News & opinion Episode 17: Law School during a pandemic!

Episode 17: Law School during a pandemic!

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Fo

ou

in

ugul episode of the B

e

king Do

n The L

Podc

st

e’

e joined by Victoive. He is  joined by B

e

king Do

n The L

Podc

st host,

shley

od

iguez. n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">Du

ing tod

y’s episode

e’ll be

sking Victobout going to l school du

ing the co

on

vi

us. <

sp

n>
  • eight: 400;”>

    h

    t is you

    cuent position

    t Ste

    t J Guss?<

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Ho

    long h

    ve you been

    t the fi

    m? <

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">C

    n you t

    lk

    little bit

    bout you

    jou

    ney th

    ough positions

    ith the fi

    m? n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Ste

    t J  Guss

    lys st

    esses th

    t

    e

    e

    client's fi

    st expe

    ience,

    h

    t does Client fi

    st me

    n to you? <

    sp

    n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    h

    t s it like to be in l school du

    ing

    p

    ndemic?  n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">Ho

    s the p

    ocess of p

    ep

    ing fo

    the b ex

    m ch

    nged bec

    use of Covid? n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">s t

    king the b

    ex

    m

    fe

    eeks

    go diffe

    ent bec

    use of the co

    on

    vi

    us?  n><

    li>

  • n style=”font-

    eight: 400;">

    hy did you decide you

    nted to become

    lye

    ? n>n style=”font-

    eight: 400;"> <

    sp

    n><

    li>

n style="font-

eight: 400;”>Victo

shes

bout his jou

ney to stt l school, th

ough l

school

nd ho

he h

ndled the ch

nges du

ing

p

ndemic. so

e hope you’ll join us fo

this episode! <

sp

n> n style=”font-

eight: 400;">St

y tuned fo

the next inst

llment of the B

e

king Do

n The L Podc

st

ith Ste

t J Guss

nd

shley

od

iguez! n> If you nt to subsc

ibe to ou

podc

sts on you

f

vo

ite podc

sts pl

ye

<

h

ef=”https://b

e

kingdo

nthel.buzzsp

out.com/”> click he

e<> foll the links to e

ch one!

<

div>
ipt s

c=”https://

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic.js?cont

ine

_id=buzzsp

out-pl

ye

-6398563&pl

ye

=sm

ll" type="text

j

v

sc

ipt" chset="utf-8"><

sc

ipt> Tnsc

ipt [This t

nsc

ipt s c

e

ted using

n

utom

ted t

nsc

iption se

vice

nd m

y cont

in eo

s]

 

t

-cont

olle

="t

bs p

ti

l" d

t

-t

bs-

ctive-cl

ss=”episode__n

v--cuent" d

t

-pti

l-u

l="

1311943/6398563/t

nsc

ipt.js" d

t

-t

bs-sho

-on-lo

d=”” d

t

-p

ti

l-lo

ded=”t

ue">
ss=”episode_t

nsc

iption" d

t

-tget="t

bs.p

nel pti

l.cont

ine

” d

t

-t

bs-p

nel=”t

nsc

ipt"> Int

o: B

e

king do

n the l

podc

st hosted by

tto

neys

nd leg

l speci

lists discussing eve

yd

y l

nd ho

it

ffects

egul

people,

egul people. Let's b

e

k do

n the l

ith ou

host, Ste

t Guss

nd

shley

od

iguez. They h

ve the inside scoop on eve

ything leg

l

nd ne

s

o

thy.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> 

elcome to b

e

king do

n the l

. Tod

y's topic is to help

ll those students in l

school o

thinking

bout going to l

school in

p

ndemic.

e h

ve

speci

l guest

ith us tod

y,

ho h

s just expe

ienced this. Victoive:<

cite> Hi, I’m Victo

ive

.

nd I'm cuently

l

cle

k, Ste

t J Guss

nd

ssoci

tes.

