Paula Rasmussen

Paula is an third year JD student with an extraordinary past. Continue on to find out more about this talented woman.

Tell me something special or interesting about your background before you went to law school?

I always loved to sing. I started with musicals at a young age, dreaming of Broadway. I earned my undergraduate degree from CalArts School of Music, where they advised me to pursue opera because of my loud voice! I was in the LA area when Placido Domingo and others started the LA Opera, with which I was able to work as a resident artist for four years. Agents saw me perform and began sending me out on singing jobs all over the world, and began singing full-time. I've been a professional singer since 1990, spending most of my time traveling. From 1998-2002, I probably spent 11 months of the year on the road, a different country every month. My husband, Don Sherrill, is also a professional singer, whom I met while performing. He started law school at GGU this year!

Why did you decide to go to law school?

Traveling and performing is very exciting and glamorous, but it is also grueling. I began to really miss the everyday things like being able to attend family birthday parties or see friends. I longed to subscribe to the newspaper! Performing also has its stresses-I had to be very careful to not catch a cold and to preserve my voice between performances. I have no regrets, but I realized I wanted to be "done" with professional singing, so I began to look around for a new career. While many singers turn to teaching, I had developed mixed feelings about encouraging budding singers when it can be so difficult to make a living at it. I suppose I was influenced by modern fiction and TV portrayals of lawyers. I wanted something interesting, financially satisfying, but mostly something that would connect me to that sense of community I missed so much. Also, I had occasion to interact with many lawyers throughout my career-family law, real estate, contracts, etc. It felt like lawyers were running the world and I wanted to know what they know

Tell me something special or interesting about your law school experience.

I loved law school from the beginning. During my first year, everything was new and interesting. I liked it all. I was particularly motivated to work on my legal writing skills. I worked really hard and was fortunate to write onto law review. Last fall, my singing schedule was so intense that I took off a semester to sing, but kept working on my law review article. Although it was an intense schedule, it felt really good to focus on just my writing.

My first legal work experience was with the family court in Alameda County, where I worked during my second semester. During my next semester, I worked in the SF Office of the District Attorney, where I stayed during the following summer. I really loved working in that office. I feel like the DAs share my love of performance, which I also think helps me with my Mock Trial competition.

Now I'm working as a judicial extern for US Magistrate Judge Brazil, where I'm starting to get some great research and writing assignments.

What is your greatest source of motivation/support as you work towards your JD?

I started out just really wanting to learn. Then, as it began to 'click,' I focused more on my writing and litigation skills. Now I'm finally able to feel that sense of community involvement for which I was looking. I like family and criminal law, because it affords me the opportunity to have an immediate impact on someone's life. In some ways, I envy my husband's 1L status: his workload is pretty clear cut, while I'm faced with so many unknowns and career choices.

What is your favorite thing you do when you are not at law school?

I like to spend time with my friends, maybe going out to dinner. I still sing. In fact, I've had singing engagements every winter, spring, and summer break during law school. I hope to be able to still sing periodically, but I won't miss the constant traveling!

If not at GGU, where can we find you?

I feel like I'm always at law school! The Moot Court competition is great, but a big time commitment. I suppose that you could find me at the gym, doing yoga, or walking my dog, Jack, the "diva dog." I'm really enjoying my time at GGU. I love the fascinating and diverse backgrounds of all the students. Everyone has a wonderful story to tell!