I turned fourteen in 1970 and so I witnessed, but did not participate in, the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's. I had often hoped for an opportunity to become involved in a similar cause until I realized that we are constantly surrounded by inequality and injustice and there is always something to be done.
I feel like my current work with the American Civil Liberties Union is predicated on the concept that the public good is served by a fair balance between the power granted the government by the U.S. Constitution and the limitations imposed by the Bill of Rights protecting individual liberties. Majority will is a healthy notion, as long as the will of the majority is not to inflict injustices upon the minority or render some people not worthy of full participation in public life.
My involvement with the ACLU, known as the first public interest law firm, founded in 1920, is based upon a fundamental sense of fairness. I have always been sensitive to injustice and inequality, unable to fathom discrimination against people of color, different national origin or ethnicity, against women, or against people who are gay, for example.
The most discouraging part of our work is that we cannot take on every case that comes to us, but are constrained by limited resources to take representative cases and work on systemic issues. Currently the ACLU is focusing on human rights abuses that have occurred in the post 9/11 era, especially the detention of people without charges against them and without a meaningful hearing. My version of patriotism includes pride in a country that treats everyone as we want to be treated: fairly, with due process and equal application of the laws.
Starting with two-and-a-half minute talks in Sunday School and on through law school at BYU, I learned to be a reasonably good public speaker. It has been my privilege to use those skills to give meaning to the Constitution, law, and society to people from grade school through law school, from civic groups on up through the state and federal judiciary. I have found work in the non-profit sector to be much more gratifying than the years I spent in general practice. Every single day of work is fascinating, even if frustrating.
The promise of equality and justice for all in this country will never be perfectly achieved, but I am honored by an opportunity to work on my version of those concepts, locally.
I am a Guardian ad Litem for the State of Utah. I work for the State Office of the Guardian ad Litem, which was created by statute. The attorneys who work for the Office of Guardian ad Litem have very specific statutory duties. We are the court-appointed attorneys for minor children in child welfare cases before the state juvenile courts. We also represent minor children in a variety of matters before the district courts where abuse and neglect of the children has been alleged in custody, probate, and even on occasion, criminal matters. We can only be appointed by a judge and we can only be released from our appointment by a judge. Our role is to represent the child and advocate for the child’s best interest.
Advocating for the child often means assuming a variety of roles outside normal attorney duties. We are often charged with investigating a child’s situation and negotiating on the child’s behalf as well as being a caring adult supportive of the child. Our agency is comprised of very dedicated individuals who are committed to giving minor children a voice in the proceedings that affect every aspect of their lives, in spite of low pay, long hours and daily exposure to simply heartbreaking situations the children we represent find themselves in.
While I at times struggle with a love-hate relationship with my job chiefly due to lots of stress and a lack of funding and staff necessary to do the job I want to do, I am proud of the role the Guardians ad Litem play in child protection and in assisting the Courts in making the most informed decisions possible regarding the children we represent. Guardians ad Litem serve and protect some of the most vulnerable members of our communities–the children.
Ken Meyer
Class of 1994
Southeast Mississippi Legal Services
I have been working for legal services for going on seven years. In law school I would never have dreamed that my area of expertise would become the "non-fee generating case." That is some of the language used to describe the type of cases that legal services programs are permitted to accept. Also, I would never have dreamed how much I would enjoy doing this type of work. Clients appreciate so much what we do and without us often would have no avenue for relief. In a typical year, I am able to do my part to defend tenants from wrongful eviction from their homes, help parents rehabilitate themselves and gain back custody of their children from the state, assist battered spouses in obtaining divorces, and help people get relief from consumer fraud.
While working for a legal services program may not be for everyone, it is a good fit for those who want to help people who cannot otherwise get the help they need through private law firms. Additionally, working for legal services can be a good fit for those that cannot put in the long hours often required in private practice. Since the budgets of legal services programs are limited and attorney salaries are relatively low, programs typically compensate their employees with more time off from work and fewer hours at work. This has been a good fit for me and my family over the past few years as our family has been growing as well as our church community, both of which have demanded a great deal of our time and energy.
