So You're A Lawyer?

I get this all the time. Like a statement of disbelief, people I've just met will always react with hint of surprise when they find out what I do for a living. I've always wondered about this. Before I thought it was my age or, dare I say it, my youthful appearance. But I've been at this lawyering gig for a while now (almost 7 years) and I still get the raised eyebrows, the quizzical looks. Do I look like a doctor? A chemist? A gardener? And for that matter, what do lawyers look like? Do I need to wear suspenders?

After people find out about the lawyer thing, they will invariably ask for my opinion on the current political state of the Philippines. Why do they do this? Do they think I know GMA? Do they think I care? Why would my opinion on politics be more valuable than their own? I have no interest whatsoever in Philippine politics. And cannot imagine why people automatically think that if you went to law school, you're the Philippine equivalent of George Stephanopoulos.

Once I've given them my standard answers to the politics questions ("Can't really say." or "That is an interesting topic for debate.") people then go straight to the consulta. They start telling me stories about their brother-in-law's aunt's boyfriend or their first cousin's boss' wife's accountant. Usually the questions involve family law (i.e. annulment, inheritance) and property (i.e. disputes over real estate).

Now I am a Capital Markets attorney. In plain English that means I raise money for rich people. I know just about as much as you do on annulment and disputes over land. And so when the request for legal advice comes, I do what any self-respecting attorney would do: I make things up.

"Of course snoring is a ground for annulment." "Forging dead relatives signatures is permissible some times." "If you think you're entitled to the land, then go ahead: build that fence."

Why can't people come up to me and ask, "How do you issue convertible bonds to 12 different kinds of investors?" "What issues have you encountered in listing redeemable prefs?" "We're looking towards creating a sub-class of third tier creditors. Can you help us out?"

Why do I always get the annulment questions?