CASE STUDY: Francisco José Floríndez, Rodrigo, Elías & Medrano Abogados, Peru
Why did you want to be a lawyer?
A legal career provides you with a number tools that may be used in different scenarios, which help to have a more complete understanding of our society. In this sense, for me, pursuing a legal career was about having a better understanding of how things work and how to provide solutions to everyday problems.
Furthermore, pursuing a legal career gave me the chance to learn about a wide range of topics and, ultimately, choose the field of law that best suited my interests and abilities.
What's your best piece of advice to young people wanting a legal career?
Every course/subject is important. In an era were lawyers tend to be very specialized in a given area, knowing the fundamentals of other practice areas is essential in order to provide better and more complete advice to clients. That being said, many times the answer to a problem is not that evident and may require a more comprehensive analysis that involves more than one field of law.
I would also recommend new students to develop and strengthen their communication abilities, since, as legal practitioners, we are always required to clearly state our point of view.
What has been the biggest challenge so far?
Pursuing a legal career often involves thinking outside the box and assuming more and new responsibilities. Thus, one of the biggest challenges is to rapidly adjust to new situations. Another challenge is learning how to deal with clients, being that not all clients have the same needs.
What are your future goals?
My future goal is to become more specialized in my practice area and eventually, complement my private practice with a teaching position. I strongly believe that teaching is a good way to keep updated and to become a more complete practitioner.