San Gabriel Valley : Trading Firm for Class

Everyone says the world needs fewer lawyers. But who does anything about it?

Pasadena Councilman William Crowfoot does: He quit.

Crowfoot is giving up his six-figure salary as a corporate lawyer at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker to teach social studies at Pasadena’s Blair High School.

“I had a desire to do something deeply satisfying at a personal level,” said Crowfoot, 38. “All we talk about in our city government is schools and improving life for children . . . so I wanted to see for myself.”

It will certainly be different from Crowfoot’s nearly 15 years as a finance attorney, which consisted of tasks such as restructuring the $700-million debt of Venezuela’s state-owned electric utility. As a teacher, he will have an annual salary that is less than what he spent on plane tickets to travel the Americas on business each year.

He’ll leave his 22nd-floor office to teach five units of social studies to high school seniors come September.