Today was an especially important day because I got the opportunity to talk to Ms. Robin Smith, an environmental law attorney in Chapel Hill. She and I met at Caribou Coffee in Chapel Hill to discuss what she as an Environmental law attorney does, as well as what the field encompasses. We talked about what she does as an ELA and I learned so much about the field and about what steps it takes to become an individual in her position. We talked about how important EL is and will be in the future because of the increases in technology and increasing need for protection of our world’s natural resources. Overall, it was a fascinating discussion that got me even more interested in pursuing a career in Environmental Law.
Tag: Law
Work Experience Day 3- Receipts and Scans and Copies (Oh My!)
Day 3 was another great day at the Polanco law firm. I am having a great time really getting to know all of the individuals that work here and the cases that they handle. During the morning, I was running all around the office looking for files. We had a stack of receipts, probably the size of a text book, that had to be put in the files corresponding with the name on the receipt. We started with the file cabinet, but soon learned that most of the files we were looking for were floating randomly around the office with little order. We spent all morning looking, and still didn’t find them all! But during this time, I had a great conversation with the other intern (who happened to have just started out with the firm) about her college major and aspirations. While we were often unsuccessful at finding files and it could at times be frustrating, I realized that it is extremely important. Lawyers need to be able to focus on their cases, so I was happy to make sure that they were able to do just that instead of them having to run around and look for files themselves.
The rest of the day I preformed a myriad of smaller tasks. I made copies, entered data, bought USPS labels and scanned items. One of the most interesting times of my day came when I was scanning papers in. A lawyer and an intern acting as a translator put a client on speaker phone and gave me the chance to listen to her story. She was someone who came to the United States because she and her brother feared for their lives in their violent home country. It was fascinating to hear her journey and also to listen to the types of questions that were asked by the lawyer. I learned a lot about how people immigrate to the US to find freedom and began to feel very grateful that I was born in such a peaceful country. It was also extremely interesting to see the American legal system at work and learn about what type of information is used to help undocumented immigrants stay in the United States. After another successful day at the Polanco law firm I cannot wait to spend more time learning from them.
Work Experience Day 2- Filing Fun Never Ends
To start my second day at the Polanco law firm, I spent more time finishing my filing project from the previous day. When I had finally alphabetized the last of the Z’s, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. The messy, overflowing storage room had turned into a strictly organized roadmap of the firms previous cases. While we were organizing, one lawyer was complaining about how their client was still detained despite the fact that he had paid $5,000 bail. He had worked through 3 different lawyers before contacting this firm! After the files were all in their boxes and the boxes in their places, we spent some time organizing receipts and making copies. While the work was sometimes tedious, I recognized that it was, in the grand scheme of things, a small but crucial step towards helping others reach justice. I spoke during this time with one of the law school interns and we talked about how the political climate in America has effected human rights and immigration law. As the daughter of an immigrant, she told me that her mom and her had come to the conclusion that human rights have always been a huge problem for immigrants. She explained that underlying racism has been present in our country for years, the only difference is now the public is paying more attention.
I spent the second half of my day working with one of the lawyers at the firm to enter data about her cases into her electronic data base and make labels to put on case files. Through this process I had the opportunity to read the notes on her closed case files as I was transcribing. Through this process I got to learn a lot about the problems her clients faced and served as part of a wake up call to me. One of her notes read something along the lines of “There is nothing more I can do. Case Closed”. This line definitely took me off guard and helped me see the ugly side to working in a law firm: losing cases. Today was another day full or learning and worldly realizations.
Work Experience Day 1- Filing and Learning about Life at the Polanco Firm
For my work experience placement this year I have the pleasure of working with the Polanco Law firm. This firm started a few years ago made up of just 3 lawyers. It has now grown to an 8 member staff and 4 interns (not including me)! They speacialize in immigration and human rights law. To start out with, I was introduced to all of the present lawyers, paralegals, and interns that work with the firm. Each staff member had their own area of expertise, whether it was immigration, public defense, civil rights or family law. This particular firm tends to avoid family law cases because they are emtional and extremely “messy”. However, when their clients from pervious cases get involved in a family legal dispute they often take the case. I was also told about one staff member who lives near the site of an immigration detention center to challenge the human rights abuses at detainment camps. I spoke with one lawyer about the treatment of detained immigrants and the frequent abuse of their rights. Most of the lawyers and interns spoke spanish frequently with eachother, something that is extremely important as they work with clients who often only know spanish or are more comfortable with it then english. The office was very busy, there was almost always spanish chatter floating in from another room.
I spent most of the day alphabetizing closed case files and filing them away while I spoke with other interns about what it was like to be in law school and what they majored in during undergrad. While we were organizing, one lawyer walked into the room and asked another intern to call ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) to ask if their client was still detained. That moment made me realize that the cases I was filing away, these names I was alphabetizing, were real people who faced unfairness and adversity. Whether or not they won their cases, the names I held in my hands had in some way had their inherent rights violated. There were so many names to be filed away, and this was only one firm, making me realize the importance of the work that the Polanco law firm and other firms like it do every day and the massive size of the problem. Overall, it was an extremely interesting first day and I learned a lot about the state of immigration in our country and what it is like to work for a civil rights law firm. 