Lawyers in a popular culture are portrayed in a myriad of ways: as crooks, as the butt of jokes, and even as brilliant super sleuths. Not all laywers, however, fall into the stereotypes. Hallet Culbreth is a creditor’s rights lawyer from Harrisonburg. Creditor’s rights law is the profession which focuses on credit card troubles. These lawyers try to help people who are in debt and who are fighting with debt collectors.

“I graduated after three years of law school in 1991 and clerked for a judge for a year. For the last 15 years I’ve been working part-time for a law firm in Richmond and full time for my three kids, Madeline, Mary- Hallet, and Ritt. I probably work about five to ten hours a week; it’s a good gig!” Culbreth says smiling. “I cover the valley court dates so the lawyers up in Richmond do not have to travel down here!”

Culbreth became a lawyer becuase she had an “interest in reading, analyzing, and logic. Surprisingly, Culbreth does not enjoy court dates because of the pressure.

“I do not really like the trials, so I’d say that is probably the worst/ hardest part about my job, Culbreth admitted.

Hallet Culbreth is married to worker’s comp lawyer Bill Culbreth cases. Before turning to workers compensation cases, Bill worked in Medical Malpractice Defense, which involves representing nurses and doctors when they get sued by patients.

“So, if a doctor does something wrong and the patient sues him/her, then I will defend [the doctors] during trial,” Bill said.

After graduating law school, Bill worked as a lawyer for the state of Virginia for 15 years, then worked for Wright Robinson Law Firm. Like Hallet, Bill was drawn to law by his love of logic.

“I first decided to become a lawyer when my brother became one. I also love the logic involved and the reasoning. I also like trying to figure out the right thing to do in tough situations.”

Unlike Hallet, Bill works 50 to 60 hours a week because his job is full time. Bill warns prospective law students that long hours comes with the territory.

“If you are a student wanting to become a lawyer, be ready for long days, and be sure you go into it for the right reasons. Be willing to use your mind in a different way; it’s a tough profession,” Bill said. “The hardest part about the job is having to deal with peoples conflicts, problems, and feelings. It can be quite scary.”

Nevertheless, both Culbreths love the profession. Hallet says that students interested in law can start gaining work experience in high school.

“[I would tell students to] work in a local law firm during Christmas break or over the summer to see if they’d really be interested in the profession,” Hallet says.