A Wife, a Writer, and a Soon-to-Be Lawyer...What More Could You Ask For?
by Mahsa Khalilifar
Genevieve Suzuki plans to write more books and practice law after she graduates.
"When my parents divorced, my mom's lawyer was horrible...he missed meetings with the judge, shrugged off her questions, and let her case go," she recalled regarding her initial experience with a negligent lawyer. "Even though it was a pretty simple case, his inattention and insensitivity made me angry enough to vow someday I would be able to help people like my mom so they wouldn't have a similar experience. After all, what didn't seem like much to him was everything to my mom."
After that incident, Suzuki decided to give law school a chance. She wanted to be a better lawyer than the one who failed to help her mom.
Suzuki graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she majored in journalism and minored in speech. After graduation, she was a journalist for about seven years, during which time she published a children's book. The Original Poi Cats on O'ahu was published before she moved to California to attend law school in San Diego.
"I've loved to write since I can remember... It's a positive outlet for my imagination. I [wrote the book] after making up stories to tell these two hyperactive kids I babysat a few times. It was really just to get them to leave my cats alone," she said, laughing. "I told them that my cats went on adventures whenever we were out of the house. The story of the Poi Cats grew from there. I pitched the story to my partner and illustrator, Jon J. Murakami, and we went from there."
"It's a travel book for children. The two main characters, Minky Chan and Mew-lani, venture around the island, checking out different points of interest," Suzuki elaborated.
Suzuki, who now is in her third and final year at California Western School of Law, is still putting her journalism skills to use. She is the law student editor for San Diego Lawyer magazine and the newsletter editor-in-chief for the Ninth Circuit ABA Law Student Division.
This summer, Suzuki worked in Las Vegas as a summer associate for Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson & Haluck, LLP, a construction-defect defense litigation firm.
Suzuki is also involved in several organizations at her school. She is the executive director of the California Western Moot Court Honors Board, and she is a member of the Hawaii Law Students Association (HLSA) and the Women's Law Caucus.
"Aside from the obvious resume entry, [school organizations are] actually the best way to keep a student's interest," Suzuki said of why she joined the groups. "Another benefit is that you really get to bond with your classmates, many of whom will be friends for life."
Q. What do you do for fun?
A. Skulk around the bookshelves at Barnes & Noble or Borders.
What CD is in your CD player right now, or what’s the last song you heard?
A. “Unbroken” by Misty Higgins.
Q. What is the last magazine you read?
A.Fortune, which featured an interesting story on Carlos Slim.
Q. What is your favorite TV show?
A.Heroes.
Q. Who is your role model?
A. My ultimate role model, the Dalai Lama.
Q. What is something most people don’t know about you?
A. I play a mean clarinet.
Suzuki said that she's had some memorable experiences as well, one of which resulted from a night of too much studying and too much junk food. She and one of her best friends were in their second semester of law school and decided to let loose while studying.
"Because law school can be such a grind, one day we indulged in the worst of guilty pleasures: Hershey chocolate, cream soda, and vinegar chips," she recalled. That night, neither of us slept very well, and it wasn't because of finals anxiety."
As she enters her final year of law school, Suzuki hopes to write more books in the future. She is also a wife.
"I met my husband, Derek, while we were both in the University of Hawaii Rainbow Marching Band. No band camp jokes, please," she said. "We have been together for nine years, married for seven."
Suzuki is excited about the future and hopes to be successful in her practice. She is looking forward to entering the area of health law. In about 10 years, she hopes to "be taking annual trips with [her] family to all the places [she reads] about in Travel + Leisure magazine."
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