I had to spend all of my time polishing my resume and improving my grades. While my friends were away on vacation, I was staying up late and writing essays for scholarship applications. for myself and constantly strive to achieve those goals. My mother, Ling Gillenwater, has worked in the legal field as a paralegal and a manager for more than two decades. She was a great role model for me back when I was in high school. During my off time, I observed how she helped people who sought legal representation at work and managed to turn their lives around. While she is not an attorney, she was loved and respected by her clients nevertheless. After seeing her work, I wanted to continue her legacy and keep on doing the good work she has been doing. In some ways, you can say it is very stereotypical for me as a Chinese to continue the family legacy. I had two goals I had to accomplish before starting my own firm (1) to be barred as a licensed attorney in the State of Nevada as soon as possible, and (2) not to be burdened by a huge student loan that would have made starting my own firm impossible. Knowing the end goal, my objective in school was to achieve these goals in the fastest amount of time while maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as I have seen too many dysfunctional adults who were high-achieving students. To that end, I learned to cut corners and make sacrifices wherever they may be necessary. One of the most important decisions I made was to switch school during my junior and senior year of high school. In Las Vegas, Nevada, there is a dual-degree program where high school students can attend a specialty high school located within a college campus. Instead of following the course a high school junior or senior would, students within the dual-degree program can attend college courses for their elective classes and earn credits towards both their high school and college degree requirement. I had to sacrifice most of my free time to take more classes and leave all of the friends I made during my freshman and sophomore years of high school behind. However, by doing this program, I was able to save a tremendous amount of time. The average age for a newly barred attorney is between 26-30. However, I was able to save more than two years of my time by attending this program. Student loans are a major concern for college students in the United States. While it was an available option for me, I could not consider it because of the financial position my family was in at the time. When I was drafting my application for law school, I would have been unable to attend law school if I did not get scholarships because of the financial position my family was in. This meant that before I got into law school, 10 LAWYER MONTHLY DECEMBER 2024 I had to spend all of my time polishing my resume and improving my grades. While my friends were away on vacation during holidays and summer vacation, I was staying up late and writing essays for scholarship applications. While most of my friends were content with getting a “B” for their final grade and slacking off, I was revisiting old coursework to improve my grades and ensure I got an “A” for the class. However, this does not mean I did not have any time to myself. I simply had to be more efficient with my time. For example, instead of taking time off to socialize with friends, I used this time to network and meet new people who might be a good connection for me in the future. All of these efforts paid off in the end. While I will not go out and claim I am the most well-functioning adult with no financial obligations. I made it through college and law school on a full-ride scholarship and dedicated enough time to friends, family, and physical health to support a healthy lifestyle. As a firm specializing in personal injury, how do the unique laws and regulations in Nevada impact the way you handle cases related to car accidents? For personal injury claims, the policy limit of an insurance policy is important because it sets the boundaries around which we have to work. To put it in layman’s terms, the policy limit is the amount of money an insurance company will pay on behalf of their insured for a claim. For us, this is important because most people our clients are making a claim against are ordinary, day-to-day workers. Most of these people live paycheck to paycheck and do not have the means to pay for a settlement. Instead, they rely on their insurance companies to protect them. One of the best ways Nevada is distinct from many other states is that we have a
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