The “Just under the wire prize”
I read with some chuckles Tony Wilson’s recent article (Vol. 16, No. 5). It reminded me of my experience getting into law school.
It was 1985. I had finished my third year of a BA program in Philosophy at UBC and was hoping to get into law school. I applied to six schools, five of which had the sense to reject me. UVic placed me on a waiting list and advised me that if I did not receive a call by August 25th (or thereabouts) to try again next year. Well, August 25th came and went and I did not receive a call. A day or so later, I happened to be golfing with my brother-in-law, John Dives, and his partner, Dan Webster, and, when I related my tale of woe, they both instructed me to call Gary Charlton and tell him that it was my dream to attend UVic’s law school. I promptly did so and Gary advised me that there was still a shred of hope. Several days later, it was 4:30 p.m. and I was watching a re-run of Dallas. I was scheduled to register at UBC for fourth year the next day. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to take those boring core Philosophy courses that I did not want to take. In fact, I only needed 3 1/2 courses to complete my BA. It was going to be a waste of a year of my life! The phone rang. It was Gary Charlton. He offered me a spot. I left for UVic an hour later.
I met my wife at law school. She was from Victoria. I began practising in Vancouver in 1989 but she convinced me to move back to Victoria and in 1991, I did. My wife and I were married in 1994. We have two great kids. I have my own practice which is affiliated with Jim McNeney's office in Vancouver. I have been very lucky....
On a fairly regular basis, I thank my lucky stars for the advice that I received from John and Dan, and for Gary Charlton’s choice to call me. Tony’s article reminded me once again that such small twists and turns in fate can, in hindsight, literally change one’s life.
Philip Williams
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This letter was published in the December 2004 issue of BarTalk. |
