On October 7 I
interviewed Steven P. Metheny, a Commercial, Real Estate, and Business
Transaction and Litigation Attorney, in downtown Oklahoma City. Like many, this is an unfamiliar type
of law, so I asked him to further explain his practiced. Metheny narrowed his job into two broad
components: commercial real estate and transactions. He represents sellers and buyers as well as developers of
income producing real estate, such as apartment complexes, warehouses, grocery
stores, privately held for profit businesses. The second component is litigation, which is when he
represents his clients in court, stemming from the first component. Metheny will also defend clients who
have been sued, settle contract disputes, and sort eminent domain cases. Recently he has been working on a large
construction Defix case.
I then took the
conversation deeper and asked Metheny how his practice contributes to the
betterment of society. He
responded, “It is important to society.
Real estate has always been the foremost evidence of wealth accumulation. When investors are constructing,
buying, selling, it lends itself to the growth of economy.” Real estate provides places for people
to live, shop, communicate, entertain, and so much more. It also employs construction workers,
real estate agents, technicians, architects, and even attorneys like Metheny
himself. Everything is all connected
and dependent on each other.
The interview
began to take a personal turn when I asked Metheny why he chose Commercial, Real
Estate, and Business Transaction and Litigation Law. He replied that the interest sparked in high school when his
grandfather, who was a real estate broker, passed away. They had a very deep relationship,
which gave Metheny a connection to the work he does today. He also had a close friend and teacher
who was in law school. He became a
practicing attorney and had considerable influence of Metheny. He concluded his answer with, “it was
the door that was open.”
As a student
looking into law, there are many paths I could choose. I asked Metheny what other areas of law
he recommends. He stated that, “there
are lot of areas of law that can be personally fulfilling allowing attorneys to
contribute to people and society.”
Environmental law is a growing area with 70% of lawsuits in the Federal
Court pertaining to employment law.
There is a need for lawyers to assist with employment issues and making
sure fair wages, hours, and benefits are met. Paten Law, otherwise known as Intellectual Property
Law is another specialty law. The
number of paten products is increasing annually, so IP lawyers are needed. The proliferation of trademark and
trade name litigation across the country has been has also contributed to the
need for this profession.
One of the reason
I am hesitant to enter the law field is the incredibly high competition among
recent graduates due to the lack of job opportunities. So I asked Metheny, a very experienced
lawyer, if he had any advice for college students who are thinking about
entering law. He advised, “Make
sure you are motivated in that direction.
Law has a high attrition rate.
Apply yourself to it and don’t approach it the same as other schooling,
because the more you put into it, the more you get out it.” He also recommended getting experience
in law during periods when not in school.
Law school does not teach how to practice law, rather teaches how t
apply a set of legal principles.
Lastly, he suggested taking a wide range of classes while in law school
and do not make decision too early about a certain practice. There are many areas of law that a
student can go into, so one must keep his or her mind open!
But before I can
think about law school, I must worry about being accepted. I asked Metheny what his best advice
was for getting into graduate school. He said that reference letters and the LSAT are
key. A good LSAT score will make
or break the difference between just getting into a school and receiving
benefits, such as scholarships, relationships with the faculty, and graduating
with honors.
To conclude the
interview session, I tied law into leadership. Many leaders in our country have law degrees, but I asked
Metheny his thoughts on how lawyers lead in everyday life. Attorneys become spokesmen for people
who often cannot speak for themselves.
They have high ethical and moral obligations when it comes to advancing
rights and truth to maintain justice within society. Leaders must have integrity. “There is no substitute for high integrity among everyone,
especially lawyers. You assume
judiciary responsibility for clients and have an obligation to do their very
best job.” I greatly enjoyed
talking to Metheny, and our discussion made me excited for the future. Hopefully I can be an attorney as well
someday!
Further Reading: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/pre_law.html
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