shley

od

iguez: 

l

ight, so ho

long h

ve you been he

e

t Ste

t J Guss. Victoive:<

cite> I joined the fi

m in Octobe

2016. So I guess on

nd off going on, but fou

ye

s, fou

yes

lmost.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> 

esome. So c

n you t

lk

little bit

bout you

jou

ney, the fi

m bec

use you’ve done diffe

ent kind of jobs

nd stuff like ho

it stted

nd then

he

e you

e tod

y? Victoive:<

cite> Su

e. So

fte

I gdu

ted f

om UT

ustin, I kne

I nted to go to l school, but I kind of nted to m

ke su

e th

t I

e

lly

nted to go th

ough the

hole jou

ney of going to l school

nd eve

ything. So

shley

od

iguez: it

s

ight fo

you.

Victo

ive

ight, I jump ound

o

king

t diffe

ent fi

ms. I

o

ked

t big fi

ms o

o

ked

t little f

mily o

ned fi

ms. I did not like eithe

the sm

ll o

big fi

ms.

nd I

pplied to Ste

t J Guss.

nd

hen I jumped on te

m, I think it s the

ight fit fo

h

t it s

ight bet

een

sm

ll

nd

big fi

m. It

s not too big, not too sm

ll,

nd

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> still h

d good expe

ience.

Victo

ive

Ye

h, I s

ble to le

n

lot

s opposed to being in

big fi

m.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> So

hen you stted he

e?

h

t

s you

fi

st job?

Victo

ive

I st

ted off

s

leg

l

ssist

nt. So filing s p

ep

ing dem

nds, I s c

lling insu

nce comp

nies to get

policy limits. P

etty much

nything they th

ot me, I'd be gl

d to

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> get in

nd len

nd see if it’s

ight fo

you

nd if it s

e

lly nted to do Victoive:<

cite> Ye

h, I s getting my feet

et.

nd eve

y so

t of deptment he

e, fi

m,

shley

od

iguez: 

hen you

ent to seve

l diffe

ent fi

ms,

hen it is sm

ll

nd lge.

e

e you t

ying diffe

ent types of l to o

just pe

son

l inju

y l. Victoive:<

cite> they

e

e

ll pe

son

l inju

y

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Did you

lys kno

you

nted to do pe

son

l inju

y? Victoive:<

cite> I did not it just so h

ppened th

t most of the jobs

v

il

ble

t the time

e

e fo

pe

son

l inju

y fi

ms,

nd kept getting mo

e expe

ienced st

ted to get

lot mo

e into the field.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> So

fte leg

l

ssist

nt, then

h

t h

ppened? Victoive:<

cite> I joined the settlement dep

tment,

hich s just getting

eductions fo

ou

clients,

educing thei

medic

l bills, t

ying to get sm

lle

child suppo

t leins th

t’s

bout it p

etty much just in the b

ck end of the c

se getting the most money in pocket foot client.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> So

h

t he liked

bout pe

son

l inju

y?

Victo

ive

I like th

t

e c

n st

nd up to the insu

nce comp

nies

nd get

h

t the client dese

ve

nd

h

t they’ve been p

ying fo

.

lot of these clients, I've been p

ying thei

monthly fees fo ye. Ye

h.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Neve

use them. Victoive:<

cite> 

nd

hen they

ctu

lly need them, they c

n't get

nything f

om the insunce comp

ny.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Ye

h, ex

ctly. Ste

t

l

ys st

esses th

t

e e

client fi

st expe

ience

nd

lso definitely

n employee fi

st expe

ience he

e, f

om

h

t I found, but

h

t does

client fi

st expe

ience me

n to you? Victoive:<

cite> To me, th

t me

ns th

t

e do

nything possible

nd necess

y to not only s

tisfy the client, but to m

ke su

e they feel comfo

t

ble he

e

ith those hoping them

nd just m

ke su

e th

t they feel like they'

e getting

h

t they’

e p

ying fo

.

shley

od

iguez: Th

t's one good thing he

e is the

e e no upf

ont fees,

Victo

ive

ight?

shley

od

iguez: 

e

o

k on

contingency b

sis.

nd if

e don't

in you

c

se, you o

e us nothing. The

e’s nothing th

t

e come b

ck

nd s

y, Hey,

e didn’t

in, but

e spent

ll these bill

ble hou

s on you kno

, nothing like th

t. Victoive:<

cite> 

ight.

shley

od

iguez: So

h

t

s th

t like? Being in l school du

ing

p

ndemic?

