I have a background in law, worked for 17 years as a legal researcher and writer in two California law firms; I was essentially a lawyer though I was not licensed. My areas of expertise include personal injury litigation plaintiff and defense, medical malpractice plaintiff, contract law especially contracts of insurance, insurance bad faith litigation defense, insurance coverage opinion letters, administrative law defense. I researched and wrote about hundreds, if not thousands, of subjects. By my own estimate I read approximately 5,000 appellate court opinions during the course of my litigation work and wrote certainly more than 1,000 memoranda for internal use in the law office or for filing at court. I have full knowledge of all aspects of litigation, from pleading through discovery to arbitration, mediation, trial, and have extensive law & motion experience, including numerous motions for summary judgment/adjudication. By way of brief explanation of how I claim that I functioned essentially as a lawyer: around 1990 the insurers in California all but froze hourly rates paid to their defense firms; this freeze lasted a number of years. The firm I was with had four partners and about seven associates. In an effort to trim expenses and live within the budget allowed by the frozen rates, all the associates were laid off and I became "the associate", doing almost all the research and writing (as opposed to matters such as taking depositions that by law must be done by licensed lawyers) that would usually be done by lawyers. I had been with the firm for two years when this situation developed and had done a little such work for one of the partners and had done it well — right skills, right place, right time.