Ever wonder what it’s like to be a lawyer? Mr. Jim Whalen, eighth grade Social Studies teacher Mrs. Ruggiero’s father, gave the eighth graders a first hand look at what it’s like.

He came and shared with them advice that will help them win their case in the mock trials. Mock trials are a perennial 8th grade favorite in which students act out the roles of famous civil rights cases. Mr. Whalen wanted the students to know that being a good lawyer is just like being a regular person:  talk to the jury as you would anyone.

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He also said that being a lawyer made him more even keeled and open minded. He shared with the students some of his toughest cases, which included one in which  he had to defend the person who ran a truck into a family’s house, killing one of their children.

Although this job requires lots of patience, he’s able to come out of every case with a new look at the world. Hopefully the eighth graders will have the same experience with their mock trials.