I checked out my hours and activities log today, and it looks like 90% of my work revolved around the one big case and its investigation. Really, that was a huge part of my internship. I found that a much more valuable component of my understanding, however, was the criminal drug case. I saw the events as I was writing and submitting them, which reinforced the cause and effect of my writing and gave me purpose to everything I did. I was asked to return for the summer, and when I do, I'll see what happens in the motorcycle club case because the hearings are scheduled for then.
I learned the basic criminal defense procedure, as evidenced by my summary of the case. I saw the end result, which I was happy with. Most importantly, I became emotionally involved in this case. I met the defendant a couple of times when he arrived for consult, and tried to contact him over the summer when he was delirious in the hospital. I saw that he was no threat to society and it made my writing on his behalf all the more persuasive. So my final lesson was the importance of your relationship with the client, which ultimately gave my writing the edge it needed for my supervisor to edit virtually nothing and bring sentencing level down nine levels to home confinement. I can't claim too much credit for this, but I can see that what I wrote played a part, which is hugely rewarding in itself.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Post #11
Today is my final day at McArdle Law Office--at least for a while. I may return and work on Martin Luther King, Jr. day when we don't have school, but t will depend on if I have any club/extracurricular stuff going on that day or not.
Today I am going to finish a summary of the drug case that I actually have seen from beginning to end, a criminal case that I have had a lot to do with. It is one of the first cases where I completely understand what happened and why in the legal proceedings.
Today was pretty neat. I was able to write about the direct influence our representation had on the outcome of a case. I believe justice was properly served. This man was given the opportunity to recuperate from the series of medical problems we outlined in his motion, while still paying the price for his crime.
It felt so much easier to write this document because I knew where I was going with it, but my difficulties in legal writing aren't as prominent as they were when I first began here at the office. I now look at legal writing as a series of objectives, and make a "To Do" list of sorts to cross out each point when I make it in my writing. I write the essentials don first, then add the minor details, and I feel like I've accomplished the proper techniques of legal writing: be concise, and address each aspect of the case that is central to the argument.
Today I am going to finish a summary of the drug case that I actually have seen from beginning to end, a criminal case that I have had a lot to do with. It is one of the first cases where I completely understand what happened and why in the legal proceedings.
Today was pretty neat. I was able to write about the direct influence our representation had on the outcome of a case. I believe justice was properly served. This man was given the opportunity to recuperate from the series of medical problems we outlined in his motion, while still paying the price for his crime.
It felt so much easier to write this document because I knew where I was going with it, but my difficulties in legal writing aren't as prominent as they were when I first began here at the office. I now look at legal writing as a series of objectives, and make a "To Do" list of sorts to cross out each point when I make it in my writing. I write the essentials don first, then add the minor details, and I feel like I've accomplished the proper techniques of legal writing: be concise, and address each aspect of the case that is central to the argument.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Post #10
I am summarizing medical records and the remainder of the case for which I wrote the Motion for Downward Departure and/or Variance (the drug case). My supervisor thought this might be a good assignment that focuses more on English writing but incorporates law and how I saw the case to evolve over the past few months.
Beginning with the indictment, I outlined the charges, the situation, the pleading, and the original sentence, then added the medical summary and the family situation as factors for downward departure or variance. I didn't have a template for this assignment; it was more like writing an essay that reviewed an old case, but it pulled all of the components of the case into one single chain of events, which was very helpful to me.
The best part about this writing is that this is the first case I have been able to watch develop from the beginning to the end-- my supervisor is taking me along to the sentencing today to see how well my motion for downward departure did with the court! So after I get back I will finish this document, and I'll have a comprehensive review of everything that happened in the first case I've ever followed through from start to finish! I also get to see how well I wrote the document and if this defendant receives his downward departure/variance he desperately needs. My supervisor told me that it is possible that he could get prison time but also possible he could be on home confinement. I'm hoping my assistance with this writing results in the latter.
Our defendant received a nine level departure from his standard level of sentencing and was granted home confinement, which is apparently unheard of according to my supervisor. The document she had given me as a template had resulted in that defendant only receiving a two level departure in his case, which tells us that we did really well, and our defendant's age and fragility were considered in his sentencing by the judge. Instead of being escorted to prison, this man got to return home with his family. He has a grandchild on the way, who will happy to get to know his grandpa.
