As another year begins and rumors of the dwindling job market once again surface, it’s important to remember that a law degree can be many different things. While some graduates will seek the more traditional route, others are able to combine their legal education with outside passion and creativity to carve out an exciting and unique post-law school experience. In an effort to give Cardozo students an example of such success, the Jurist is proud to interview Whitney Meers, a 2009 Cardozo graduate and a stand-up comedian, writer, and producer for film and stage.
Please describe your current legal job. I’m the office assistant at Beigelman, Feiner & Feldman, P.C. They’re a terrific group comprised mostly of entertainment attorneys, several of who also produce for film and stage. (Fun fact! Four of the attorneys at my firm have degrees from Cardozo.)
How did you first get involved in comedy? I’ve been a writer as long as I can remember—my first “masterpiece” is a picture book I wrote when I was six-years-old called I Love Dogs. I went to college for print journalism and started writing some funny columns for the local newspaper. Then, my first year at Cardozo, I was a bit frustrated and was looking for an outlet to harness my creative energy. That’s when I heard about Law Revue and learned that Jeff Marx (who co-wrote “Avenue Q”) had started the club when he was a student there. I LOVE that musical and I got hugely inspired, and I wrote some song parodies and ended up being a part of Law Revue all three years. I got involved with Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and the People’s Improv Theater and just started writing and performing more and more, and at some point I realized that this was no longer a hobby… it’s what I want to be doing for a living.
Who are your comedic influences / favorite funny people? I’m a huge fan of Demetri Martin. He’s an excellent joke writer, and he’s never been afraid to be weird or experimental. Incidentally, he’s a law school dropout, so every time I have to sit through one of those well-meaning “you should really take the Bar Exam” speeches, I remind them that Demetri is probably doing better than 99 percent of his law school classmates. I also love watching old videos of Andy Kaufman… Kristen Schaal (she played the crazed fan on the TV show Flight of the Concords)… Eugene Mirman… Zach Galifianakis… there’s so many! Josh Fadem is an L.A. comedian who is really fun and compelling and is just so different… oh yeah, and myself! I’m definitely one of my favorite funny people.
How does your work as a comic affect your legal work? It’s awesome! My friends are all entertainers or filmmakers, so there’s a lot of overlap between my day job and the things I do at night and on weekends. Here at my firm, it’s no big secret that I’m a comedian… in fact, I recently produced a TV pilot with financial backing from someone who works here. But the craziest thing of all was when I got to give a copy of the pilot DVD to one of our clients, an Emmy-nominated TV show director for one of the best shows on television. To me, that’s definitely more fun than spending hours of my life making sure legal documents are properly Bates stamped. But then again, maybe I just have a weird idea of “fun.”
What have been some of your most rewarding experiences since graduating Cardozo? I absolutely love writing, producing and performing, so every time I achieve some goal related to any of those things, it feels incredible. I mentioned how good it felt to pass along the pilot… basically, I was thrilled because my actors worked for next-to-nothing, and they were all incredible, and just to be able to get that in front of a TV show director was amazing. I am passionate about the arts and just being able to support people in what they’re doing makes me feel great, every time. I just want to make this world a better place!
Where do you see yourself, professionally, in 10 years? I plan to run a production house. I’d open it right now if I had financing. Want to loan me some cash? And if that doesn’t happen, maybe I’ll go for a career in competitive eating. Maybe we can have a hot dog eating competition at Cardozo sponsored by Hebrew National. Hebrew Nationals are 100 percent kosher!
Finally, just a few questions regarding law school.
What’s the most useful thing you learned in law school? The most important thing I took away from law school is that it’s important to follow whatever it is that drives you. I write, produce, or perform nearly every day of my life, and I absolutely love every second of it. Whether your goal is to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company or is simply to be the best burger flipper at your local McDonald’s, just do it! ‘m not judging you… I’d rather spend my time judging people who say they want to write for a living and then never actually put a pen to paper.
What advice do you have for current students who hope to pursue a career in the arts or entertainment world? Like anything else in life, it’s a matter of carving a path that ends up at the place where you want to be. Do anything you can to get there, even if it means emailing strangers and working for free at night and during the weekend. It’s a matter of delaying gratification… you might have to work for peanuts for a while, but with persistence and dedication, you’ll get there eventually. And also, listen to everyone’s advice, and then ignore it completely.
Know an alum who Jeff can interview? Email him at alumni_column@cardozojurist.com
