I was 16 years old when, like much of the nation, I became transfixed by the O.J. Simpson criminal trial. I knew then I wanted to be a lawyer. Fast forward 20 years to a federal courtroom in San Francisco where I represented a prisoner, Jesse Perez, pro bono in a civil rights case against prison guards at the super-max Pelican Bay State Prison for retaliating against him in violation of the First Amendment.

Originally published in California Lawyer Magazine - June 16, 2016.