Victo

ive

It

s

little

ei

d. I me

n, the p

st t

o

nd

h

lf yes of l school,

e’

e

ll in pe

son. So

ctu

lly just sting

t

sc

een fo

h

t

n hou

o

t

o

d

y fo

lectu

e s

little

ei

d. On the plus side, I did not h

ve to d

ive to school, so the

e s no commute time. I could just

oll out of bed, log on, sit the

e

nd listen to lectu

e but it sn't

little

ei

d. I do feel b

d fo

the incoming cl

ss fo

the one else bec

use th

t one L ye

is

e

lly c

uci

l. It helps to be the

e in pe

son. I feel like you need to be the

e to be

ble to

sk the questions you need to, I feel like m

ybe online, he might feel

little discouged f

om like inte

upting

nd

sking questions th

t you need

ns

e

ed. So, fo

me, it sn't too b

d. It

s my l

st semeste

. But fo

th

t incoming cl

ss, I feel fo

them.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Ye

h, it's

little h

de

. I me

n, it’s

lot th

t’s being th

o

n

t you

lot of kno

ledge you h

ve to le

n. Do th

t in f

ont of

sc

een I c

n't im

gine.

Victo

ive

ight? It's

lot to t

ke in.

shley

od

iguez: So ho

is the p

ocess of p

eping fo

the b

ex

m du

ing COVID?

Victo

ive

Th

t s

little mo

e st

essful th

n

ctu

l going to school du

ing COVID.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> The b

ex

m is st

essful pe

iod, I'm su

e

Victo

ive

ight. It's

l

e

dy st

essful

s it is. But they ended up splitting the July

dministtion of the ex

m into t

o

dminist

tion’s they h

d kept the July d

te, but they h

d

dded the Septembe

d

te.

s the fi

st month p

ssed by my b p

ep

s

s scheduled, eve

ything

s going g

e

t.

nd then they decided to c

ncel the July

egisttion of the ex

m. So

t th

t point,

ll th

t

s left

s Septembe

,

nd they h

d kind of left us in limbo,

eg

ding

nothe

d

y, possibly. But the bod of l ex

mine

s he

e in Tex

s h

d

couple meetings discussing ho

they

e

e going to move fo

d.

nd they fin

lly decided on

ddition

l Octobe

d

te,

hich

ould be completely online. The Septembe

one

s still going to be in pe

son, they

ctu

lly ended up booking hotel

ooms fo

ll the test t

ke

s

he

e they could st

y the

e.

nd then they

ould

lso t

ke the ex

m the

e.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> 

o

.

Victo

ive

ight?

shley

od

iguez: Th

t's definitely diffe

ent. So did you t

ke it in Septembe

?

Victo

ive

No, I decided to t

ke it in Octobe

bec

use I h

d sick g

ndp

ents living

t my house.

nd I did not

nt to

isk going out the

e

nd possibly mingling

ith people

nd b

inging b

ck the vi

us home. So I decided just to pl

y it s

fe

nd t

ke it in Octobe

online. Just got

n

i

bnb some

he

e

ith

st

ble inte

net connection

nd not just took it the

e.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> 

s th

t equi

ement th

t you h

d to be in

diffe

ent

e

onything o

you just

nted the pe

ce

nd quiet to t

ke it. Victoive:<

cite> I

nted the pe

ce

nd quiet but they

lso

equi

ed

quiet pl

ce

he

e no one

ould be bothe

ing you.