To give me a break from all of that, I was assigned a different task. I drafted a summary of medical records for a domestic case that was not particularly pleasant. We represent the plaintiff. The real issue in this case is alternate causation--if we can establish that the defendant caused the medical issues, we can probably win the case. Unfortunately, nothing that I read or summarized could definitely prove or disprove anything.
I ended up running an errand today to complete another task I was assigned because he fax machine was not working correctly today. I had to pick up some records that would alter child support payments in a divorce and draft a letter that illustrates the issues, citing the final order in the divorce and the statutes listed in the final order to make a strong persuasive base for the change in child support.
Beginning with the indictment, I outlined the charges, the situation, the pleading, and the original sentence, then added the medical summary and the family situation as factors for downward departure or variance. I didn't have a template for this assignment; it was more like writing an essay that reviewed an old case, but it pulled all of the components of the case into one single chain of events, which was very helpful to me.
The best part about this writing is that this is the first case I have been able to watch develop from the beginning to the end-- my supervisor is taking me along to the sentencing today to see how well my motion for downward departure did with the court! So after I get back I will finish this document, and I'll have a comprehensive review of everything that happened in the first case I've ever followed through from start to finish! I also get to see how well I wrote the document and if this defendant receives his downward departure/variance he desperately needs. My supervisor told me that it is possible that he could get prison time but also possible he could be on home confinement. I'm hoping my assistance with this writing results in the latter.
Our defendant received a nine level departure from his standard level of sentencing and was granted home confinement, which is apparently unheard of according to my supervisor. The document she had given me as a template had resulted in that defendant only receiving a two level departure in his case, which tells us that we did really well, and our defendant's age and fragility were considered in his sentencing by the judge. Instead of being escorted to prison, this man got to return home with his family. He has a grandchild on the way, who will happy to get to know his grandpa.
To give me a break from all of that, I was assigned a different task. I drafted a summary of medical records for a domestic case that was not particularly pleasant. We represent the plaintiff. The real issue in this case is alternate causation--if we can establish that the defendant caused the medical issues, we can probably win the case. Unfortunately, nothing that I read or summarized could definitely prove or disprove anything.
I ended up running an errand today to complete another task I was assigned because he fax machine was not working correctly today. I had to pick up some records that would alter child support payments in a divorce and draft a letter that illustrates the issues, citing the final order in the divorce and the statutes listed in the final order to make a strong persuasive base for the change in child support.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Post #9
I am continuing my work on the Motion for Summary Judgment I have been assigned. I can see that the plaintiff really has a case, but not against our defendant. The company we represent is a job searching company, who pairs people up with employment positions. They have no jurisdiction over what that employer does, because the employer doesn't work for them. So they are not liable for the damages. Everything that occurred that hurt the client in some way resulted from the situation within the customer's employment, and not the job searching company, so that eliminates causation. The job searching company did everything in it's power to help the plaintiff find suitable employment, which is all it is supposed to do, even after the plaintiff filed suit against them, so there cannot be any damages from this company. The plaintiff has no case.
It's amazing that when you strip away everything, that's the argument in a nutshell. This is always what I have learned is best for a legal argument. Make the argument as simplified as possible while addressing all of the elements, then add to it the details of the case, like situational background and examples and the applicable statutes. All of this becomes support for the argument in the submitted final document.
