David Earl: Carrying Civic Purpose Into a New Profession
- The Next 100
- May 2
- 4 min read
David Earl built his career on listening. As a journalist in Omaha, he spent a decade asking questions that helped communities understand themselves more clearly, approaching every story with the belief that information could strengthen the public.
“I got into journalism because I wanted to make people smarter,” he said. “I wanted to help solve society’s problems.”
That instinct, to help people navigate complexity, never left. Over time, however, Earl began to feel the limits of the role. Journalism remained essential, but the work was shifting. The industry’s pressures, the pace of the news cycle and the widening gap between identifying problems and solving them all weighed on him. He found himself wanting a different kind of proximity to the issues he covered.
“I started thinking about what I actually find joy in,” he said, “and what I find joy in is solving problems.”
The realization didn’t arrive suddenly. Earl approached the question of “what’s next” with the same discipline he brought to his reporting. He was 10 years into a successful career, serving as the number‑two anchor at a respected, network news station in a top metro. The path ahead was clear, stable and appealing; but, clarity can be its own kind of crossroads.
“You can see the path before you,” he said, “and you know, if all things stay the same, it looks fun. You could have a good life that way.”
Still, he felt a pull toward something more direct, more hands‑on, more anchored in advocacy. Law school emerged as the natural next step, a way to carry forward the same civic purpose that first drew him into the newsroom.
A Pivot Built on Planning
Earl approached the potential transition from career to law school the way he approaches most things: with a plan. He researched programs, costs, scholarships and LSAT requirements. He studied while working full time. He weighed the realities of his undergraduate GPA.
He also considered the people around him. At the time, he and Jess (now his wife) were building a life together. She had a career she loved as a kindergarten teacher. Uprooting everything for a new city and an uncertain future didn’t feel fair.
“Is it really fair to ask that important person in your life to go along with a brand‑new adventure in a brand‑new place with an unknown outcome?” he said.
That question was part of the calculus.
Ultimately, the University of Nebraska College of Law offered the right balance of opportunity, stability and proximity to the life he and Jess were building.
“It was the last part of the plan to fall into place, but it was the choice that made it all real,” he said. “And once that was set, it was time to follow through—time to put the plan to work."
Perspective as a Second‑Career Strength
Earl entered law school as a nontraditional student: older and more seasoned than many of his classmates. That maturity became one of his greatest strengths.
“Going to law school as a non‑traditional, seasoned person gives you the tools to keep it in perspective,” he said. “It’s very easy to lose perspective in law school.”
He treated school like a job. He kept his relationships central. He stayed connected to the world outside the classroom. And he carried with him a decade of experience listening to people at their most vulnerable, their most frustrated, their most hopeful.
“The best lawyers understand how to navigate in the larger world,” he said. "Journalism gave me a head start in figuring that out."
A Community‑Builder in a New Domain
Today, Earl is an attorney in the Chicago office of an international law firm. In his first year, his firm gives him exposure to practice areas and lawyering styles before he commits to a specialty. The new job also brings him back to Illinois, where he grew up, marking a homecoming that feels both personal and civic.
His legal work is shaped by the same instincts that guided his reporting: Listen first, ask the right questions, understand the landscape and, in the end, help people succeed.
A Career Shaped by Connection
Throughout his journey, Earl has kept his focus on the people who matter most. His parents, his friends, his wife. These relationships provided stability during the transition and perspective when the work felt challenging.
“I kept all of that as a central focus during the law school journey,” he said. “It gave me a lot of perspective.”
He talks about the ripple effects of his choices, not in terms of prestige or ambition, but in terms of impact.
“I didn’t take this leap only for me,” he said. "Hopefully, it's going to have a ripple effect for the people around me, too.”
That sentiment captures the essence of Earl’s leadership. He is driven by the belief that his work should strengthen the ecosystem around him.
A Deliberate, Purpose‑Driven Future
Earl’s path from the newsroom to life as a lawyer reflects a broader truth about leadership: Communities are strengthened by people who move with intention, are powered by purpose and choose service over spectacle. His career has changed, but the through-line has not. He is still listening, still asking the right questions and still working to make the world around him a little clearer and a little more just.