The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Sponsor A Law Kid

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    Ruth Carter

    I’ve always called myself a “law kid.” I think it’s a sign that I knew from the start that I wasn’t a traditional law student and that I didn’t want to be a typical lawyer. As I look to the future, I know I don’t want a job that keeps me trapped in an office all day. I want to be a lawyer who is also a lecturer, writer, and podcaster.

    One of my priorities in law school, regardless of how busy I am, is to stay involved in my community. I’m pleased and proud that I’ve been able to volunteer with Ignite Phoenix and Improv AZ, attend #evfn, and find time and forums for singing. I hope these activities will contribute to a happy and successful career after law school.

    I will graduate from Arizona State University in May 2011, and I will take the Bar Exam in July. My goal is to be “the lawyer to the geeks” and specialize in internet law and intellectual property. I also hope I can do something to prevent cyberharassment through public speaking. I experienced cyberharassment as an adult and it was awful. I can’t image how hard it must be for a child to go through that.

    When I applied to law school, the average debt for a student graduating from my program was ~$50,000. Today, the average debt is over $89,000! That’s insane!  How did my education get $40,000 more expensive?!  I have one semester left, plus studying for and taking the Bar.  I’m reaching out to the online community to help me pay for it.

    The Program
    Sponsor A Law Kid gives anyone who wants to the opportunity to sponsor my legal education for a day. It will run from January 1, 2011 until July 27, 2011 – the last day of the Arizona Bar Exam. Each day can have one sponsor.
    I will also be tweeting every day about the life of a law student, so anyone who follows me can vicariously go to law school for a semester.

    The Price
    I am using the same price structure as Jason Sadler of I Wear Your Shirt.  The cost to sponsor January 1st is only $1, and the price for each subsequent day goes up by $1 (Jan. 2nd = $2, Jan. 3rd = $3, Jul. 27th = $208).

    Why Sponsor A Law Kid?
    Why should anyone give up a couple bucks, or a couple hundred bucks, to help pay for my education? In exchange for your sponsorship, for each day that I’m sponsored, I’ll publish a blog that tells the world how awesome you, your organization, and/or your products are. Also, it will give you a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you’re part of something awesome.

    I can’t promise you that I’ll keep you out of jail once I’m a lawyer to give free legal advice – that would violate the code of ethics. However, when I make it on the legal lecture circuit, and I have to decide where I’m speaking next, it will be hard for me to decline an invitation from one of my law school sponsors.

    How Do I Sponsor A Day?
    Please contact me at SponsorALawKid@gmail.com to claim the day you want to sponsor.  You can pick your date based on price, or might want to pick a day because it’s a special day for you or me.  I will be running a half marathon on January 16th ($16), and my graduation day is expected to be May 12th or 13th ($132 or $133).  Pi Day is March 14th ($73) and Star Wars Day is May 4th ($124).

    What Else Can I Do?
    Spread the word! Send this to everyone who might be interested in sponsoring a law kid or following a sponsored law kid. I’ll be using the hashtag #SALK to tweet about my law school exploits.   Please follow me on Twitter and I hope to have a Facebook cause for this up soon.

    The Sponsor A Law Kid Facebook page can be found here.

    The most recent update about Sponsor A Law Kid can be found here.

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  • Igniting My Legal Passion

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    Ruth Carter

    Last week I was sitting in copyright class – bored, tired, and grumpy.  About ten minutes into class I looked over at my friend Ken and asked, “Are we done, yet?”

    I keep an eye on my Twitter feed during class in case anything interesting happens.   Yes, I’m on the internet in class – it’s part of networking.  I saw that my friend Jeff tweeted that he was “stunned” by a recent submission for Ignite Phoenix #9.  It was a submission from a 16 year-old who was the product of rape and who wanted to talk about her experience growing up without a dad.

    185/365 From a little spark bursts a mighty flame
    Image by Mykl Roventine via Flickr

    Whoa!  This girl already has my respect just for wanting to talk about such a powerful topic.  My mind instantly went into hyperdrive with a myriad of legal questions.

    • Do we have to get parental consent to let this girl speak on stage about this topic?
    • Does Ignite Phoenix’s relationships with its presenters constitute contracts?
    • Can a 16 year-old enter into contract in Arizona?
    • Do we need parental consent to put a minor’s presentation on YouTube?
    • Was that guy who spoke about Star Wars at Ignite Phoenix #6 an adult?  He looked about 14.
    • Can we let her use the rapist’s name or image if he wasn’t convicted?

    Then I thought, “Bah- why aren’t I a lawyer yet?!”  I hate having my hands tied because I’m still a law student – a cute law student, but a law student nonetheless; and therefore, I cannot give legal advice.  I told Jeff to let me know if he needed me to look up any laws for the Ignite Phoenix crew.

    As frustrating as this experience was, I’m really glad I had it.  It reminded me of what my passions are and the type of work I want to do after I graduate.  I love working with random questions, real-life issues, collaborating with creative and innovative people, and finding a way to make things happen.

    As I walked out of class, I was still the sleep-deprived student who walked in, but my energy was back.  It has been stressful to think about what I’m going to do during my life after law school, but this experience showed me that I’m on the right track.   I tweeted, “I got a glimpse into the professional life I want to have as a lawyer today…now I just need someone to pay me to do it.”

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  • Appearance on Kade Dworkin’s Meet My Followers

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    Ruth Carter

    My friend, Kade Dworkin, started a new podcast this month called Meet My Followers.

    Kade Dworkin

    Each show is a 20-minute interview with one of his followers from Twitter.  I was impressed when I saw that he’s challenging himself to release a new show every weekday morning.  So far he’s had some awesome and interesting guests – including me.

    I met Kade in November 2009 when we were both presenters at Ignite Phoenix #5.  He spoke about “The Art of Misusing Stuff,” and my presentation was “Frosting the Law.”  Since then I’ve stayed connected to him and his adventures on Twitter and Facebook.  When he announced that he was starting this podcast and was soliciting guests for it, I immediately said I was in.

    Kade asks all of his guests who they follow on Twitter.  I had to gush about some of my favorite people:

    • Lawyerist: @lawyerist, one of my favorite legal blogs
    • Eric Mayer: @ericlmayer, one of the best attorneys and courtroom advocates I’ve ever seen.  He’s new to Twitter, and his blogs are very thought-provoking.
    • Evo Terra: @evo_terra, my friend that I love for his intelligence, humor, and the fact that he just tells it like it is.  I’m also a fan of the occasional guest tweet from @jmoriarty.  Evo’s podcast is one of the highlights of my week.

    We also talked about why I decided to go to law school and my aspiration to practice intellectual property and internet law, and to keep the crew at Improv AZ out of jail.  I’m glad that there are people like Kade who work in this area who remind me that there will be plenty of work for a neophyte lawyer in this area after I graduate.  You can listen to my episode of Meet My Followers on iTunes or on the show’s website.

    Thank you, Kade for having me on your show.  I had a lot of fun and I look forward to hearing who is going to be on your show next.

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