LYNN — “Who wants to be a lawyer?” attorney Michael Merriam asked Brickett Elementary School students on Monday.
A couple of hands rose in the air. The fifth-graders wasted no time cross-examining Merriam about his job: What does he like most about being a lawyer? What’s the hardest part of the job? What’s the easiest — what’s most important?
“My favorite part of my job is making people feel better,” said Merriam, president of the Essex County Bar Association.
He was on hand at the Lewis Street school to celebrate Law Day and educate students on the importance of the rule of law and the constitution, as well as on what the lawyers do and how to become one.
While Law Day was not celebrated in all district schools on Monday, the annual tradition was marked in several schools with visits from law professionals, according to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Merriam manages and oversees the training of 23 attorneys and staff in Massachusetts and Connecticut offices, as well as advises senior management on litigation issues affecting the enterprise.
He also represents Plymouth Rock, its affiliates, and their insureds in the defense of cases in Superior and District courts throughout the Commonwealth as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
He stressed the importance of attorney-client privilege protecting the confidentiality of communications between lawyers and clients, and the value of being an active listener.
In a nutshell, Merriam said his job is to listen to them and give clients options.
“Lawyers are problem-solvers — that’s really what they do,” he said.
Law Day, said Merriam, was first introduced in the U.S. in 1958 by then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower to counter the celebration of Labor Day in the Soviet Union and to educate the public on the importance of law, jury, and the U.S. constitution.
During his conversation with the students, Merriam outlined the differences between trials by jury and trials by a single person, and then he proceeded to a more up-to-date problem of cyberbullying.
“In this country you really can’t be arrested and (prosecuted) for the things you say,” said Merriam.
At the same time, he said sending hurtful messages and spreading nasty rumors can be classified as cyberbullying, and equated with something that “we as society say we don’t want, and we don’t allow that to happen.”
“You don’t send anything you don’t want other people to see,” said Merriam.
During his hour-long conversation with the fifth-grade students, Merriam also touched upon such topics as the difference between civil and criminal law, segregation in schools, as well as some of his experiences of being a lawyer.
Merriam also tried to encourage the students to read voraciously and to have respect for their teachers. He credited a high-school teacher with helping him decide he wanted to become a lawyer.
Practicing the law can be stressful, demanding, and it requires a lot of reading, but Merriam loves all of it.
“If you love what you do, things are going to be fine,” he said.
