Now that some time has passed and I have gotten some perspective, things have transformed a little. Now that I have had a terminally ill client, who we all knew was going to die any day and we had a number of ridiculously complicated things to do for her in a very limited but we weren't sure exactly how limited span of time, whose case was extremely stressful, I feel much more capable. Now that things have calmed down from that case, I have realized that the majority of my frustration was because of the mismanagement of that first case. And even though there have been some mismanaged and some extremely disorganized things that have happened since then, I can look at them a little less hatefully now that I no longer have a client who may die any day. My clients now are healthy and seem likely to survive the next fortnight, which is definitely a plus, so the work that I have to do is less desperately pressing.
This past week was pretty good. I think that I can mark last Monday as a turning point for me and my clinic experience, which is strange because really I didn't do much for clinic at all. I had gone in to school for office hours at noon which, luckily for me, tends to coincide with the lecture series that the law school offers every so often. I don't generally GO to the lectures (they are boring and I have enough class time, thank you very much) but the law school also provides refreshments after the lectures and Savannah, my clinic partner, and I tend to crash the after parties. Last Monday was no exception. Savannah was pumped because, instead of the icky red punch they have had all year, they had orange punch, which Savannah calls Tang. It is not Tang, though. It's so much more than Tang. Tang is gross; this orange punch is deliciousness, except that it does have the teeniest hint of banana, and I am allergic to banana. Anyway, after free egg rolls and mini quiche and chicken salad sandwiches and bacon wrapped chicken and fruit and veggies and flying WV sugar cookies (because what reception would be complete without them?), we were pretty giddy. After that, we went down into the clinic office. Savannah refers to these receptions as "tang time" which we generally sing to each other, rather than say. Armed with a serious sugar high, everything else in clinic seemed much less miserable. And my sugar high has lasted a week now.
In addition to tang time, Professor Umbridge is trying to butter me up. Although I still swear that we are pretty close to mortal enemies, I have to admit that the email she sent last week melted my hatred a LITTLE bit. (Just a little, though.) In the name of painting a complete picture for you and not completely villanizing the woman, I will include an email that she wrote and forwarded to the members of our clinic:
Dear Purveyor of Awards,
"I am nominating the students in my Child & Family Advocacy Clinic for the excellence award this month.
We have eight students in CAFLC. This is the first semester the clinic has operated and the students have done an excellent job in representing clients in very demanding cases, both because the stakes were high, the issues complex, and the personal circumstances of our clients extremely dire (including our first client, a mother with a disabled child who died from a terminal illness 3 weeks after we took her case). The students have worked very hard as a team, including over Labor Day weekend, where 6 of the 8 students worked to help the client who was dying arrange her affairs to provide for the care and well-being of her disabled son. The case was extremely complex and required the students to get up to speed on a number of fairly complex issues. When our client took a turn for the worse over Labor Day weekend, students spent the weekend with Prof. Weise and myself working day and night to complete the work. The family was extremely grateful and the client passed away knowing that her child would be provided for, which took a heavy burden from her at the time of her death.
In addition to that case, students have represented families and children in cases involving family violence, special education, abuse & neglect cases, and disputed custody and child support cases. Through our students' efforts, we have obtained protective orders for two clients, each with small children; helped two families whose disabled children have been bullied and harassed by peers at their schools, and helped clients seeking to adopt or formalize guardianship arrangements for children whose parents have abandoned them.
In addition to representing individual clients, our clinic has been appointed as guardian ad litem for three children in three cases in Family Court to assist the court in deciding highly contested custody disputes. We are partners with the WVU Medical-Legal Partnership with the Pediatrics Department and our clinic students have spent time weekly in the Adolescent and Children's continuity of care clinic at the WVU Health Sciences building. So far this semester, we have provided advice and legal assistance in cases involving very young children who are struggling with life-threatening illnesses.
Throughout the semester, the students have also done a great job of community outreach, visiting various non-profits, hospitals, courts and other providers of services to children and families to establish connections and referral systems.
They have traveled to visit clients in their homes in Taylor, Upshur, and Marion counties. They have all worked hard, diligently, and passionately to make a difference in children's lives -- and they have."
Okay, so she didn't write that first line and I also took out the names of the other clinic students, but everything else in that email is verbatim. Kind of nice. Anyway, that email, in addition to tang time, has made my life a little brighter. And has also made me reconsider my course choices for next semester. To take clinic, or not to take clinic? Right now, I'm leaning towards taking it. Ironic, huh?
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