and it wasn’t happening because I didn’t know the right people and that particular industry is 100 percent focused on who you know. I met my husband at a concert when he was managing a band that my friends were members of. Our relationship continued and because of my love for music he encouraged me to apply for a position at Live Nation. I ended up as Associate General Counsel in the US Concerts division of Live Nation. My interest in it, my previous experience at some really large and fantastic law firms and some connections allowed me to become a music lawyer at Live Nation and that was my dream job. After I had kids, I decided to start my own practice and wondered how I was going to continue to do music law because my husband’s connections were his connections, not mine. He and everyone else in the industry are very protective of those connections because if you ask for too many favors, you run out when you really need them. My mother-in-law was a force to be reckoned with and was an incredible music manager who worked directly with Donald Passman, who’s a top music lawyer in the industry. Mr. Passman befriended me and has provided me with invaluable mentorship. I now receive referrals from his office, so my practice by default has been built up because of the thoughtfulness of others and I’m incredibly lucky.

When I was in law school, cannabis law wasn’t even a thing and criminal law is what primarily handled cannabis at the time. In 2018, that shifted with the recreational legalization of cannabis in CA. Cannabis was a right place, right time type of thing for me. A close friend needed some help reviewing a contract for the sale of a cannabis business and I said I’d look it over. It went well and that turned into a full fledged cannabis practice. I started picking up clients here and there and would write applications in a merit-based system, so it was basically like a competition for licensing because the cities only had a few licenses available. You essentially had to write a 150-page report about why your client was suited for a cannabis license and my applications started winning. On behalf of my clients, I won first and second place in cities and counties throughout the state, like West Hollywood, Contra Costa County, Riverside County, California City, Porterville, and Oxnard. Oxnard was especially memorable, because of the 50 applicants, only 8 licenses were being awarded. I applied (with the help of some great colleagues) for 5 licenses. Our clients finished in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place, securing 5 of the 8 total licenses. As my clients started winning, that fortunately put me on the map.

What was it like seeing the shift of criminalizing cannabis to competing for business licenses?

It’s still crazy and that’s the only way to describe it. There is so much confusion associated with it and I think that’s the most difficult part. What makes it so crazy is that each city has the right to come up with their own laws in relation to the recreational use of cannabis and each county has the right to come up with their own laws in association with the unincorporated territories within a county that are not associated with a city. So, every single one has a different ordinance that they develop, which means it’s near impossible to track what’s going on where and when. Companies like Fyllo have now formed databases that you can utilize to keep things straight. An entirely new code was drafted and redrafted and finally finalized by the Bureau of Cannabis Control who oversees California cannabis businesses. So, just trying to get people to understand what the code is because it had never been put into practice has caused all kinds of confusion for people. There’s gray areas and there’s no precedent, so it’s really difficult to know if you’re doing it right. You just have to do the best you can, use common sense and ask questions, but I love every bit of it.

Your career has gone from litigation to music law to cannabis law - what’s been the most memorable case or highlight of your career so far?

It surprisingly didn’t have anything to do with any of those. When I was at Munger, Tolles & Olson, which is a major law firm in Los Angeles, they took on a lot of pro bono cases and I was asked to work on one for a transgender Honduran native who had fled to Mexico and was ultimately seeking asylum in the United States. That case was one of the most incredible opportunities because I wasn’t that familiar with immigration law and how one goes about seeking asylum in the U.S. to begin with, but the story behind it was both heart-wrenching and incredible all at once. I really loved that I was able to make such an impact on that person’s life. In that case, I was given the opportunity to write a portion of the case brief that was eventually presented to the court and that included going through every painful detail of this person’s life and what she had gone through - from dealing with gang violence in Honduras to the fact that she was transgender and the difficulties that come along with that in Latin America and the persecution she felt while in a Mexican prison. The day they announced that she had been

awarded asylum was really special and she came into our office, so we got to meet face to face and it was really difficult to hold back the tears. Of all the representation I’ve done for major corporations and big time music industry folks and even some incredibly successful clients on the cannabis side, that particular case was one where you knew you were making a huge impact on someone’s life. That led to me getting more involved with Bet Tzedek, which is a non-profit legal organization here in Los Angeles that helps clients both state and nationwide on a pro bono basis. I’m a pro bono attorney for their LGBTQ Gender and Name Change Clinic, so I provide free legal services to members of the LGBTQ community who are seeking to petition and be granted a gender or name change. It’s funny the way that getting involved with a pro bono case can make you think about how important this issue is in the lives of others and make you want to do legal work that literally changes lives in a very deep and meaningful way.

How true is it that a law degree can open up many doors throughout your career?

It was a journey for me to pass the Bar Exam and took me longer than I wanted, but because I had that law degree I still was earning a six figure salary a year before I was a lawyer. I was good at my job and because of that degree, it gave me that value even in a paralegal position. So regardless of whether or not you intend on becoming a lawyer, having a legal education certainly gives you a different value in the employment world and can open many doors. I’ve found that to be incredibly true my entire career because I was earning a good living as a paralegal in Fresno during the years I was studying to pass the Bar and I was making just as much as some lawyers in Fresno.

How important is it for students to continue to persevere even if they don’t pass the Bar Exam the first time?

You have to do it. I’m more than happy to talk to any student at any time who feel down on themselves about not passing the Bar Exam and sharing my experiences. It was crazy and sad along the way, but there’s this drive inside of you once you accomplish something like graduating from law school. You think to yourself “there’s no way I’m going to stop now because I fought hard to get through law school.” You can’t give up. Unless your intent is never to be a practicing lawyer and you’re in this more for the opportunity and to have a law degree just to understand the law and utilize your knowledge in some other capacity, you can’t give up on the Bar Exam. There are ways to pass and you just have to find the right help and identify your strengths and weaknesses so you can hone in on that when it comes time to take the exam.