Suchada Bazzelle
Class of 1994
Guardian ad Litem
I began my legal career in general litigation with a focus on domestic and employment law. It did not take me long to realize that spending my days, and many of my nights, engaged in battles with other attorneys over dollars and possessions was not as personally fulfilling as I had imagined legal work would be. While I understood that the conflict and its outcome were very important to my clients, right down to the last teaspoon and shower curtain, that work left me empty. I focused on being competent and professional, no matter how I valued the subject of the dispute. But at the end of the day, I never really felt like I had accomplished something meaningful, something lasting. In short, I was missing a cause.
Upon discovering the Office of the Guardian ad Litem, I was immediately impressed by its duties and mission. I signed up as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem (“GAL”) attorney and worked pro bono cases for two years, and then became a full-time GAL. For those unfamiliar with the Office of Guardian ad Litem, it is an organization of attorneys and volunteers who advocate for the best interests of children involved in our court system. Our District Court GAL attorneys work with children who are the subject of custody battles or protective orders, and children who are victims of crimes. I work as a Juvenile Court GAL, where I represent children who have suffered abuse or neglect, or who lack proper parental care, and with children involved in the juvenile justice system. Our Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) branch recruits and trains volunteers from the community to serve as advocates, mentors, and friends to children represented by our office.
As a Juvenile Court GAL for the past five years, I have had the privilege of speaking on behalf of children in court and of advocating for the well being and safety of these vulnerable members of our society. I have seen abused children who come into our system bruised and battered, both physically and emotionally, flourish when placed in a new home with loving, protective parents. I have seen children who have been neglected because of parental drug addiction be able to leave foster care and return home to sober, competent, and caring parents. I have seen mentally or physically ill children get the help they need, but which their parents cannot provide, through our court's intervention. It is true that my work can be frustrating. Not every case ends perfectly and in some cases we can make only the slightest difference. But even the slightest difference is still a difference. At the end of each day, I take solace in the knowledge that I helped – sometimes in a big, obvious way, and sometimes in a small way I may never know – to give a child a shot at something better.
Joining the Office of the Guardian ad Litem is the best career decision I have made. My love of law brought me to law school, but my work as a GAL gave me passion for the law and an appreciation for how it can be used as a sword to protect the innocent and as a plow to strengthen families. Each of my cases has the potential to change, hopefully for the better, the life of a child, and that brings me immense motivation, satisfaction, and hope. I found my cause.
Benji McMurray
Class of 2003
previously at the Utah Federal Defender Office
Last year I worked as a Research and Writing Specialist at the Utah Federal Defender Office. The Federal Defender Office is headed by Steve Killpack, a BYU law graduate, who was appointed by the Tenth Circuit. The litigators in the office are known as Assistant Federal Defenders. Most of the Assistant Federal Defenders in the office are trial attorneys, but Scott Wilson, another BYU law graduate, handles most of the appeals. The office has a small contingency of research attorneys, like myself, who focus on researching and writing motions, sentencing memoranda, etc. In addition to attorneys, the office also hires a number of clerks. Clerks who have completed two years of law school are allowed to represent clients in federal court under the third-year practice rule.
As a research attorney, I got to do a lot of writing. One benefit of federal court is that the pace allows for thorough, in-depth research and analysis. While oral advocacy is more glamorous, I appreciated the chance at the Federal Defender Office to dig into tough legal issues in a systematic, logical way.
That said, I definitely got more than my fair share of court time. In my first year as a practicing attorney, I appeared before almost every federal district and magistrate judge in the District of Utah. I argued motions, tried cases, appeared at sentencing (which in the federal system is often where the real work goes on), and argued appeals.
In addition to the experience, another great aspect of the federal defender office was the nature of the cases and issues. In the criminal arena, we were not just debating issues that can be neatly turned into a damage award. We were talking about people’s liberty. The criminal arena offers legal and ethical challenges that require thoughtful, creative analysis and make every day interesting and exciting.
