Beyond the First Whereas

<p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)><p><strong><em>Beyond the First Whereas </em>is a witty poignant and refreshingly original poetic journey through the stages of a lawyer's life from the first tentative steps toward law school to the triumphs trials and quiet revelations of practice.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>With humor insight and emotional resonance Mark Halliwell Smith captures the moments that shape a lawyer's path: the pressure of the LSAT the camaraderie of study groups the sting of a bad cold call the rush of closing a deal and the personal costs that sometimes come with professional success.</p><p><br></p><p>Whether you're a seasoned attorney a law student or simply someone who loves poetry that plays with form and meaning this collection invites you to reflect smile and see the law as a lawyer sees it heart and soul (and in iambic tetrameter).</p><p><br></p><p>WHEREAS a lawyer's life unfolds<br>In cautious steps with borrowed grace<br>From law school dreams the young heart holds<br>To battles fought with poise and pace.</p><br></p>WHEREAS the LSAT's quiet dread<br>The cold call's sting the study grind<br>Give way to briefs and deals ahead<br>And quiet truths we come to find.</p><br></p>WHEREAS the law can lift and bruise<br>Its gains hard-earned its pains not small<br>Yet even when the heart must lose<br>There's purpose rising through it all.</p><br></p>WHEREAS these verses dare to show<br>The human side beneath the robe.<br>With wit and warmth they let us know<br>The lawyer's life around the globe.</p><br></p>NOW THEREFORE let the reader see:<br>This book's not just for courts and class;<br>It charts my soul's own quiet plea<br>To delve beyond the first WHEREAS.</p></span></p><p></p><p></p>