My first legal clinic

I spent this morning with about half a dozen lawyers from the area and roughly a dozen other W&M law students, working at a legal aid clinic at Warhill High School, on the northwest side of Williamsburg. The clinics are held four times a year, to provide legal services to low-income residents of W'burg, James City County and York County.

Working with actual clients was a welcome break from outlining, writing memos and generally sitting at class. These are actual people with real problems, and someday soon I'll be in a position to help many of them. That feels good.

I've never experienced anything like this before, so I'll explain it a bit. The clinic is advertised at places like the United Way so that people who are seeking assistance in other areas can find out about it. The clinics are held on Saturdays, four times a year. 

We law students show up to do "intake," which means getting basic information about who the people are and what kind of problem they have. Once we have that, we hand them off to the lawyer who can help with that issue, whether it's bankruptcy, immigration, divorce, landlord/tenant, health care, etc. The range of issues is amazingly diverse.

I got to assist with three different clients on four different issues. Sometimes the issue isn't a legal one, but the person just needs to be pointed in the right direction. But as often as not, there's a legal remedy and the client has options. The lawyer presents the options and discusses the ramifications of choosing one or the other, then it's up to the client to make the final decision. 

If I could do this again I think I would, but it sounds like W&M wants to give all law students an opportunity to participate at least once. I was lucky enough to get involved on the very first clinic of the year. Good stuff.