H. Christer Rundkvist

I was riding a train in Sweden, Northern Europe. A fairly young guy looked around the coach and I sensed he was feeling uneasy. Suddenly, he stood up, walked up to me and sat down on an empty seat next to me. He sat there quietly for a while. He then almost whispered to me, “I relapsed on heroin this morning”. “How are you doing?” was all I could think of to respond. The train ride lasted for about an hour, and we talked about his fear of becoming stuck in addiction again after being clean for almost six months. I was young when this happened, and then and there I learned a very important lesson: no person is only one thing. This guy, Magnus, was not only an addict, but also – among many other things – a guitarist, just like me. So, after talking about his drug use, we spent most of our time together talking about music.

Does this story – which by the way is true – have anything to do with me being a lawyer? You bet! I noticed again and again that people, just like Magnus on the train, unusually often opened up to me, sharing with me the details of their life, both their joy and their pain. It was my wish to use this “superpower” to help others that led me to law school. Therefore, my interest has never been focused just on the law itself, but on how the law interacts with you and me.

While still living in Sweden, I spent a couple of years working at a District Court. From the bench, I learned from the great attorneys’ performances, and I probably learned at least as much from the not-so-great attorneys’ mistakes. As a trial attorney, it’s really helpful to have gained insight into the court’s perspective.