For me, the best thing about being at the federal defender office was my clients. I found it very satisfying to represent people who had no other advocate. For me, it was not about “getting people off” but about making sure that their story was told, that the proceedings were fair, and that the law was applied correctly. There is a great need for top quality defense attorneys, and I felt privileged to give my best for my clients.
If I can answer any questions about the Federal Defender Office, public defense, public interest work, or anything else, feel free to contact me at busraser@yahoo.com
Felicia Pimentel
Class of 2003
Utah Legal Services
Utah Legal Services practices in the areas of landlord/tenant law (representing tenants), public benefits, and domestic law for victims of domestic violence. My main area of practice is domestic law.
I have always been interested in helping victims of domestic violence. In fact, a close family member was a victim of domestic violence and she was the deciding factor in my going to law school. I took every course I could to find out more about domestic violence and wrote my substantial writing paper about domestic violence. I interned for Utah Legal Services the winter before I graduated and accepted a position as a staff attorney in August 2003, which was the year I took the bar. In March 2005 I accepted the position of managing attorney for our Provo office, which consists of 3 full-time attorneys, 3 paralegals, and a receptionist/secretary. Utah Legal Services also has offices in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Cedar City.
In the Provo office we have a great deal of camaraderie and enjoy working with one another. Every week we have a staff meeting in which we decide which new clients to accept and whom will represent them. We also use this meeting to discuss cases we are working on, frustrations we have, habits of the different judges, etc. We see our office as a team and help one another to succeed. That support is crucial because this is a difficult job. Because we are a public interest law firm, we don’t make a lot of money—probably even less than government attorneys. Sometimes we have difficult clients. We always have difficult cases—a lot of spouse and child abuse. If we couldn’t help one another and have a sense of humor, we would go crazy. All of us have had to overcome periods of burn-out.
I especially love my job. I would estimate that about half of my clients are difficult—demanding, inconsiderate, uncooperative, dishonest. However, the other half make the difficult times worth the effort. I have had several “favorite” clients that I have been able to help; if Utah Legal Services didn’t exist, these clients would probably have remained in their desperate situations or would have been taken advantage of by the attorneys of the opposing party. I have been able to get stalking injunctions, protective orders, custody orders, and divorces for clients in life-threatening situations. At times I have even been fearful of what the opposing party could do because I have been able to use the courts to give control to the victim.
Another great thing about my job is the instant and almost overwhelming experience for a brand new attorney. I had to argue my first trial by myself two weeks after being sworn into the Bar. I appear regularly in court—probably 3-4 times a week—and have done so since being sworn into the Bar. I have a heavy caseload which brings with it valuable procedural and substantive experience. I had to learn how to get over my nerves very quickly. I have made mistakes but have learned from them. I love the relationships I have been able to develop with the judges, clerks, and other attorneys.
Another advantage/disadvantage of my job is the fact that our services are free. It’s an advantage because we don’t have to worry about collecting from our clients. However, it’s a disadvantage in that some clients refuse to settle because they aren’t paying attorney fees and they feel they have nothing to lose. Sometimes we get clients with unreasonable demands who want us to spend our valuable time and resources to get them what they want, even if they have no legal argument. Some clients don’t even see us as “real” attorneys. We often need to remind these clients that we are not obligated to give them services and that if they want a “real” attorney, they can always pay for one.
In summary, I love being a public interest attorney. I love the challenges and the even the difficulties. But most of all, I love being able to serve those who really need help.
(Public Interest Handbook, pp. 4-7).
| February | |
| 09 | Stake Institute * |
| WestLaw/Lexis Nexis * | |
| Reading Room * | |
| Apparel Sale | |
| Occupied * | |
| 10 | Make up class * |
| Fridays * | |
| 13 | Barrister's Ball Committee * |
| Spirit in the Law Respite * | |
| 14 | Occupied * |
| University Devotional * | |
| 15 | Admissions Committee Meeting * |
