ATTORNEY KEEPING WARY EYE ON FUTURE.Byline: R.A. Hutchinson Daily News Staff Writer Five years ago, Jim Friedl began law school at Pepperdine University Pepperdine University is a private institution of higher learning affiliated with the Church of Christ in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States. The university's location overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is adjacent to the city limits of Malibu. in Malibu with an optimistic outlook on his future. When he graduated in 1993, Friedl and fellow graduates found themselves competing for jobs at the height of the restructuring and downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing of California companies. "They told us to borrow, borrow, borrow," recalls Friedl, a city attorney for Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . "You did that with the expectation there would be all these high-paying jobs out there. And that's just not reality." Instead of trying to beat out a classmate, the new crop of lawyers had to compete against dozens of young associates who had been cut loose from large firms. "I had friends who couldn't get jobs. They were waitressing," he said. Friedl spent the first six months after he finished school doing contract legal work in the Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by and the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . His wife, Tracy, was working as an attorney for a Santa Monica law firm. Her firm dissolved, and she was laid off about the same time Friedl got his job with Thousand Oaks. The transition from student to working professional prompted Friedl to begin evaluating the national political and economic scene from the view of a man with a vested interest Vested Interest A financial or personal stake one entity has in an asset, security, or transaction. Notes: For example, if you have a mortgage, your bank has a vested interest on the sale of your house. See also: Right . "You're fairly liberal at school, because if there's a movement to redistribute the wealth, you're not affected because you're broke," he said. "But as you start to get more money, you tend to get a little more conservative." As a parent of 4-month-old Sophia Lynne, Friedl said he is concerned about the national debt. He doesn't want his daughter inheriting the problem. "I want to see a balanced budget Balanced budget A budget in which the income equals expenditure. See: budget. balanced budget A budget in which the expenditures incurred during a given period are matched by revenues. , and I want someone to propose a way to start whittling Whittling is the art of carving shapes out of raw wood with a knife. Whittling is typically performed with a light, small-bladed knife, usually a pocket knife. Specialised whittling knives are available as well. away at the debt," he said. "But I want them to say that means a cut in services. I want them to tell us to expect less. They never give that side of it." His second area of concern - as he anticipates the aging of his parents and others in the baby boom generation - is health care. He's worried about how services will be paid for and how available services will be. "We've tried to stay upbeat, but we're getting tired," he said. "It's like if enough people keep saying the economy is getting better then it will. But I don't think that's happening yet. I think the days of super fast growth are over." CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo (color in CONEJO edition only) Jim Friedl Finding it difficult to stay upbeat |
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