It's amazing that when you strip away everything, that's the argument in a nutshell. This is always what I have learned is best for a legal argument. Make the argument as simplified as possible while addressing all of the elements, then add to it the details of the case, like situational background and examples and the applicable statutes. All of this becomes support for the argument in the submitted final document.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Post #8
I'm in the final week of my internship. I have worked 112 hours and have 28 hours to go. After I finished drafting the complaint, the correspondence letter, the motion for downward departure, and additional summary of investigation, my supervisor gave me a different assignment. This time, I am writing a Motion for Summary Judgment for a civil case. A person has filed a complaint about certain business practices and misconduct, and we represent one of the businesses. The purpose of this motion is to show that neither party argues the facts of the case, and as such the court should review it and see if the company we represent is liable for the damages that were allegedly caused by the business, and since the plaintiff has not said what the business should do because of the actions of another business, we would lik to move for dismissal of this defendant. As with every assignment I have at MacArdle Law Office, I am expected to review a previous document similar to what I will write and alter it as a template in order to compose the draft. I like this assignment because I have to do a lot more thinking and formulate my own arguments, instead of following the direction the case is heading. I read over the testimony for liability, causation, and damages--I have to prove that this business is responsible for the damages, caused the damages, and figure out what exactly the damages are, which is something that even the plaintiff doesn't say. That is really my template. The most effective argument for this case, and for lots of civil cases, is to stick with those three points.If these can be found,than the plaintiff has a case. If they cannot be found, than we have an even better defense.
So the plan for today is I am going to read and become familiar with the case, as usual, and write the relevant pieces of information into the Motion for Summary Judgment.
My writing is starting to reflect how my thinking is changing. I can read for relevant facts and weed out the unnecessary details better, which of course makes my writing more direct and persuasive.
So the plan for today is I am going to read and become familiar with the case, as usual, and write the relevant pieces of information into the Motion for Summary Judgment.
My writing is starting to reflect how my thinking is changing. I can read for relevant facts and weed out the unnecessary details better, which of course makes my writing more direct and persuasive.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Post #7
I'm working on the motion for downward departure. I draft the remainder of the article by referring to an old one that my supervisor has done, and then I'll send a first completed draft to her for revision. She may or may not send it back to me to fix, depending on how close my writing is to what she wants. The back and forth is much like the editing process, and to to good degree, it is. I am always relieved that my supervisor reviews my drafts directly, it is such a relief to know that my attempts at legal documents won't ever make it out of the office without her approval, and when I get the document I can see what was needed and why, and also what statutes were relevant in the cases.
This document alone will probably get close to the twenty page requirement for this internship, and will demonstrate my evolving knowledge of professional, legal writing. The biggest thing I am learning in the process of writing a motion for downward departure is the purpose of the document. I had never written a motion for downward departure before, but most legal documents resemble each other in that they use the same template--you just tailor the content to fit each unique case.
In this situation however my supervisor has given me a previous motion for downward departure for a criminal case that I can model this document off of, so I know the sections, the whats and whys, and all that is left is to figure out how. The facts are different, and in the Statement of Facts I didn't have to use any specialized legal knowledge until the end of that section and the sections beyond, so I could write the way I would write a persuasive essay about literature, which was a nice break from figuring out how to compose something in a legal work.
In addition to this motion for downward departure, I am drafting a collection letter to be submitted in Small Claims Court. This is much harder because I haven't found a template for this so I'm unsure of the format. Letters in law are easier--the goal of this type of document, and really with any type of legal writing, but especially this one, is to cover your butt. Correspondence letters are proof that you have done something on behalf of your client: it details what you have done, what you may be doing in the future, your client's acknowledgment of your actions and correspondence, and what is to be expected as a result. For this client, a business, customers owe money for services and have not paid. The company hired us to write collection letters stating that we will take legal action if the customers fail to pay. That was in July, and most of the customers have since paid. Our client intends to pursue the customers who haven't paid in Small claims Court, using this office as representation. So we will file that complaint to get the ball rolling. This seems to be a more typical task for an attorney, so I like this assignment as much as the other, more unusual cases too.
Maybe this somewhat explains why my supervisor called this job a "first year legal education."
This document alone will probably get close to the twenty page requirement for this internship, and will demonstrate my evolving knowledge of professional, legal writing. The biggest thing I am learning in the process of writing a motion for downward departure is the purpose of the document. I had never written a motion for downward departure before, but most legal documents resemble each other in that they use the same template--you just tailor the content to fit each unique case.
In this situation however my supervisor has given me a previous motion for downward departure for a criminal case that I can model this document off of, so I know the sections, the whats and whys, and all that is left is to figure out how. The facts are different, and in the Statement of Facts I didn't have to use any specialized legal knowledge until the end of that section and the sections beyond, so I could write the way I would write a persuasive essay about literature, which was a nice break from figuring out how to compose something in a legal work.
