Blog 1

            Reviewing my first so-called "on-site" week shadowing an attorney, I realized that attorneys aren't often on-site. Bustling back and forth between varied venues this week defied my initial expectations of a more sedentary job. Besides learning some fundamentals of the law and civil procedure, I was impressed by how important a role the soft skills of communication and psychology  play in the practice of law.

Monday:

            On Monday, to prepare me for the day's agenda, the civil defense lawyer who I am shadowing gave me a legal primer on the difference between tort law and statutory law. A cause of action is a set of facts justifying the right to sue. Statutory law is based on federal or state statutes defining a cause of action; tort law is based on the "reasonably prudent person under the same circumstance" standard. The day's issue concerned statutory law--Arizona's "dog at large" statute, in which the owner of a unleashed dog is strictly liable if an injured plaintiff brings suit within one year. Because it is statutory law, the plaintiff does not need to prove that the dog owner acted reasonably.

            Next,  we arrived at the plaintiff's law firm to conduct a deposition-- a meeting attended by both parties' attorneys to take the sworn statement of a party or witness to a lawsuit that is conducted through a question and answer format, similar to cross-examination at trial. Attending a deposition of the female plaintiff claiming to be injured by a neighbor's dog, I observed how attorneys cross-examine claimants to make a written record of their testimony that is admissible in court. Attorneys seek to get yes-or-no direct answers, therefore they narrowly frame their questions. I also saw how attorneys interact with opposing counsel--what is known as professionalism. For example, requests for medical records or diaries were made politely, rather than aggressively demanded. Because the plaintiff was emotional and disputed the accuracy of her medical records, questioning was difficult and sensitivity was required.

            After the sworn deposition of the plaintiff, both counsels discussed settlement and further handling of the case, including experts and independent medical and psychological exams. This settlement discussion was followed up with a visit to the Apache Junction Justice Court to find an injunction against harassment that the plaintiff sought against the defendant, our client, for a subsequent incident alleging intimidation with a car and to gather documents on the dog incident.

            Later, we met with his client, the defendant in the dog incident, to interview him at his home and also to interview two other witnesses there. An attorney is required to receive permission before he can make any offer of settlement on the client's behalf. The client gave his permission to enter into a binding arbitration high-low agreement (Alternative Dispute Resolution) to avoid a jury trial. By capping the plaintiff's damages, the attorney avoided the potentially excess policy limit jury verdict that he would be exposed to at trial.

            The plaintiff's damages depended on deciding causation--what injury was caused by the incident--and aggravation--if her pre-existing injuries and stress were compounded by the incident. I learned the difference between "a" cause (meaning one of many causes) and "the" cause (a but-for single cause of the injury) when measuring liability.

Tuesday:

            Heading up north to Prescott to the Yavapai County Superior Court, the attorney and I meet with his client, a twenty-four-year-old male charged with DUI and aggravated assault from a car accident, facing 4 months in jail and 5 years of probation. We were not dealing with his criminal claims; we were explaining to him his situation and what we were trying to accomplish as it relates to criminal restitution claims. We filed pleadings in the court to get a court order deeming the client's criminal restitution satisfied by using the client's insurance coverage to reach a global settlement of all claims.

            Leaving the court house, we encountered a press conference and memorial honoring Kayla Mueller, the humanitarian aid worker from Prescott who was kidnapped by ISIL and confirmed dead the prior day. Sadly, unlike his client, it's going to take more than a court order to rectify that grievous situation.

            Afterwards, we made a detour to inspect another accident scene in Prescott Valley, observing the timing sequence of a traffic light and evaluating liability.

Wednesday:

            At an early morning meeting in the Phoenix law office where I am interning, I sat in on my attorney's consultation regarding an excess policy limit exposure and a minor's settlement, which lasted about 1.5 hours. Because the minor, who was a driver in a major car accident, was about my age, I found the issues relatable.

            Next, we conducted an investigation in an attempt to locate a potential claimant. Successful, we were able to contact him to explain the situation and obtain his cooperation. After we made a quick stop to tour the courtrooms at the Maricopa County Superior Court, the main courthouse in Phoenix, we visited the adjacent Law Library to gather information on how I can sign onto legal search engines for my SRP research.

            Finally, we attended a court hearing regarding the reasonableness of another minor's settlement. After preparing the clients for about 45 minutes, we attended the conservatorship hearing, which was fairly routine because it was not contested, but provided a glimpse of the rules of civil procedure in action. I sat at counsels table and was introduced to the judge. Afterwards, we accompanied the client to the clerk's office to have letters of conservatorship issued and then to a bank to set up a restricted account for the minor's settlement.

Research

            I started accumulating contact information for the high schools which I will survey about school censorship. In Maricopa County alone, there are over 380 public high schools. Finding email addresses is proving difficult. Most schools just list phone numbers and mail addresses. I've discovered a few schools which have established policies declaring their school publications to be public forums, which is promising.