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Matthew Easton is the Co-Managing Partner of Easton & Easton, LLP, and drove the firm’s remarkable growth for over five years while securing over $100 million in verdicts, settlements, and arbitration awards for clients. Known for his expertise in personal injury law, Matt has led several high-profile cases, including multi-million dollar settlements recognized as Top Million-Dollar Settlements in California, earning him a place in the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum® and honors as a Southern California Super Lawyer and one of the Best Lawyers in America. A Whittier Law School magna cum laude graduate on a full-ride scholarship, Matt was awarded Best Oral Advocate and Chief Justice of the Moot Court Honors Board, demonstrating his prowess early in his career. His commitment to justice has led him to litigate significant cases against the State of California and major entities, achieving policy changes to protect public safety.
From very early in my life, I wanted to be a personal injury lawyer, just like my father. As a kid, I just wanted to wear a suit and go to a nice office, like I saw him do each day. As I grew up and understood how he helped injury victims and the enormous, life-changing impact that he could have on their lives after the most tragic of circumstances, I was driven to make the same positive impact I had seen him provide.
Had I realized the importance of the LSAT (that it was weighted as high or higher than your college performance), I probably would have put more effort into preparing for it. Many people take year-long prep classes and significantly improve their results over time, which is a great decision and investment. I took one practice test before taking the test. At the same time, I still received a full scholarship to law school and absolutely loved my law school experience, so I wouldn’t change anything.
I think it is important to truly make it personal and engaging. Spend considerable time considering what makes you unique and think about it from the perspective of a law school administrator who is reading thousands of essays–if you were them, what would stand out in the first paragraph to make you want to keep reading the rest? Like most legal writing, don’t assume your audience will read the whole thing, so make sure you have a killer hook in the first paragraph that will engage them to keep reading.
That was over 15 years ago, so I don’t remember any specific surprises or challenges about the test at this point, other than realizing later in hindsight that it was probably something I should have put more effort into preparing for before I took it.
I spent several summers interning in my father’s law firm during college before entering law school. This is crucial. I would not enjoy being a lawyer if I didn’t do exactly what I do. I know many lawyers who don’t enjoy their work or the type of law they do. I love what I do and I knew I would love it before I went to law school because I exposed myself to this area of law extensively beforehand to know exactly what I was getting into. Some people assume being a lawyer automatically ensures a great income and will be just like you see on TV, but that is not the reality and leads to disillusionment for many lawyers shortly after law school. Everyone considering law school should spend some serious time working or interning in a law firm in the type of law they think they want to do in the future, and they should use that time to study what life in that firm is like, what the lawyers actually do with their time, and gauge whether they think they will actually enjoy that work life.
I had my heart set on going to Berkley Law School (Boalt) where my dad went, but I did not get in. Had I put effort into preparing for the LSAT, I could have easily increased my score by a couple of points and would have gotten in. However, I ended up with a full scholarship to law school, which meant I had no debt after finishing and was in a prime position to buy my first home a few months after passing the bar during the 2008 recession. That would have been harder or impossible if I had gone to Berkley with the debt I would have accrued. So, in the end, it all worked out for the best.
I’m sure many applicants are using AI to help prepare the backbone of their personal statements. Be careful here, as that will mean everyone will have very similar bones to their statements. If the point is to stand out, then I would be very wary of doing this and be sure to spend considerable time making sure your first paragraph in particular is very engaging and unique.
I had seen the example of my father as a personal injury lawyer for 20+ years before I began my career and then spent summers interning at his firm, providing me with considerable experience and exposure to what personal injury lawyers do. From that, I knew it was for me. A lot of personal injury law has the backbone of sales–you are always selling the insurance adjuster, defense attorney, mediator, judge, or jury on the value of your client’s case to maximize their results, and sometimes you have to sell your client on the problems that devalue their case for their expectations to be more reasonable. So, any jobs or extracurricular activities involving sales, advocacy, debate, and the like are wonderful preparation for being a personal injury lawyer.
Primarily the biggest sacrifice in the early days was time with my wife and family. As you develop your career, it takes a lot of work and time to get the early experience you need to be effective for your clients. The only way to get there though is to dive all in. Have a vision for the long path and maintain perspective. For me, I dove all in for the early years with the belief and expectation that it would pay off down the road and allow me to manage my time with my family much later thereafter.
My college had some wonderful guidance personnel who helped show me the path to law school and the things I needed to do. They helped guide me in refining my personal statement and probably tried to convey to me the importance of preparing for the LSAT–I should have listened better to them on that one.
Pass. Not gonna happen.
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