Joshua Knelman - Firebrand: A Tobacco Lawyers Journey

Until the age of eleven, he wanted to be a pirate. Then he decided he wanted to be the next Johnny Carson.

So he chased a job working for NBCJohnnys networkand got one in its news department in the UK. Just a few months into it, though, he realized hed never make any money at journalism. So he applied to law school.

Well, applied is a loose term. It was his father who provided the strategy: go inquire at the most prestigious schools and find out if any prospective students had dropped out. He followed his dads advice, visited admissions offices across London, and got lucky. At one law school, the secretary asked him about grades, and, of course, hed brought his transcript. She examined the documents, looked at him, and said if he could pay a deposit by the end of day, the spot was his.

He paid and gained entrance to one of the best law schools in Britain. For two years he worked his ass off, and at the end of it he passed his law finals.

In the UK, becoming a lawyer is not exactly like it is in the US or in Canada, where hed grown up. In Britain, you went to university, you went to law school, you took your bar exams, and then you had to work two years as an apprentice. You then became a solicitorand a few years after that, you could practise on your own. Since the intake of lawyers was completely determined by the private sector, a lot of people who went to law school never actually became lawyers. There were simply not enough positions.

Luck was with him again when he graduated: he was recruited as one of only two new lawyers by an entertainment law firm. Even better, their offices werent in a corporate tower but in a renovated fashion district warehouse. Serendipity: he got the job not only because he had attended an excellent school but also, he thinks, because hed worked as a journalist with NBC. The journalism experience gave his resum some edge.

It was 1998, and this second millennium seemed to close in his favour. At twenty-four years old, he had a law degree and a starter career at a boutique law outfit. It was the stuff of dreams. The only problem: everyone else at the new firm seemed cool, and he was not.

This sad fact was reflected in his new responsibilities. He was immediately assigned to all the un-cool work: advertising, trademarks, brandingthe boring stuff. He didnt get his own office. Instead, he shared a room with someone more attractive than he was and who worked on more exciting files. Her name was Leah. Talk about cool. Leah was stunning, tall, intense, and her boyfriend was a famous DJ on the club-music scene. They were making plans to get married at a castle in Italy.

He had a fiance, whom he was crazy about, but they were not considering European castles for their wedding.

He and Leah clicked, thank godin fact, theyd met at law schoolbecause the space they co-occupied was tiny. Leah respected him for his intelligence, he supposed. He respected her because she was super-hip, and he hoped that by working in such close proximity to one another, some of her coolness would transfer to him by osmosis.