In addition to this motion for downward departure, I am drafting a collection letter to be submitted in Small Claims Court. This is much harder because I haven't found a template for this so I'm unsure of the format. Letters in law are easier--the goal of this type of document, and really with any type of legal writing, but especially this one, is to cover your butt. Correspondence letters are proof that you have done something on behalf of your client: it details what you have done, what you may be doing in the future, your client's acknowledgment of your actions and correspondence, and what is to be expected as a result. For this client, a business, customers owe money for services and have not paid. The company hired us to write collection letters stating that we will take legal action if the customers fail to pay. That was in July, and most of the customers have since paid. Our client intends to pursue the customers who haven't paid in Small claims Court, using this office as representation. So we will file that complaint to get the ball rolling. This seems to be a more typical task for an attorney, so I like this assignment as much as the other, more unusual cases too.
Maybe this somewhat explains why my supervisor called this job a "first year legal education."
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Post #6
Today I finished reviewing the binder of investigation and this is the final binder in this case that I need to review.
As of 1:00 today I was temporarily done with summarizing investigation. Now I am drafting a Motion for Departure for another defendant whom I met this summer in another case. This person had no history of criminal convictions, and his medical conditions make sentencing him pretty difficult. He is convicted of a drug related crime, which he plead to and helped the officers arrest other people who were involved in the drug situation with him. as it is, he won't receive the full length of his sentence or pleading guilty and cooperating with law enforcement, but we think that his health, age and his family should be taken into consideration in his his final sentencing. We wish he would get home confinement, but as his case is drug related, he is facing as long of a sentence as the defendant whose case I was just reading and summarizing up to this point! If this person is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, I don't think he will survive jail time. I really thought my English skills were applicable in this assignment, especially in the Stipulation of Facts section in which I describe his medical and family situation, as well as some background about the client. I emphasize what I think would appeal to the judge's pathos, of course, because this section of the document is the introduction and is not supposed to have any law until the end of it, in order to make a smooth transition to the remainder of the motion.
This assignment has shown me the importance of keeping templates on file. As I have no law education yet, I normally refer to previous things I wrote over the summer and items the paralegal and my supervisor have written that are similar to what I am writing in order to get a feel for how to present the relevant facts. I remember telling my supervisor about how I look forward to having the background in law that would familiarize me with these things, and she laughed. She said every day of legal work is like what I am experiencing, so having rough drafts and templates on hand are essential to writing legal documents.
I guess I will always be doing something I am not familiar with, as every case is different.
As of 1:00 today I was temporarily done with summarizing investigation. Now I am drafting a Motion for Departure for another defendant whom I met this summer in another case. This person had no history of criminal convictions, and his medical conditions make sentencing him pretty difficult. He is convicted of a drug related crime, which he plead to and helped the officers arrest other people who were involved in the drug situation with him. as it is, he won't receive the full length of his sentence or pleading guilty and cooperating with law enforcement, but we think that his health, age and his family should be taken into consideration in his his final sentencing. We wish he would get home confinement, but as his case is drug related, he is facing as long of a sentence as the defendant whose case I was just reading and summarizing up to this point! If this person is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, I don't think he will survive jail time. I really thought my English skills were applicable in this assignment, especially in the Stipulation of Facts section in which I describe his medical and family situation, as well as some background about the client. I emphasize what I think would appeal to the judge's pathos, of course, because this section of the document is the introduction and is not supposed to have any law until the end of it, in order to make a smooth transition to the remainder of the motion.
This assignment has shown me the importance of keeping templates on file. As I have no law education yet, I normally refer to previous things I wrote over the summer and items the paralegal and my supervisor have written that are similar to what I am writing in order to get a feel for how to present the relevant facts. I remember telling my supervisor about how I look forward to having the background in law that would familiarize me with these things, and she laughed. She said every day of legal work is like what I am experiencing, so having rough drafts and templates on hand are essential to writing legal documents.
I guess I will always be doing something I am not familiar with, as every case is different.
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