The Hard Facts with Jett Black – Lone Dark Exclusive Interview!
Lone Dark sat down with me today to talk about some exciting news regarding the Department of Justice and the San Andreas Bar Association. In the interview, we go over the ins and outs of the legal system, how YOU can get involved and possibly find an exciting new career! The interview starts off with getting to know Lone Dark a bit more personally, then transitions into the details regarding the available jobs.
For starters, before we got into everything because I know he had a lot to talk about, I knew the question that would be on the average citizens mind. Who is Lone Dark? So, I started with a little ice breaker and suggested he “tell everybody a little about himself, to start us out.”
Hi, I'm Lone Dark. I'm the Assistant Chief Justice of the DOJ. I also help manage and fulfill the San Andreas Bar Association. I'm also employed by the Better Bureau Council (or BBC for short).
Just as I had introduced him, and as you can see from his response, Mr. Dark has his hand in just about every pot of the governmental body. As you can imagine, that kind of responsibility can get pretty difficult to bear, and so I moved on to the focus of the interview; job openings at the DOJ and SABA! But what does being a clerk mean? What does the average day as a judge look like? Where do lawyers fit into the system? We cover all that and more in this interview!
“Diving right into the topic at hand, for those watching at home who think ‘legal department’ exclusively means filling out paperwork until your soul leaves your body, what actually happens in a day to day basis?” Ever the pensive man, Lone Dark thought about his answer and gave us excellent insight to what goes on behind those marble-framed doors.
Surprisingly, there is not as much paperwork as most people consider. It's mainly just outreach, talking to the clients, talking inside the DOJ itself, and a lot of the time it is just getting ahold of different departments and getting ahold of certain individuals, whether it's for marriage certificates, liquor licenses, or expungements. That's on just the clerks themselves.
Wanting more clarity for the viewers at home on what the individual jobs that he’s hiring for do (clerks, lawyers, and judges), I asked him to expand a little more on the responsibilities that each position usually held. For a kicker, I added him to phrase it in simple San Andreas terms, for the average viewer at home (and myself, not knowing much legal jargon). His response was as enlightening as it was concise!
I could list of a s***ton of stuff, but I'll make it very short and sweet. Anything revolving around any form of license excluding hunting and fishing, clerks issue out and they can reinstate. Anything revolving around any form of court case, hearing, or anything like that, they go out to clerks as well. Any contracts that need signing, they go out to clerks.
Wanting to make sure I hit the nail on the head of understanding, I clarified. “Anytime someone needs some authorization on something, or anytime someone needs something to be made ‘official’, they’re going to be dealing with clerks. Is that about right?” To which he confirmed that yes, I was spot on! So, I moved the conversation forward onto lawyers and judges, being a crime drama lover myself, I’ve always wondered what the difference between the television shows and the reality was, and he had yet more refined insight to give.
We've got four different ranks for judges. Proteges, which are there to learn and shadow. Magistrates are the ones who start getting some duties, like open courts and certain cases. Judges are the ones that take on more experienced things. Finally, the Justices do everything from the administration in the backend, to the cases, to communicating with department heads; you name it, I've probably done it.
Being a CEO of a business myself, I understand the pressures of communicating with other people of power, and I’m not afraid to admit that even I was intimidated by the amount of networking being a Justice seemed to entail. So, I brought the conversation back to something that the average people might be interested in: lawyers. The gladiators of the courtroom. What should someone expect in becoming a lawyer?
We do not expect everyone to be 100% knowing of the law. That's why we have the paralegal, which go around and shadow lawyers to learn. They can ask lawyers questions, officers questions, and keep in close communication to the lawyer they're learning from. The lawyers are there to reach out to the clients to make sure they are respectfully charged with the right crimes, to prove whether a crime has or has not committed, and are there to help the people as much as they can.
So the way I saw it, lawyers were a bit like a multitool who could be used by the DOJ, a business or other corporate body, or just the average citizen on the street. They, like JBTV, are the voice of the people and will fight for your rights! But, those who might be interested in the job might be thinking ‘there must be so many people trying to get into this field’, so I asked Lone Dark to explain which role was the hardest to fill, and why?
It would be a mixture of three different things. The first I would say is clerks. Too many people think it's just a lot of paperwork and not much else. The truth of the matter is, the few clerks I have on my staff often just sit around and collect their paychecks while waiting for the next request to come in.