nd they just

equi

ed

st

ble inte

net connection bec

use they

e

e

eco

ding the ex

m

s you took it

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> So

eco

ding you to m

ke su

e you

ent che

ting in

ny

y. Th

t m

kes sense. definitely inte

esting hoe c

n

d

pt to these situ

tions. But sometimes, I'm su

e it’s ne

ve cking bec

use

lot e

sie

to t

ke

test in pe

son o

hoe've been

ccustomed to doing eve

ything. Victoive:<

cite> 

ight, I give the bod of l ex

mine

s c

edit

nd thei

c

ftiness

nd ho

they

d

pted to it booking the hotel

ooms fo

the people in Septembe

.

nd just getting the soft

e,

ight fo

Octobe

.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Yes. I c

n't im

gine going th

ough th

t. So

hen you took the b ex

m,

s the

e

nything diffe

ent besides just then cou

ting you

nd online? Do you think? Is it mo

e ne

ve cking? Victoive:<

cite> Fo

me? It sn't mo

e ne

ve

cking. It

s diffe

ent

s they ch

nged the fo

m

t. The o

igin

l Tex

s b

ex

m is t

o

nd

h

lf d

ys. Fo

COVID. They h

d

educed it to t

o full d

ys. But the Septembend Octobe

, people b

sic

lly took t

o diffe

ent tests. Believe in Septembe

, they h

d 200 MBE questions, too much

multiple choice questions

nd six ess

ys.

e h

d 100 multiple choice questions

nd 12 ess

ys. So you kind of h

d to st

tegize

nd pick you

st

engths p

etty much. I’m st

onges

ite

, so I figu

ed I’d t

ke the 12 ess

ys, I h

d

bette

ch

nce th

n t

king the 200 multiple choice questions.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Th

t's inte

esting point

he

e you st

tegize

hich one you should t

ke. So did it

ffect you

studying h

bits? like did you sttegize in th

t f

cto

of

h

t to study fo

? Depending on the test you

e

e t

king?

Victo

ive

Oh, ye

h, my b p

ep completely ch

nged

hen they m

de the test online. I h

d to

d

pt to online only fo

m

t. Bec

use the Octobe

ex

m s going to be

ll on compute

. The

e’s

section of the ex

m

he

e it helps to h

ve sctch p

pe

.

nd

t fi

st

e didn't knohethe

o

not

e

ould be

llo

ed to h

ve

sctch p

pe

. So

e h

d just s

itched to completely elect

onic fo

m

t

t the end the l

st b

tch p

pe

but by then I

s just

e

dy to t

ke it

ll online.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> So you h

d pctice

nd you p

eped. Victoive:<

cite> 

ight I p

ep

ed just to be

ll on compute

.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> So

hy did you decide in the beginning to become

l

ye

o

m

ybe test it out by

o

king

t some fi

ms. Victoive:<

cite> 

ell, I guess it

ll goes b

ck

hen I

s

kid, I g

e

up in

p

edomin

ntly Hisp

nic neighbo

hood in Chic

go.

nd my g

ndp

ents b

sic

lly

ised me my b

othe

fo

the m

jo

ity of ou

fo

m

tive ye

s,

hile my pents

o

ked.

nd I

emembelys helping them tnsl

te stuff into English,

e

ding stuff fo

them filling out fo

ms, c

lling people on the phone since Sp

nish

s thei

fi

st l

ngu

ge,

nd didn't kno

ho

to

e

d o

ite in English. So eve

since then I kind of figu

ed out

h

t to do something like th

t. But

hen I

s

kid, I me

n, I didn’t kno

the lye

s the job to do something simil

to

h

t I

s doing

s

kid. So

hen I found th

t out, I kind of kne

h

t I nted to do.

shley

od

iguez: Ye

h,

nd then just help out people. Th

t's

big thing too, like me, especi

lly

leg

l document

nd stuff. Like I think

lot of times in the Hisp

nic cultu

e, like people e

f

id th

t they'll get t

ken

dv

nt

ge of it's not thei

fi

st l

ngu

ge

hen they’

e, you kno

, signing documents.

nd to give them

pe

ce like, Look, I c

n help you th

ough this. So e you set on pe

son

l inju

y

e you still like, deciding if

diffe

ent type of l

might be fun.

