Day 1/26/11 - CHARLESTON!

This week has been a range of new and exciting experiences as well as some somewhat tedious tasks. Yet, on Wednesday I had a very interesting day. The initial plan was to go with my sponsor Shayla to court to view a few traffic cases, but Mr. Dodds wanted me to go with another attorney to Charleston (D). This lawyer was working on a guardian case where the client was not a minor but she has special needs so that she needs someone to constantly look after her because she can not take care of herself. Her previous guardian passed away, so a different relative decided to petition as her replacement guardian. The attorney that I was following was not the client's specific attorney, but rather an "attorney to the court." Basically, the client's attorney presents the court with the new guardian, but my attorney was the overseer of the entire process. Her duty is to make sure that the client with the special needs is being taken care of at her day-time center and any other center or home that the client attends. My attorney does not fight against the client's attorney unless she feels that the new guardian is an unfit match for the client. Anyway, the attorney and I traveled to Charleston because that is where the client resides. We visited her "job" which is really a facility that watches over the patients and tries to teach them simple tasks and to keep up their hygiene (D). When we first arrived I felt very welcomed, all of the people were very kind (F). Although our client could not communicate verbally, we still had to give an interview because it's the law. When we asked about her new guardian and how she liked her home and job she got very excited and laughed a lot. It was great seeing her so happy and it made me smile (F). After we looked around her job we came to the conclusion that the supervisors take very good care of her and she has plenty of friends. Then we visited her home and she showed us her room (which was very neat and cute) (D). This visit was very good for me because it showed me the wide range of tasks some lawyers have to complete. Depending on what kind of law you practice, you are most likely not sitting in an office reviewing documents all day long. You really do get a lot of interaction with people (A). After this trip I have come to the conclusion that I want to be a lawyer who goes into court a lot and also deals with my clients on a more personal level than just a contract and a few documents (A). Overall, Wednesday was very entertaining and I also got to know a different attorney in our office a lot better and I see that we have a lot in common. I'm very excited to see how this case will turn out.