Week 4

This week was the first week I was able to see one of my clients who I've been working with since the beginning go to court. I should actually say his case went to court, not actually him. He has been one of the more frustrating clients when it comes to doing his court mandated services, but really easy to talk with. He has done all of his services except for one, which makes me think that he doesn't really want his children back that much. He refuses to do DV classes because he feels that if he does, he will be admitting guilt for something he believes he did not do. So simply put, his pride is in the way for what he says he wants. The judge ruled that he is not in compliance with any of his services, whereas he sees it differently. He butt heads with his last social worker and now he has a new one that hopefully will get the ball moving. It is interesting working with clients who say they are doing one thing and in the end the court's findings are all together different.

On Wednesday, I went to court to listen to motions presented to the judge. It intrigued me that everything that happens has to be approved by the court. For such things as changes in times for visits, medication changes for the children, lawyers removing themselves from cases and transportation for the children. It intrigues me because some of these things I do everyday and could not imagine having a judge/lawyers make these decisions for me.

Friday I worked by myself, making phone calls and checking messages for another lawyer. I was able to get all of her tasks done that she asked of me. One conflict that came up with her was some paperwork that had not been sent to her by a social worker. The social worker told her it was at her office, in an envelope, just waiting for her to pickup. I took the initiative and drove up to her office and picked up the paperwork. The nice thing is now that case can move forward because everyone is on the same page. I know paperwork may sound trivial, but it's the little things that can hold a case up.

Week 3

I got a lot of independent time this week which was a nice shift. I was able to get a lot accomplished because for the next couple of Fridays William has to do some outside work. I made phone calls to each of the clients I have been assigned. At first I thought calling people would be boring (probably because I worked in a call center for a year and that was boring), but it has been one of the more rewarding things I do in the office. One client I've been calling on a weekly basis, let me know how much it means to her because she didn't feel like her attorney cared very much about her. She thought this because she is a new client to William and her previous attorney did things differently.

Having these few Fridays to myself has been nice because it gives me an opportunity to work with different lawyers. As stated last week William has taught me the basics to almost everything, including filing. I have really enjoyed filing most my life, but especially for DAC. I like to read the different cases for each client because they are all truly unique. But, when I organize each of their files, I lay it out in a way that everything reads out as a story. In some cases it is good or bad to see the change in each client. The case I read showed a person who was doing all the necessary changes and now the case has gone into neutral and this lawyer can't figure out why. I am excited to call this client to find out why. Really productive week.

Week 2

Week 2 has stepped up the intensity level because of the more independence I get. Last week was basically shadowing William and getting familiar with his case load. This week I met some other people in the office and began helping them with their case loads. The most exciting thing that happened this week, was when I was asked to prepare a case binder for an on going murder trial. I was given the case by the head of the department, which is stocked full of details of a pretty gruesome murder. Not expecting what I was getting myself into, I have found myself engulfed by the images and details of the case. The client turned himself into police and admitted to the murder, which was interesting because he had been on the run for six months. What makes this interesting is the fact that he didn't leave a nine-block radius. This case enthralls me and I get excited every morning I get to organize it.

William is doing an excellent job making sure I get a taste of everything in the office. I am also working on Puyallup Tribe cases, which are completely different than what I have been involved with so far. Their laws are totally different, which is interesting because of how close we are in distance to the tribe. For example, with William I am allowed to go to court because it is open to the public, whereas with the tribes I am not allowed to go. Carolyn the lawyer on these cases is petitioning with the tribe to see if I might be able to go to at least one before my internship is over.

Lastly the one thing I learned is not all lawyers are created equal. On Friday William and I met with a client who is new to him, but has been with another lawyer at DAC. When she first came into the room she told us how upset she has been at DAC for not getting this case over with. She then went on to say all the lawyers at DAC were lazy and not willing to work. William didn't take offense and told her that wasn't the case. By the end of the appointment he had solved her issues with working with a lawyer, and we were actually laughing. It was nice to see that through the many unpopular stereotypes of lawyers, there are some that don't fit that mold. I can't judge for all, but William is teaching me techniques to become successful in whatever field I decide to go into.

Week 1

I am doing an internship for the Department of Assigned Counsel, under William Wolf. William works with dependency cases and includes me in every step along the way. I started last Monday and to say that this has been an eye opening experience thus far would be an understatement. Before we get to specifics about what I did last week, I should map out what we do. Everything I do is very hands on, ranging from meeting with clients, reading up on them, contacting clients and going to court. Oh I forgot the occasional paper work. Last week I was thrown right into the fire. It was basically a week of shadowing William and getting familiar with his case loads. He has assigned me certain clients to contact weekly to follow up with their court ordered services. Once I got all these files organized for myself, William and I went to court, for some review hearings. This week being Judiciary Conference week, there was no more than one case a day for William. Court was a big surprise because I thought it would be a whole bunch of people arguing about what kid should go where, but it wasn't. Everyone works very well together and the only drama that happens is from the clients. As mentioned earlier I meet with clients and I have three stories that really opened my eyes not only to the legal world, but what many people deal with everyday. For the sake of privacy I will be using false names or no names at all.
My first client I got to meet with was getting ready to go to court for a hearing about his unborn child. He did not know if it was his, but thought it was because he had been in this situation before. William and I learned through our interview of him that the child would be taken away once it was born because the mother was using drugs while carrying. William has been working with this client on three previous cases and learned for the first time that he has eleven other children. That was shocking to me because he was not much older than myself. We are still waiting on what will happen, but this first case was eye opening for me because these are things someone cannot makeup.
My second client was a first time meeting, where William and I sat down to figure out what his goals are for this case. He was court ordered to got to DV training and he refuses because he was never found guilty of the accusations and he feels like if he goes he is admitting guilt. This is the only thing he has to do to get his kids back and he refuses. After an hour of painfully trying to convince him William asked me to talk to him. I took him to the restroom and told him this is all he needed to do and that we are willing to work with him. I told him William would be willing to work with him if he did this. Once we came back to William's office, the client (we'll call him K) agreed to check into the classes and attend them. This case helped me realize that I can help even if I am not a lawyer.
My final client I worked with was at a pre-court meeting. This is when all parties involved get together and talk about what can be done to get their children back. We were meeting with two parents who lost their children because of drug abuse. During this meeting the mom shared a great story how she has been clean for seven months and is taking the proper steps to get their children back. The father was the opposite. He refused to take the proper steps, however once he heard this story he broke down in tears and realized he can do the same thing. In the matter of 30 minutes I saw a man change because he saw that he had both legal and moral support to become clean.
These are just some of the people I get to work with on a day to day basis. I am excited for the rest of this quarter to learn and to meet these different people. Furthermore, learning the legal ins and outs are helping me shape my mind for the future.