I work for a bustling Estate and Family Law firm that is local to my small town.
My tenure here started in high school when they approved me for a school-sponsored internship program.
At first all I was doing was filing documents and cleaning the office from top to bottom. My boss was so impressed by my work that he started giving me more responsibilities as time went on. I stayed on when I started college because my boss promised to give me a paying job within the following 12 months. By my third year of college I had a part time job as a junior legal assistant. When it came time to apply for graduate school, I considered going to law school but decided to hold off for a year or two. I just needed a break from the insanity of undergrad, especially before committing to a three year law program. Thankfully my boss has moved me to a full time legal assistant position and I’m able to pay my bills without any issues. My boss pays well in part because his rent is so low. The office space that he rents for his law business is near downtown, but just a few blocks south in a residential neighborhood. The law office is actually a retrofitted house, but it provides plenty of space and has all of the necessary amenities for a white collar business. Although renting this house for office space isn’t as cheap as renting a house to live in, the price honestly isn’t much higher. My boss plans to continue giving us raises every year, and I know the low business rent is a huge factor in that decision.