lawyer stuff

Time for a work update. I've been doing the whole lawyer thing for roughly two months now, and I'm still a total newbie. But I have had some interesting experiences so far and I'd like to think I'm learning a thing or two along the way.

My first day on the job, Martens took me with him to the county jail to interview some inmates he had been appointed by the state to represent in parole revocation hearings. I don't recall ever being inside a jail before. After surrendering our ID's and bar cards, we were ushered past several steel doors. Some guy was having what looked like a drug-induced seizure on the floor. We walked around. The interviews were conducted in a small room surfaced entirely in concrete save the steel door, which locked behind us after we entered. When we were ready for the next inmate, we had to summon a guard to open the door. The guards were pretty busy and one time we had to wait several minutes to be let out. We joked about the panic button on the wall and how help probably would have come too late had there been a real emergency. Right after that, for some reason my boss and the hearing coordinator dude had to step out for a bit, and the door slammed shut on me and a very large mean looking inmate with limited English. I remember vaguely wondering whether this would be a good time to start getting concerned. But then, I reminded myself that I was on this guy's side- defense counsel. Besides, he was only in for grand theft auto number five, I think. No worries, right?

On the way out we had to wait while other inmates were shuffled around. Some guard was having a confrontation with another inmate. Trying to stay out of the way, I hugged the wall. I didn't freak out at all. At least not until I looked up to see a haggard female inmate about four feet away giving me an extremely creepy smile through the bars. Not like a "hey, how are ya" smile, but more of a "I want something from you" smile.

I've made some appearances in court as well. Just simple procedural stuff, but still, it's unfamiliar and therefore somewhat daunting. The real trial by fire came last week when I had to do six appearances in one morning. Two lawyer friends had made a mutual mistake resulting in a scheduling conflict, and asked me to fill in for them. Another lawyer in their office heard what was going on and asked if I could appear to request continuances on a couple of his cases as well. One of the cases was a felony sentencing hearing. My friend admonished me that whatever happened I was not to allow his client to be taken into custody. No kidding! I wasn't too thrilled at the possibility that some guy could be hauled off to jail because of my inadequate representation, but it ended up being no problem. The most stressful part of the day was getting lost on the way to the courthouse (Bakersfield- I'd never appeared there before), parking in the wrong spot, and making it into the courtroom with no time to spare. Seriously, criminal court appearances are not something you show up late for. Besides the adverse effects for your client, the attorney can face fines, penalties, and other criminal sanctions, including a suspended license or disbarment, which is always a real downer.

Not one person mistook me for a defendant or student today! I'm crediting the new charcoal grey suit with making me look sophisticated and professional.