Law School to Big Law: A Real‑World Lesson in Truth and Storytelling

A new lawyer’s first lesson is that the “facts” we present are never neutral. In a courtroom, a brief starts with a list of facts followed by an argument that turns those facts into a narrative. The trick is choosing which details to highlight, the order they appear in, and the words that frame them. This choice shapes how judges and juries see the case. At WilmerHale, a big‑law firm, I saw how this process works in practice. My own path to law was late—30 years old when I entered school—and I quickly realized that legal education feels almost cult‑like. Professors and classmates celebrated the power of law, while administrators praised students as future leaders. The atmosphere was intense but also unquestioning.The fascination with law grew for me because it blends lofty ideas with real problems and relies on storytelling to persuade. Yet the same environment also taught me a critical skill: skepticism. In big‑law work, I learned to scrutinize the “facts” and see how they can be twisted or simplified to serve an argument. This experience made me question whether the legal system, as practiced, truly serves justice. If the foundation of a brief is built on selective facts, can we trust that the system remains fair? The lesson from my time at WilmerHale is simple: we must always examine the stories we tell, not just accept them at face value.