NORWICH – A few years after we graduated from college, one of my best friends went to Brooklyn Law. He used to call me late at night when he finished studying. (As I was two time zones away in Colorado, I think I was probably the only person he knew who was up as late with the exception of his classmates.) Every time we talked, he’d tell me that he thought I should go to law school, too. I’d laugh at him and tell him he was out of his mind. But secretly, the idea appealed to me. I just didn’t want to admit it.

As it turned out, it wasn’t John (who is now, incidentally, an assistant district attorney in the Bronx) who finally gave me a sneak peek at what it’s like to be a lawyer. That dubious honor went to another Manhattan College grad: Michael Ferrarese of Lee, Emerson and Ferrarese in Norwich.

Normally, when we Evening Sun staffers “do” a Punching the Clock article, we spend an hour or two working alongside someone to get a feel for what they do. Then we go off and write about it. But Mike didn’t think that would be enough. His original proposal involved me spending a couple of days, not hours, tagging along with him. I laughed at him, much as I used to laugh at John.