Law Students

Problem Solved

By Andrea

It took a couple days, but I fixed the case I messed up. I went in my boss's office and told her it was solved, and then I teared up because I am a big baby. I had learned about the problem at the worst possible time, a Friday afternoon, so I spent the whole weekend wondering if I had ruined the two-year-old immigration case of a single parent of two without being able to do anything about it. So when I finally had the conversation that fixed it, I felt all shaky, like I had literally just stepped back inside from a high-rise window ledge on a windy day.

On the plus side, my weekend, besides being a crappy pity party where I had bad dreams about the case, was also an interesting thought exercise in what I was willing to do to fix the problem. What if the government attorney told me to jump in a creek? Would I come in this weekend and brief a long motion, even though I'm submitting a 20-page brief in another case on Monday? What if that didn't work? Would I do something crazy, like hand the case to a colleague and tell them to file an ineffective assistance of counsel motion naming me? (This is a prerequisite for a certain kind of motion. It also usually requires filing a complaint with the state bar authority. Yeah.) None of this was remotely necessary, but the answer was yes. I was at least glad to realize I was willing to save my faultless client no matter what.

The one thing that didn't happen was that I didn't wish I had less responsibility over my caseload. I screwed up. But then I fixed it. I like being the one who calls the clients, files the motions, writes the brief, and appears in court. I like going alone to jail to visit clients and being called "Counsel" as they point me up to the attorney rooms. I knew when I took this job that I might be a few waves away from over my head at some points, but you know, I just need more metaphorical life jackets and buoys and...I'm bailing out of this sentence. Point is, I'm doing my best, and my best is getting better, one case at a time.

Full post as published by Peanut Butter Burrito on April 29, 2009 (boomark / email).