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| Marron Attorney Reflects on Time at Legal Aid |
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Marron Attorney Insights
My Time In Legal Aid
Five hours of legal work equals ten avocados. Yes - one of my clients once gave me avocados after I helped her with her case. And they were the best avocados ever. As a young lawyer fresh out of law school and eager to make a positive difference in my community, I started volunteering for the Legal Aid Society of Orange County. It was an unpaid volunteer position, but I was well paid with new insight, and of course, avocados.
Legal Aid takes indigent clients who often come there as a last resort to save them from eviction, abuse or bankruptcy. By that time, I had done some legal work already, but I never had such direct communications with clients. Drafting briefs and doing research are tasks performed behind office doors, which can be a lonely place. Client interviews brought me into another world - the client's world, which was turned upside down by legal tribulations.
I listened attentively to intimate details of stories from their lives. My clients were usually suffering from physical and emotional trauma. Typically, they didn't even know where to start or how to explain the problems they were having. At first, I didn't know what to say either. There is no substitute for experience. Eventually, sometimes by luck and sometimes through trial and error, I figured out the right questions to ask. Often, the clients' real problems were very different than what they thought they were. Through that process I learned that the best thing I could do was to be a good listener. Of course the clients appreciated the legal advice, but it was clear to me from early on that they appreciated the fact that I really listened to them just as much, and sometimes more, than the advice I provided. Everyone has a need to be heard.
Although I met many clients and logged many hours with them, I did not realize just how connected I had become to my clients until one day when I received a phone call from a client saying that he had received a judgment stating that we lost his appeal in front of an administrative law judge for his unemployment claim. My heart sank. All I could muster to say was, "I'm sorry." As I hung up the phone it dawned on me that my concern was not just some general altruistic feeling, but one stemming from a close bond with that client in particular. It snuck up on me quietly, without my realizing it, through the hours I spent with him talking, listening, and sometimes just sitting quietly. It was then that I understood for the first time that clients sometimes need more then legal advice. They need someone to help them figure out the problems they are having in their lives and how to go about solving them, but sometimes they also just need someone to listen with a compassionate ear. Everyone has their own unique story, and I was grateful to be able to listen to his.
As it turned out, that client had actually won his appeal. He spoke only Vietnamese and could not understand the judge's written decision He relied on someone else to translate, but that person had not interpreted the judgment properly. When I reviewed the decision from the court and found he had actually won, my first thought was not pride for having survived over five hours of unassisted, grueling cross and direct examinations. It was joy in knowing that my deserving client would be able to support his family and get a good night's rest.
I'm thankful for my time at Legal Aid because of the perspective I gained on the trials that clients face before they ever get to the courtroom.
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