Heather Lynn Bard: Marine Wife and 1L

<<After a medical condition forced her to let go of her law-enforcement dreams, she decided that fighting criminals in court would do just as well.

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"My heart condition wouldn't allow [me to become a cop], so I decided at the age of 10 that I wanted to be a lawyer," she explains. "I could help those who needed it, and I'd be serving our justice system like my grandpa did for many years."

Bard completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She majored in legal studies and minored in criminal justice. She then decided to continue her education at law school.

Just recently, Bard started her legal education at Barry University's Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law in Orlando, Florida. The university is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Adrian, Michigan. It is not a traditional Catholic school, according to Bard, but religion is a part of its foundation. Barry Law "teaches to the bar," Bard explains, which means, according to her, that it teaches students how to pass the bar on the first try.

Bard is also a newlywed. She is married to Corporal Bradley John Bard, a Marine, which has forced her to balance her life with school and marriage. The two met years ago by chance in a phone store, and after an intriguing conversation about cars (a mutual interest), phone numbers were exchanged. Years later, they got in touch online and began officially dating. They were married in July. It was "love at second sight," Bard says.

Bard's husband is in MARSOC, the Marine Corps Special Operations Command, so he is deployed for days on end. As a result, she does not get to see him as often as she would like.

"He is stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It is only a few states away, but he isn't allowed to come home for the weekend or anything unless he requests special time off for leave," Bard says. "He isn't overseas, but it is still nerve-wracking because he can get sent off at most any time, and unlike someone whose husband is, say, a mechanic, I don't get to know what he does if he isn't on base in his office."

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Although Bard could have chosen to live on the base, she decided to follow her law school dreams at Barry in order to practice law in Florida.

"I couldn't live with him because of the distance. I had applied to Barry, and it was my top-choice school," she says. "I felt that I would get a better education here, as well as when he finishes his four years, he will be returning to Florida, which is where I will be practicing law."

As far as the relationship goes, she still feels that they remain close regardless of the distance.

"It is tough with him being away and not being able to know what he is doing all the time, but I am so proud of him and what he does that I am okay with it," she confesses. "I actually read him my cases that I study every night. It helps me study the material, and he says he gets to hear my voice. He actually will debate the issues with me. It is almost as if he is going to school with me. He is my biggest supporter."

Bard is focusing on getting through law school and eventually working in child welfare, juvenile, and family law.
 

Q. What do you do for fun? Do you have a family, pets, etc.?

A. I have a one-year-and-eight-months-old long-haired standard Chihuahua, Scrappy Doo. He's my son and my biggest entertainment.

Q. What CD is in your CD player right now?

A. Katharine McPhee. I love her songs "Love Story" (it's my song for my husband) and "Open Toes." They are fun to listen to when I'm in any mood.

Q. What is the last magazine you read?

A. Self.

Q. What is your favorite TV show?

A. The 4400 and General Hospital are tied.

Q. Who is your role model?

A. My grandpa.

Q. What is something most people don't know about you?

A. I love drag racing (on a track, of course). It's a rush!

"I used to want to do criminal law like everyone else, but I sat back and thought, 'Where can I do the most good? Who needs me?' I realized that the at-risk, defenseless children need someone to be their advocate," she says. "I don't want to be a lawyer for the money. I want to make a difference. If helping families get out of a divorce situation with the least amount of pain possible and helping childless couples adopt children who would otherwise grow up with nobody is how I spent my time, I'd gladly get up and go to work and stay as late as I could."

Bard is enjoying her classes so far and recently joined the Women Lawyers Association (WLA), with other organizations to follow.

"I have a true love for jurisprudence," she says. "Every case, small or landmark, has an impact in the law, and the thought that cases that I will try will affect generation after generation...is amazing to me."

As for the future, Bard hopes to establish her own family law practice.

"[I want to] be pretty successful and have a great family of my own with one or two kids," she says.

She has a while to go, though, seeing as this is her first year in law school.

"I expect that [law school] will be harder before it gets easier," she says. "I think that in order to make it, you have to be passionate about what you want, and you really have to want to be there, or it is a waste of time and money."

Bard's inspiration and motivation, her grandpa, died in 2002, but his encouragement continues to carry her through her studies at law school.

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"He taught me to never give up," she says. "I [always remember what] he taught me, and I make myself refocus to make [him] proud of what I will accomplish once I have my Juris Doctor degree."