Everyone keeps on telling me that I cannot go by Dr. Murdock.
This I do not understand. I am far more Dr. than I am lawyer, as I have not passed (nor taken) the Bar exam and thus cannot be called a lawyer--and if I "hold myself out" as one I will jeopardize my entire future legal career! However, I do have a Juris Doctorate degree, thus qualifying me as a doctor.
In an attempt to quench my argument, a friend of mine who recently received her masters degree said she could call me Dr. if I called her Master. I quickly agreed--after all, who am I to lessen her years work to become a master of publishing?
If I cannot be called Dr, then what else can I be called? I have no Masters Degree, I could have been called "Bachelor Murdock" since 2003 when I graduated college, and Ms. Murdock does not seem to convey the fact that I have a J.D. at all!
So, Dr. Murdock it is. At least until I pass the Bar exam, in which case you can call me Dr. Murdock, esquire. Or if I fail the Bar exam, you can call me the same thing because if I fail I am not going to tell a soul!! (FYI: Bar Exam is 5 1/2 short weeks away...)
I'd go with Dr. It makes total sense to me.
ReplyDeleteDr. Rachel. Here's some clarification that I think you might find helpful. Having gone to law school, you are a lawyer, but not having taken the bar, you cannot call yourself an attorney.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the reason that other's don't like to acknowledge you as a Dr. is the inherent disdain other Doctoral degrees have for the fact that our degree only took us 3years and a bachelors. Whatever. They never took Civ Pro. Deal with it.
Some states' rules of professional responsibility explicitly forbid you from calling yourself doctor - as it gives a false impression, since the general public does not consider attornies doctors and so you are misleading them.
ReplyDeleteWhat does that tell you? You should definitely do it!