Hitting the ground running

It's Monday morning, 15 minutes after orientation, and I am already conducting my first client interview. As a 1L, this is my first contact with any client in a law related interview so I am a little nervous. The main attorney assigned to the case doesn't seem to be worried, however, and I suspect that my affiliation with Santa Clara University School of Law is the reason. The law school has previously sent students to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS, formerly NOLAC) and the work of those students who have volunteered before has created a positive reputation for Santa Clarans at SLLS.

The sheer volume of work at SLLS also necessitates the need for students to hit the ground running. In addition to the pending cases that the attorneys are working on, they take walk-in clients everyday. The client interviews give a sense of the problems afflicting the city since Hurricane Katrina: hopelessness, tension, and uneasiness. I must admit that it was a little hard at first to talk to so many people and hear so many stories of desperation. It got easier, however, once I realized that the work at SLLS makes a difference in every client's life that walks through the door. I am very proud to have been a part of that, if only for a week.