Most students who intern at a law firm get stuck in the corner of an office and do work that even young lawyers just out of law school would hate to touch. They never see a deposition, never go to trial, never interact with other lawyers, and because of that, they gain no real experience. To them, law becomes dry, and is now something they have lost the passion to pursue. Though we must all pay our dues, some of us are fortunate enough to land internships filled with action and leave with a respectable collection of “war stories”.

Fortunately for me, I was able to intern for the J. Guerra Law Firm working directly under plaintiff’s attorney Jesse Guerra. I was fortunate that he took me under his wing, considering Mr. Guerra’s winning reputation in the aquatic litigation arena. He is highly regarded as “THE” go to swimming pool attorney in the USA.

We would meet with potential clients and, even if a case seemed close to impossible to win, he would take it on. Immediately in these meetings, I was able to experience what went on in his head as he discussed strategy for winning each particular case. These strategies were always outside of the box and in the past have proved to be very effective.

He would take me to meet with clients, take depositions, and attend hearings and trials. It was a great feeling walking out of a conference room after a deposition knowing we had just left the defense white-faced and fuming. As Mr. Guerra would love to say, “Us plaintiff’s lawyers are like Spartans. One of us is 10 of them. We go straight for the jugular.”

This internship was great because it exposed me to the reality of today’s legal world, while clearing my mind of stereotypes of what lawyers and the legal world would be:

1. All lawyers are scumbags.

I remember Mr. Guerra telling me of his experience working with a successful lawyer, who we will call Mr. Jones, in Texas. Mr. Guerra had brought Mr. Jones two cases that he generously profited from. When Mr. Guerra went to collect his cut for referring the cases to Mr. Jones, Jones claimed that he didn’t know what cases he was talking about and Mr. Guerra was dismissed. Though Mr. Guerra and Mr. Jones didn’t have a legal contract laying out payment, most lawyers would recognize the referral and would be more than willing to give a percentage of the settlement.

There are many lawyers in the legal world that genuinely care about helping their clients more than simply the money. These are the lawyers that don’t just take the “slam dunk” cases, who will, and who are personally willing to work on the low margin cases not because they have to but because they want to. They fight until the end for the sake of justice being served. Remember, lawyers are people too.

2. Lawyers are limited to incessant paperwork, and endless reading and referencing legal books.

In fact, the opposite can be true. While being a lawyer does require a lot of reading and writing, the job is as action-packed as you make it. Some lawyers prefer to instead work behind the scenes and do all the paperwork and legal writing for somebody else. But if you want to be hashing it out against an opponent, then you can definitely find a way to do that as well. During my time with Mr. Guerra, it seemed like every week we were going somewhere new to fight against the defense on their home turf. The satisfaction you get from showing up your opponent on their home court is priceless.

3. All lawyers are wealthy.

I think people have the misconception that all lawyers make a lot of money and only got into the business for that reason. The truth is that most lawyers work for somebody else’s firm and are paid a salary, both on the plaintiff and defense side. There is potential to make very good money in the legal world, but with that comes risk. The lawyers that make the most money are predominately plaintiff’s attorneys, for they are paid on commission from settlements of the cases they settle.

Interning for a law firm was truly a valuable experience. Even if you don’t want to go into the legal field, it’s important to know how it works and how it affects you as a citizen of the United States.

For those families who were grieving and struggling with a loss and large medical debt, we were able to give them the monetary assistance they needed to live and have a brighter future. Most clients are truly grateful for your service and you leave feeling satisfied with the work you’ve done.

Jacob Zapata is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at jaz54@ cornell.edu.