Victo

ive

I think

t this point, settle on pe

son

l inju

y fo

no

h

ve lened

lot in the field.

nd I

e

lly nt to go fu

the

nd h

ve

l

e

dy fo

sevel position

t this fi

m.

nd I kind of

nt to go th

ough e

ch one.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Like you got to expe

ience the

hole thing,

hich I think is

ve

y unique thing fo

someone in

fi

m bec

use you

e

e going th

ough l

school, but yes, you’ll be t

ying the c

ses, but you

ent th

ough like

h

t eve

y othe

pe

son does to help the lye

, get to th

t point. You kno

,

h

t needs to be done

nd ho

you c

n

sk fo

help

hen you need it,

hich is esome. Is the

e

nything else you nt to tell us o

tell those l

students

nd encougement of going fo

it du

ing this p

ndemic time

nyy, if it's thei

d

e

m to become

lye

,

Victo

ive

I just like to tell them to just keep the he

d up. Just

oll

ith the punches

nd like B

uce Lee s

id, Be like

te

, be

d

ptive. No

‘s the time to t

y diffe

ent things out

nd just

d

pt to these ne

times.

shley

od

iguez:<

cite> Sounds good.

ell, th

nk you guys fo

listening to b

e

king do

n the l

. If you h

ve

ny questions

bout

pe

son

l inju

y c

se, ple

se c

ll us

t 281-783-3934 <

div>

t

-cont

olle

="mod

l”><

side id="publish_cd" cl

ss=”st

tus_not_live">

Episode is ong>Not Live ong><

h3>

-publish-text=””>Publish:  ong>Nov. 16, 2020 @10

M ong> <

h

ef="https:

/

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic#" d

t

-sho

-schedule=””>Edit ><

p>

t

-publish-text="">

side>

ss=”episode-sideb

__

mplify">
ss=”episode-sideb

__

mplify--tnsc

ipt flex-

p">  
ss=”episode-sideb

__

mplify--st

tus flex-g

o

-1″>

ong>Tnsc

ipt is  n id="tnsc

ipt-st

tus">Live<

sp

n><

st

ong>
ss=”t

nsc

ipt-options"> <

h

ef="https:

/

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic#" d

t

-pop="#tnsc

ipt_delete_confi

m">Delete<> this tnsc

ipt.

<

id=”unpublish-t

nsc

ipt" cl

ss=”btn btn_xsm

ll btn_outline_

ed” h

ef="https:

/

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563/t

nsc

ipt.6398563-episode-17-l-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic?t

nsc

ipt%5Bpublished%5D=f

lse”

el="nofollo

” d

t

emote="t

ue” d

t

-method=”put”>Unpublish ><

div>

mplify–ch

pte

s flex-

p">  
ss=”episode-sideb

__

mplify--st

tus flex-g

o

-1″>

ong><

cl

ss="" h

ef=”https://

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic

ch

pte

s”>

dd Ch

pte

Mke

s ><

st

ong>Listene

s c

n t

p th

ough &

mp; see

h

t’s coming up.

mplify–soundbite flex-

p">  
ss=”episode-sideb

__

mplify--st

tus flex-g

o

-1″>

C

e

ting you

Visu

l Soundbite…

visu

l soundbite fo

this episode is being c

e

ted. Once complete (typic

lly 3-5 minutes) you

ill be

ble to do

nlo

d it. <

div>

She Episode On<

h4>

ef=”http://

.f

cebook.com/sh

e

.php?u=https:

