Christmas Party 2005, Lawyer style

3 sisters
Originally uploaded by The Enforcer.

Every year my dad puts on an Office Christmas Party with friends he’s made through the working years: law partners, other lawyers, a judge, secretaries, and more. Through the years, we’ve moved through different hotel suites until finally we found the Perfect Christmas spot: The Hanson Country Inn, a classic bed and breakfast. This party is a pretty big deal for everyone who goes, so big for my dad, that I’ve had to reschedule finals the last two years to ensure that I will be there.

This year was no less of a party. Leesa’s (my dad’s paralegal) husband, an excellent chef, made all the food. We have the white elephant gift exchange, which always seems to rotate returning gifts (such as the “headless Santas”), good food and wine, attempting Christmas carols, and the game, “The Minister’s Cat”. But when I look back on the parties, sappy as it sounds, it’s the time when we do a Christmas Story that I always remember. The party in the past always consisted of a reading of Luke 2, the story of baby Jesus. Recently though, different people have volunteered to speak about their stories over the past year. Last year, a lawyer friend of my dad’s became a judge, and he spoke about the challenges of this new position. It was incredible to hear about the pressures he faces everyday. It wasn’t until he was faced with this type of challenge everyday, that he turned to God after 30 years of rejecting him, and had to lean on Him for guidance everyday.

Growing up as a lawyer’s daughter, I can’t tell you how many lawyer jokes I’ve heard, laughed at, and occasionally tried to defend. But I don’t think it was until this year that I realized why it is so cool that my dad is a lawyer. There’s obviously a reason why people make so many derogatory jokes about lawyers: a lot of them suck, and most of them are about making money. As our society seems to be becoming more corrupt, I notice the legal system getting worse. I feel that my dad has tread upon a place where not enough godly men and women go. When I look back to the law of the Old Testament, I learn about the foundation our US legal system was based upon. It’s at this point, I understand why there is a need for godly, moral men to be in this field. The judge I talked about earlier, is quite a man. He relies upon God each day to make a just decision…what a difficult task. My dad, everyday meets clients who he has to decide if they are really in need of help, and then he fights to help these people have a second chance with finances, to protect people against greedy creditors, and yes occasionally design a will (those are the easy days ;)).

I guess what I’m feeling, is that I am very proud of my dad, and I am proud of the men and women in the legal system, who fight for justice everyday. It is a difficult task, an impossible one to do well without God.