What advice do you have for maintaining a healthy work/life/school balance in law school and throughout your career?

A work/life balance for me right now is tough because I have small children, so I’d love someone to give me advice on how to make it all happen. As a student, it’s all about maintaining a schedule and being diligent in the decisions that are being made. If you know exercise is what makes you happy, then you’ve got to prioritize that in the beginning of your day. If you know there’s a certain number of hours that you need to study in order to be successful and you’re seeking employment, make sure your employment opportunity is not going to impede your ability to get studying done. That’s the change I had to make my first year because I was working 40 hours a week and going to school full time and that was too much, so I had to find a way to scale back. That’s why financial aid is available to students so you can take that opportunity and not have to deal with the stress of working a full time job while going to school. Having a support system is also really important. If you’re not married or in a relationship and don’t have that kind of support, then try to seek support from your family. If your family isn’t really supportive or you don’t have that opportunity, then get your support from the staff at the law school. They’re just an extended family who are going to help you get through it and do all they can to help you be successful.

What’s something you learned in law school that no one told you about before you went?

I learned a lot of introspective things about myself. You have to channel deep inside yourself in order to find what it takes to get through law school, but you’re capable. So even in those deep, dark moments when you get back a 60 on your Contracts exam, you can still do it. You just have to stop, take a deep breath and think to yourself “what do I need to do next?” There’s certainly some self-improvements that you can make throughout the law school process. Even now after I graduated and took a while to pass the Bar, I wish I could do it again because I’m such a different person now. After having practiced law and having been a paralegal through some of the biggest trials in the country, I learned so much in those situations and I feel like if I were to do law school again, it would be such a different experience. Try not to let that be what happens. While you’re there, try to live in that moment, make it a purposeful experience and do what you need to do to be the best person you can be upon graduating because you’ll be rewarded in ways you’d never expect down the line. Because I persevered, I was able to change someone’s life 10 years down the road and I never would’ve done that if I didn’t keep pushing through.

After studying so hard, what was it like when you finally passed the Bar Exam?

It was a very special night. A musical artist named Bastille is close friends of ours and Dan, who’s the lead singer, is from England and his parents are both lawyers (known as barristers in England). I had previously told him that I was going to be taking the Bar Exam and he had shows’ in Los Angeles two nights in a row, the Thursday and Friday leading into the Bar results being released. I saw him at the Thursday’s show, and he asked if the results had come out yet and I told him “no” and that I felt sick about it. He had been tracking my journey of becoming a lawyer because he knew I wanted to get into the music industry. So, the next night, we were on our way to the show in Pomona and I opened my phone and saw that I’d passed the Bar. I immediately started sobbing and called Larry Artenian to tell him the good news. When I got to the theater, Dan set up an entire congratulatory party in the back of the green room with champagne and everything, even though he didn’t know if I’d passed. When I walked in, he asked about the Bar and I told him I passed and we had a fun party backstage at his show. It was such a meaningful moment for me that someone with his notoriety in this industry would care that I passed the Bar.

What advice do you have for students who attend SJCL with the goal of practicing law in a bigger city?

Find a way to make connections beforehand. While you’re in school, start looking for opportunities to do summer internships or even distance work. I hire a lot of my law clerks from SJCL purposely because first, I want to support the students and second, they’ll now have a reference from a Los Angeles law firm that they can utilize on a resume should they ever move to another place to practice law. It can be done, you just have to take a risk of believing in yourself, build your contacts and figure out what you want to do and work towards that goal.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your workload?

I’m so busy these days. Cannabis was deemed an essential business in California because it’s considered medicine for many people, so those clients are in full swing. The municipalities (both counties and cities) are still pushing forward with their licensing processes because they rely on the tax revenue that comes from cannabis sales. Their budgets were formed with the understanding that they would receive taxes from cannabis sales. So even though the COVID-19 pandemic is taking place, they’re still pushing forward in their licensing processes which means that my clients who are planning to apply in those areas have to continue their work. So, it’s been 50-60 hour work weeks for me during this time which is a big challenge since I have kids at home. The music side of things is still picking up as well, which is surprising to me since all live touring is cancelled right now. I picked up some new clients and one is about to sign a big record deal. One interesting and fantastic thing about my music practice is that my husband has been in this industry for two decades as a music executive, so I’m able to go over general questions about music agreements with my husband. We’ll sit on the couch and argue back and forth about his view and my view about what the contract is saying and what’s fair and isn’t fair. I’ve learned more from those experiences with him than in any other way. I love being able to talk to him about the ins and outs of these agreements because he’s been privy to them for the last 20 years.

What advice do you have for people who are interested in going to law school but hesitant because of the uncertainty in today’s world?

I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to live with any regret and I believe experiences are a very important part of your life because they help build the person you become. If law school is what you want to do, then do it. Don’t second guess it, don’t worry about the cost and don’t worry about how things are going to work out because they will. If it’s something that your mind is set on doing, just go for it and trust that you’re making the right decision. I didn’t have anyone to pay for my college or law school tuition, I did it all by myself while working full time, most of the time, for more than a decade. If you want to do it, you’re going to make it happen. Now is a great time to become a lawyer because there’s new industries that are advancing every single day. The world is going to continue to shift and new industries will continue to develop as a result of that shift and it’s going to be great to have attorneys who are well-trained and passionate about what they’re doing.

Want to learn more about San Joaquin College of Law, attend a virtual student forum or set up an appointment to discuss your law school future? Contact our Admissions Counselor, Francisco "Javier" Rosas today!

Original source can be found here.

Source: San Joaquin College Of Law