Young Lawyers Section News
| Publication year | 2010 |
| Pages | 07 |
Young Lawyers Section News
We, the Government Lawyers
By Melissa R. Doeblin, Kansas Corporation Commission, Topeka, melissadoeblin@gmail.com
When I decided to go to law school, I had in my mind what a "lawyer" was. In my mind, a lawyer was the flashy individual on a television show waltzing around the courtroom and displaying quick humor. I'm sure several of you had the same notion!
In law school I had the opportunity to work for the Kansas Legislature. There I learned that lawyers were not only private practice attorneys, but that there were also a multitude of government lawyers with equally specialized or generalized practice areas like those at firms. I learned of attorneys who worked for state agencies as legal and advisory counsel, as city prosecutors and public defenders, and for county attorneys' offices, as well as in many other areas.
After graduation from law school, I knew I wanted to continue to work for the Legislature and surround myself with interesting issues, people, and debates. I accepted a position in the Division of Post Audit, which was far from the traditional firm approach many of my peers took. At Post Audit, I utilized the analytical skills I developed in law school.
A couple years later I migrated to the Office of Revisor of Statutes, another arm of the Legislature. The revisor's office drafts bills and provides legal research for legislators and legislative committees. In fact, the need for continuous revision of the Kansas statutes was brought to light at the annual meeting of the Kansas Bar Association in 1924 and, hence, the Revisor's Office was born. The attorneys in the revisor's office help craft state laws through the bill drafting and floor amendments, and it certainly is a trying position that involves long hours during session, working for 165 "clients" (legislators).
I am now employed in the Office of Advisory Counsel at the Kansas Corporation Commission (Commission). The Commission is the state agency that regulates public utilities across the state, setting rates that protect the public interest while allowing each utility to earn a profit for the company. Along with three other attorneys in my office, I provide direct advice to the commissioners on matters pending before the Commission and serve as a hearing officer in Commission dockets.
Terri Pemberton is a colleague of mine in...
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