A growing number of disgruntled law school graduates have taken to Internet to anonymously vent their frustrations about high debt and poor job prospects. Not Ted Brassfield. The recent Indiana University Maurer School of Law—Bloomington graduate took his concerns to the most powerful person in America: President Obama. Brassfield, 30, laid out his financial problems for the president during a town hall meeting about the economy held Monday in Washington, televised by CNBC. Brassfield explained that he’s drowning in law school debt and doesn’t have the means to contemplate getting married or starting a family. “I was really inspired by you and your campaign and the message you brought, and that inspiration is dying away,” Brassfield told Obama. “What I really want to know is: Is the American dream dead for me?” Brassfield’s question has prompted plenty of pontificating in the media. The National Law Journal spoke with Brassfield, who lives in Washington and does temporary research jobs and other non-legal jobs to pay his bills, about the town hall meeting and his legal aspirations. His answers have been edited for length.How did you end up at the town hall, and what have the past 24 hours been like for you?My understanding is that CNBC contacted various alumni organizations, student organizations, union groups, trade associations and a fairly wide range of groups representing America. I found out about it through the Princeton Club of Washington, D.C. They asked people to send a question they would ask if they could talk one-on-one with the president. It just so happened that they had space for me. They thought my question would touch a nerve, and it certainly seems to have done that.What has that response been?I was surprised at the level of response to my question, for different reasons. From organizations traditionally on the right, they assumed: “Oh, here is a former Obama supporter and isn’t it wonderful because he turned.” And people on the left seem to think, “Oh, they are sabotaging President Obama.” I did not intend for either of those things. My question, I thought, was getting at this sense of malaise, frustration, purposelessness and lack of hope that a lot of my friends are feeling.What did you hope to accomplish with your question?What I wanted to hear from him, and what he did not say, was “This is why you should still have hope as a 25- or 30-something. This is why I think that the economy is not going to be miserable for the next 15 years, and all the jobs available will be contract positions, if you can get one at all.” I don’t think he provided an answer to my question.Why did you decide to go to law school?I had worked a variety of jobs before landing a gig as a researcher in a management consulting agency. I built myself a potentially lucrative career and had some really good prospects, but I didn’t want it. I felt like life is too short not to love, or at least deeply care about, what you do. As long as I can remember, I’ve admired the work of attorneys who stood up for civil rights. There are opportunities as an attorney to really make a fundamental difference in people’s lives. I liked the idea of the whole process of litigation, and doing it in the public interest.You graduated from law school in 2009. What have you been doing since then?I have paid the bills by sporadic contract work. I have tried to drum up non-legal work. I’m not yet a licensed attorney. I’m waiting on the results of the Colorado bar, where I’m originally from.What is your dream job?I would love to work for the federal government, and I hope that all this attention has not harmed my prospects for that. There are state attorney shops that are phenomenal and would be wonderful to work for. I’m primarily interested in the government sector. The experience I’ve had interning at the [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] and the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] and the U.S. attorney’s office here in D.C showed me that the resources the federal government can bring to bear are incredible — specifically with regard to training and support.How much debt do you have?I have six-figures of student loans, which were all accumulated in law school. I didn’t want to work for a private firm while I was in law school. I wanted to get the experience of working at different federal agencies. I had these phenomenal practice-building experiences, but I didn’t get paid for them.What advice do you have for people in law school or people considering law school?When I went to law school, about half my friends in D.C. were attorneys at the time, and most of them said, “You ought not go to law school.” I don’t know what to tell prospective law students. I can only tell them that a lot of the people I know, including myself, are really suffering right now because there aren’t accessible jobs. When I’ve been to job fairs and interviewing workshops, I ask practitioners, “What I should be doing?” They say, “You should volunteer.” That’s great in theory, except how do you pay the bills? I don’t know. For the time being, I know way too many people whose law degree has led to contract jobs. That doesn’t create the basis of a career, and that’s what I was trying to get at with my question to President Obama. The American Dream isn’t just having your own home. It’s not just having a family. The American Dream, at least the one I was brought up to believe in, also involves making something of yourself — giving back by doing and creating and having a career.Do you regret going to law school?I might not have deferred going to law school. I deferred for a year. I would not go back in my class [and graduate in 2009]. I would find something else I could be passionate about. Karen Sloan can be contacted at [email protected]