/

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/6398563″ d

t

-popup=”["height=400,

idth=520,top=100,left==100"]">F

cebook ><

cl

ss="episode-sideb__soci

l-item episode-sideb

__soci

l-item--t

itte

" h

ef=”http://t

itte

.com/sh

e?text=Listening+to+%22Episode+17%3

+L+School+du

ing+

+p

ndemic+%22+

t+&

mp;u

l=https%3

%2F%2F

.buzzsp

out.com%2F1311943%2F6398563″ d

t

-popup=”["height=250,

idth=520,top=100,left=100"]">T

itte

<><

cl

ss="episode-sideb__soci

l-item episode-sideb

__soci

l-item--linkedin" h

ef=”https://

.linkedin.com

sh

ing/sh

e-offsite/?u

l=https%3

%2F%2F

.buzzsp

out.com%2F1311943%2F6398563″ d

t

-popup=”["height=655,

idth=420,top=100,left=100"]">LinkedIn<><

div>

Mo

e Options

ss=”episode-sideb

__item”>

-cont

olle

=”displ

y"> <

cl

ss="episode-sideb__item--link episode-sideb__item--em

il” style=”b

ckg

ound: u

l('

/

ssets.buzzsp

out.com/

ssetspp

icons/icon_episode_sideb

-33118f4bd0f43967

d1f

b7dd253cf8

6b6d2c6ed66e24

22f4c8d1f44bdf75.svg') 5px -93px no-

epe

t; displ

y: inline-block; p

dding: 8px 0px 8px 35px; colo

: #92c13c; text-deco

tion: none; font-

eight: no

m

l;" h

ef=”https://

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic#" d

t

-

ction=”click->displ

y#toggle">Em

il Link to Episode >

ss=”

el

tive hide episode-sideb

–open” d

t

-t

get=”displ

y.element">il-link” type=”text” v

lue="https:

/

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/6398563″ />

t

-cont

olle

="displ

y”>

<

cl

ss=”episode-sideb

__item–link episode-sideb

__item–mp3″ style=”b

ckg

ound: u

l('

/

ssets.buzzsp

out.com/

ssetspp

icons/icon_episode_sideb

-33118f4bd0f43967

d1f

b7dd253cf8

6b6d2c6ed66e24

22f4c8d1f44bdf75.svg') 5px -130px no-

epe

t; displ

y: inline-block; p

dding: 8px 0px 8px 35px; colo

: #92c13c; text-deco

tion: none; font-

eight: no

m

l;" h

ef=”https://

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic#" d

t

-

ction=”click->displ

y#toggle">Di

ect Link to MP3 >

ss=”

el

tive hide episode-sideb

–open” d

t

-t

get=”displ

y.element">lue=”https://

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic.mp3?blob_id=26698615&

mp;do

nlo

d=t

ue"

>

<

cl

ss="episode-sideb__item--link episode-sideb__item--embed" h

ef=”https://

.buzzsp

out.com/1311943/episodes/6398563-episode-17-l

-school-du

ing-

-p

ndemic#" d

t

-tget="mod

l.t

igge

listing.

eve

lButton” d

t

ction="mod

l#sho

">Embed this ONE Episode<><

div>

How Can We HELP Get a FREE Virtual Consultation
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Testimonials

Client testimonials "Mr. Guss & his team significantly exceeded my expectations and the net settlement I received was more than triple... - Norman B. View All Testimonials
Schedule a free virtual visit 866-552-1808 Or Send us a message today >

Read More

Handling Catastrophic Injury Claims for 20+ Years
Car Accident Attorneys Houston 19 Jan

  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

. to schedule f ee consulttion. Don’t del y! Youights e too impot nt. Signs of n Intoxic ted...

How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

He e’s scen io e see ll too often in ou line of o k: pe son lks y...

Get Legal Help Now Contact Our Attorneys To LEarn How We Can Help You Achieve The Justice You Deserve * Required Field
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.