School has officially started and with that I have started my internship! Yay!
I am enjoying working for the law firm full-time, gaining more experience and knowledge of the law and getting school credit for it! My schedule this semester consists of going to work an average of 27 hours a week, which is equivalent to 9 credit hours. In addition to the internship, I am taking one other night class, Women, Crime and Justice which is being taught by Dr. Shaffer. I'm enjoying the material in the class and the class discussions.
For my internship, I am required to write monthly journals about the learning objectives I am accomplishing and specific experiences I am encountering and my reaction to them.
This months journal reads as follows:
Dear Journal,
During the last month, I have been assisting my supervisor with several projects on one particular case, which will have strong effects on its outcome. These specific projects include drafting several copies of a Disclosure Statement (Statement of Facts), an Affidavit of our construction expert, indexes, list of exhibits and researching aspects of the case such as punitive damages. When working on these projects, I have learned to be careful and concise, trying my best to follow along with my supervisor when accepting dictation, inserting footnotes, labeling exhibits, organizing, and last but not least, the importance of the last inch of work on these projects which will all eventually come together smoothly. In addition to working on these specific documents, I learned more about how our laws started by reading parts of The History of English Law Volume I. I have continued to develop knowledge of the cases and the laws including the skills that are necessary in the processing of a case by a Plaintiff’s personal injury attorney.
This particular Disclosure Statement (Statement of Facts) includes listing the facts of a case in detail and in a specific order that can be easily understood by the readers, in this case, two defense attorneys, and the judge. These facts include, but are not limited to, the causation of the accident, the negligence of the Defendants, foreseeable danger, violations, injuries of the Plaintiff and more. When writing this Disclosure Statement, it was important to begin by listing the facts in paragraphs, dividing them into different parts with headings and subheadings, editing each fact to make it persuasive, and making sure footnotes coincided with the exhibits and the facts in each paragraph. This work was tedious but very interesting. It was necessary in order to tell the story of the case thoroughly. The Disclosure Statement goes along with the Affidavit of our expert in explaining what he will testify to in the case.
The Affidavit of our construction expert consists of his testimony, expertise, and opinions on the accident and circumstances surrounding it. We begin by stating who our expert is, his background, and his opinions based on the Disclosure Statement. The information in the Affidavit reflects the expert’s point of view and his evidence supporting his opinions. The Affidavit and the Disclosure Statement are edited several times for precision. Footnotes are continuously used to support these facts and opinions. These footnotes contain the exhibits, which support the facts. For example, if the Defendant gave testimony, that we, the Plaintiffs, felt was important during a deposition, we insert the exact testimony into our documents and use a footnote to show the exhibit. In this case, the deposition of the Defendant is the exhibit. We include the exact page numbers and lines where that testimony can be found in the deposition, which we attach as an exhibit to the entire document. For example, in an affidavit, we might have thirty or more exhibits attached. The Affidavit of an expert takes time and constant review. When the Affidavit is finished, the expert spends time reading it over so that it reflects their opinions correctly; then he signs it with a notary public and it is filed with the court.
While working on both the Disclosure Statement and an Affidavit, I worked with preparing an index for the Disclosure Statement and a list of exhibits. The index included all of the headings and subheadings in the text including the page number and paragraph number in order for the readers to find information quickly. The list of exhibits simply lists each exhibit that is used. I worked with an index and a list of exhibits the entire time that we prepared the Disclosure Statement and the Affidavit.
In the Disclosure Statement, we also included a section for punitive damages against the Defendant. The construction expert will not testify to punitive damages; however, we are still claiming them. Punitive damages are used to punish a Defendant and to deter him/her, them, or others from committing similar acts in the future. My supervisor and I went to the Downtown Law Library and briefly researched cases that support the use of punitive damages so that we can cite case law that is similar to our case to prove why we are claiming punitive damages. Our goal is to prove that the Defendants knew that they were doing something wrong that could endanger the lives of workers, yet they did nothing to prevent it.
The last inch of work is always the toughest. One of my jobs is to assist my supervisor in re-reading and checking to make sure information is true and correct, that exhibits match facts and footnotes, that exhibits are numbered correctly and that the facts can be easily understood. We spend a lot of time organizing and re-organizing the information. These projects take weeks to complete. Once they are complete, the Plaintiffs’ can prepare an offer of judgment to settle the case for a certain amount. If refused by the defense, the Plaintiffs will wait until they can get a trial date so that they can present their case to a jury, who makes the ultimate decision of what the Plaintiff is awarded if anything by reviewing the evidence, listening to witnesses, etc.
In between working on these projects, I was assigned to read literature on the history of English law. In reading, I have learned a few key things. Our laws have been formed by Teutonic (German) customs with additions and modifications received directly or indirectly from the Roman system. This Romanic law reflects ecclesiastical law, which reveals Christianity and the church because the church was extremely stable during that time. The reading expanded my knowledge of English Law and how the legal system was first initiated.
I have learned and will continue to learn more about the history of our law, different skills necessary to assist with writing important documents such as the ones I have listed and to take necessary time when preparing these documents and organizing each of them so that the facts of a case are revealed in a persuasive manner.
I hope this gives you some personal insight of working with a Plaintiff's attorney and the different tasks one encounters with this job.Each day, I continue to receive more insight about how our legal system is set up and the rules that have been established so that each case has a fair chance.
I think Attorney Lease may be a future title, who knows, it's a possibility. :)
Yay! We are moving this weekend! After getting married in May and house sitting for over three and a half months, we finally get a place of our own!
