Day 12 Reflection

Barry Lawrence

5-20-10

Day 12 Reflection

Today alumni Chris Bohanon, class of ’86, and his associate Andrew VanderJack from VanNess Feldman spoke on the importance (and lack thereof) of having a law degree in the public policy game. Chris had a variety of jobs in Washington, including his current for a law firm, without a law degree. Andrew on the other hand, does have a law degree and was able to give us some insight into why one would and should choose to pursue a law degree when aiming towards a career in Washington.

Chris got his first working experience in politics as a campaign worker for senate hopeful from his home state. Even though his candidate did not win the election, his work on the campaign trail was enough to help him land a job as a staffer for his local congressman for the enormous salary of 18k a year. Albeit unusual for this town, Chris stayed with his congressman until he decided to retire in 1994. After trying to work for a congressman from another state, Chris found it difficult to stay focused and passionate about his job being so disconnected from his constituents, so from there Chris went to work for a rural electric co-op of sorts. Since joining VanNess, Chris works on what he calls “coalition building”, a form of lobbying that involves getting like-minded clients to join forces and work together to present their statements with more strength. Even though Chris does not have a law degree, he is still able to make a difference through a law firm lobbying for his clients, although he does admit a law degree would grant one more freedom to pursue different fields of study in Washington.

Andrew, on the other hand, does have a law degree, although he took a while deciding to obtain it. Born and raised in Alaska, Andrew has a particular affiliation with the underrepresented native peoples of Alaska. After a few years of “exploring” different career fields, Andrew decided to go for a law degree after all. He does admit that lawyers are often overpaid, under focused money-grabbers, but since he has a particular goal and direction for his law degree, to help the native peoples of Alaska, he is able to use his law degree to represent his clients in a congress that all too often overlooks them.