I was at a birthday brunch over the weekend when somebody asked me a legal question about marital property.
"I'm just a first year student," I protested. "I just studied this in Property, but that's all I know. I'm not even sure about that much." I decided against telling her about my giggly reaction to my Property final.
She smiled encouragingly, "Oh, I don't mind. You know more about it than I do."
Shrugging, I cautiously picked my way through an answer, heavily prefaced with warnings about my status as a first-year law student.
"Oh," the woman who had asked me said, "that's interesting. Thanks." Satisfied, she moved over to the remaining lox and cream cheese. I munched my spice muffin, considering my answer to my first request for a legal answer.
Engineering and law have a commonality: with adept use of the language, it's possible to sound far more knowledgeable than one actually is. I've usually been able to deflect software questions by saying, truthfully, that I don't know much about Windows. Coding questions never came from a layperson, only from other programmers, so I felt more comfortable using engineering terms.
I think I managed to sound unconfident enough that she won't rely on my answer, but at the same time impart some smidgen of legal truth. I hope so, at least. I certainly don't feel qualified to answer legal questions.
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2 comments:
Since I took Real Property this semester (as a paralegal student), my husband's siblings ask me about the status of some property owned by their parents, who divorced in 1972, ordered to sell it and divide the profits. They never did, and the father's current wife has been in possession (although not living there) for years! What a mess. I don't see how I'll EVER know enough to help them, and of course, I'll NEVER be able to give legal advice as a paralegal (Thank GOD!)
I bet you'll get asked a lot, though!
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