What? That sounds like a dream! “Where do I sign?”, I asked jokingly, to which Lone Dark playfully replied that we could talk about that later. I relented on collecting my passive income for the moment, and asked him to continue.
We need more lawyers. The people need someone to represent and defend them, and if you reach out, we will do everything in our power to get you to that position.
After relating to the troubles by briefly speaking on my woes in finding a corporate lawyer, Lone Dark finally answered the question at hand, and the insight may very well surprise you!
The most difficult position to find is for the Business Council itself. Every civilian I have spoken to and have done a little survey of has a sour taste in their mouths in regard to it, so they're not even willing to look into it.
My jaw would have dropped to the floor if I didn’t have better broadcasting composure. In my experience and in the experience of those that I’ve spoken to, the BBC has been nothing but helpful, accommodative, and proactive in getting my and other’s businesses up and running. Even now my crack post-production team has been working with those good people to get custom uniforms, van wraps, and more, and the process couldn’t have been more painless! So, I decided to clear up the misconceptions around getting a job in the legal system.
The most common misconception is, as I mentioned earlier, that they need to know 100% of the law. We are willing to train you, and we are offering a signing bonus for any lawyer who can train up a paralegal.
Getting hourly pay and a signing bonus for creating the new generation of legal gladiators? Sounded like a great deal from my perspective, and hopefully yours as well! “Let’s assume that someone already had the required experience. What is the #1 trait someone should have before they even think about applying?”
Do not be afraid to get your s*** wrong. We've had instances in the past where some lawyers got some things wrong, did not like the outcome, and took matters into their own hands.
The willingness to admit when you’re wrong is a trait well-sought after when evaluating new applicants to JBTV, so I could definitely emphasize with that message. Potential applicants can rest assured, though, that they will not be thrown under the bus, into the fire, or into the jailhouse for getting their legal wires crossed. After that question, I decided we should have a little intermission to play one of our favorite games on the show ‘Allegedly’, where I poise to Lone Dark a crazy, fictional allegation and he can confirm, deny, or otherwise spin it however he thinks is most fun. Watch the interview to see that part!
Bringing it back to the topic at hand, I asked Lone Dark if there were any red flags that will instantly disqualify potential applicants. I dare say his response might revitalize some hope in those with a rockier background!
The primary one is violent felonies. We do allow lawyers to get their bar with minor felonies, but violent felonies like mayhem, terrorism, first degree murder, things like that will be an obstacle. But we can get you with a clerk and seek an expungement if you're really wanting to go for it, but otherwise that's really the only thing where we have to turn people away.
JBTV has always been an equal opportunity employer, so I took this opportunity to sneak in a question about hiring felons, as I am to understand it, felons could previously not hold down a legal job. He addressed it properly, with great perspective and insight into how felons can be hired, and what positions they can hold within an organization.
Felons can hold any position that isn't managerial. We are glad to allow businesses to employ felons. We do not grudge when felons hold a lower position, but having them in a position of power with embezzlement charges or similar does not look good from an outside perspective.
Having recently hired a felon for an investigative journalist position, I was over the moon to hear that the employee had not been pulling my leg, and that I was, in fact, able to officially hire him into the company. With all of that information wrapped up, I decided to poise the final question that I was sure everyone wanted to know. Who is scarier: an angry defendant, a furious judge, or a lawyer who hasn’t had their coffee yet?
Due to the past, I will have to say an angry defendant.
So, there you have it folks. Even if you’re working with the DOJ, the judges and rules aren’t the biggest things you’ll have to worry about in the courtroom. Finally, I opened the floor to Mr. Dark to give a message out to the citizens of Los Santos, unprompted, unquestioned, that he’d like them to know, and he had this to say.
The penal code itself will be coming out with new charges and new changes. It'll be less likely that you'll be getting charged with some bulls***, in all honesty and sorry for my French there, but we're trying to make things better for everyone. The police already know about it, SAMS already knows about it, it'll be getting released here shortly, and I hope that everyone will agree with some of the new changes.
An inspirational message for business owners, potential applicants, and the average citizen who have been too afraid to get stuck in to the happening of our city. Be assured, everyone, everything you’ve read here today is the hard facts, which is how you know you’re tuned into JBTV, with The Hard Facts with Jett Black. Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you next time!
