Bill Lockyer speaks to USC law students

The Government Law Organization hosted California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer as he spoke to law and undergrad students Wednesday.

Lockyer served 25 years in the state legislature and was California’s Attorney General from 1996 to 2006. Under his guidance, the state’s $70 billion Pooled Money Investment Account made it through the recession without losing any principal.

The audience, comprising mostly students from the Gould School of Law, were shocked to learn Lockyer took law school classes at night — at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento — while working for the State Legislature, fresh out of the University of California, Berkeley. It took Lockyer seven years to get his J.D., although he took a year off to run for Senate.

Most  anecdotes from Lockyer’s talk had a light-hearted feel, especially one about his first case in front of the Supreme Court. Lockyer claimed speaking in front of the Supreme Court had always been a dream of his, but he joked about asking his colleagues to not give him “anything super hard or crazy.”

Lockyer also encouraged current law students to give some serious thought to the specific “niche” of law that suits them best.

“Most lawyers are miserable,” said Lockyer, greeted by some nervous laughs. “But it can also be wonderfully interesting work if you can find the niche that you find satisfying.”

G.L.O. co-founder Blanca Hernandez, who introduced Lockyer to the audience, sounded off on the many positives she hoped the students could take away from the State Treasurer’s visit.

“I am very proud that he embodies the type of alternative careers G.L.O. seeks to amplify and expose at USC,” said Hernandez.