Maybe Rocket Scientists Aren't So Smart
If I had a nickel for everytime I heard someone say, ''It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out,'' I'd be rich! I am beginning to think maybe we've overestimated rocket scientists. If they really were that smart, they would be promoting their profession more. In my 46 years, I have never known a rocket scientist, or known anyone who knew one. I checked the yellow pages and there is no listing for rocket scientists. I also checked with a career counselor at a local high school, and no rocket scientist has ever attended Career Day. I could not find a university that has a College of Rocket Science. There is no web site on the Internet for rocket scientists and I have never watched a television show in which a character was a rocket scientist. If rocket scientists would just organize, they could do all sorts of things to promote themselves. For instance they could form the Federal Association of Rocket Scientists (FARS) which could lobby Congress for legislation affecting rocket scientistry throughout the nation. State-wide organizations, such as the Texas Association of Rocket Scientists (TARS) could hold quarterly meetings and seminars to provide a network for all rocket scientists throughout Texas. At the local level, organizations such as the Beaumont Association of Rocket Scientists (BARS) could be instrumental in activities in that specific locale. Once organized, rocket scientists could start performing public service, which would improve their current image as ''reclusive geniuses.'' They might even hold weekend clinics for needy organizations such as NASA!
I think legal assistants are way ahead of rocket scientists when it comes to promoting their profession. For one thing, our profession is highly visible. The average American citizen has heard of, or personally knows a legal assistant. Legal assistant educational institutions are advertised in newspapers and can be easily found in the yellow pages. Many institutions of higher learning have a department for paralegal education. Television's LA Law and the hit movie, The Client, even had legal assistant characters. Many paralegal organizations can be found on the Internet. Even this magazine is on the World Wide Web! And legal assistants are continuing to spead the word about the profession by participating in various pro bono projects. This issue is dedicated to those ''quiet heroes'' who take time away from their jobs and their families to help those who cannot afford to pay for quality legal services. They are to be commended for their efforts; they are truly making a difference.
A Dallas attorney once said that while legal assistants played no role in creating the tarnished image which plagues the legal profession today, they certainly can be instrumental in changing that image. And that doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out!
TEXAS PARALEGAL JOURNAL
Summer 1996
©1996 Legal Assistants Division, State Bar of Texas