CUA Cover Winter 2004 final (Page 2) - Columbus School of Law

A L T E R N A T I V E C A R E E R SDAYNA BARNETTE ‘02EYES ON THE WORLDTHINGS WERE LOOKING IFFY WHEN DAYNA BARNETTE GRADUATED FROM THE COLUMBUS SCHOOL OF LAW INDECEMBER 2002. SHE KNEW SHE WANTED TO WORK FOR HERSELF, BUT WAS COOL TO THE IDEA OF ACTUALLYPRACTICING LAW. TROUBLE WAS, THERE WERE NO EMPLOYMENT OFFERS OF ANY KIND ON THE HORIZON, ANDLOANS WERE STARTING TO COME DUE. LACKING A BETTER ALTERNATIVE, SHE BEGAN TO STUDY FOR THECALIFORNIA BAR.The day after shetook the test, her lifechanged forever. Aproducer for ABC News,aware of Barnette’spre-law school careeras a photographer forthe Defense Department,called to ask if she was willingto travel to western Iraq to film a yet-to-be-releaseddocumentary on the final days of Saddam.“It was a great experience that I could not passup. I never would have gotten the job with ABCwithout my legal training and my past experience.Almost all of the producers and journalists I workedwith in Iraq have law degrees,” says Barnette.Her team spent three months filming and shuttlingbetween Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Someof her footage has already been shown on ABC’sevening news. The rest is still in production. Herfront-line presence in Iraq during the height ofthe war went well professionally, though it couldbe personally wrenching — “what I saw with myown eyes was devastating,” she recalls. Her networkcontacts may result in further documentarywork, such as filming “Bin Laden’s Backyard” — alook at areas in the world where terrorists are able tooperate because of a lack of government control.For the moment, however, Dayna Barnetteis back in Washington, paying the bills by doingfreelance writing and research for both think tanksand private law firms. Armed with her CUA degree,her rates have, in some cases, quadrupled. “In pureeconomic terms, I am really glad that I obtained mydegree!” she laughs.Not every recent law school graduate wantsto swap a fancy office for desert boots and flyingbullets. But the point, Barnette believes, is that alaw degree opens doors and expands options, alesson that stressed-out lawyers (and students) cansometimes forget. She admits that self employment isnot the most secure way to go — there are those peskybills, after all — although she has been able to surviveso far. But she is excited that less than two years out oflaw school, she is living her main dream of workingfor herself. For the time being that may include dabblingin different kinds of assignments, includingfuture forays into video journalism.“While I was in school it was hard to believe thatgetting a law degree was going to help me in the longrun — particularly because I didn’t think I wantedto practice law,” says Barnette. “But I can tellyou that it does make a difference to the people whohave hired me. I know it will only help in whateverI decide to do.”Winter 2004 / C UALAWYER 11