I could not believe that I was meeting my first client after only two months of law school. I was nervous that first morning but soon realized that the point of the wills project was to spend time with our clients and learn about them. We discussed their needs and goals in planning their wills and power of attorney documents. I was humbled by how quickly my clients felt confident in my ability to help them even though I did not initially feel the same way. They trusted me and were truly depending on my assistance and advice, and these reactions and responses empowered me to do the best job possible. I felt a lot more relaxed and focused on my conversations with the clients so I could formulate the documents to reflect exactly what they wanted.
Read More... (My favorite part of the project was not the fact that I could draft wills and power of attorney forms, though...)
| Posted by Ashley M. McAlarney on Wed. November 2, 2011 12:07 PM
Categories: Fall Break 2011
When I applied to UNC Law, I was aware of the Wills Trip and hoped that I would have the privilege of participating. It’s funny when long-term hopes turn materialize—and it’s even better when the actual experience out-performs your expectations. My partner and I had the opportunity to draft wills, but we were also were privileged to be with people both like us and quite different, to be with them as they shared their burdens with us.
Read More... (Sometimes your only job is to be with your client.)
| Posted by Troy D. Shelton on Mon. October 31, 2011 12:06 PM
Categories: Fall Break 2011
Armed only with five hours of rudimentary training in wills preparation, I walked into my first client meeting with a heavy dose of trepidation, but also a sense of relief to be doing actual legal work that had nothing to do with casebooks, court opinions, and the always-enjoyable Socratic method I had grown accustomed to as a fresh 1L. While I knew entering law school that my days, nights, and weekends would be filled with reading, case-briefing, and learning to “think like a lawyer,” it was refreshing to put Chapel Hill in my rearview mirror to actually roll up my sleeves and work like a lawyer.
Read More... (Our client needed us to think outside the box and create unique articles that expressly (and more importantly, legally) outlined her particular wishes.)
| Posted by Joseph T. Polonsky on Sat. October 29, 2011 12:04 PM
Categories: Fall Break 2011
My purpose in coming to law school was to make use of my experience as an educator to serve the people of North Carolina in a different capacity; the Fall Break Wills Project allowed this hope to become reality.
This trip was my first opportunity to see the partnership between UNC’s Pro Bono program and Legal Aid in action, working to bolster the legal health of the communities we serve by marrying law students’ needs for practical legal experience with North Carolina’s growing need for low-cost, client-centered legal services.
Read More... (Each will drawn up is one fewer burden on grieving families.)
| Posted by Charlotte R. Stewart on Sat. October 29, 2011 12:01 PM
Categories: Fall Break 2011
As a third-year law student getting ready to be an attorney myself soon, I’ll admit that I was reluctant to ask the Legal Aid attorneys how to do something I thought I should already understand, or to step in and explain a difficult issue to a client, at least at the beginning of the trip. But soon I realized that watching this real-life attorney-client interaction would be one of the most useful experiences I would get on the wills trip. Seeing the attorneys explain the documents to clients after I had gone through them helped me to realize how thorough I needed to be in explaining them myself. Hearing the attorneys use matter-of-fact language to talk about the very sensitive decisions being made in living wills and Health Care Powers of Attorney documents helped me to feel more comfortable talking about these issues matter-of-factly, too. At the beginning of the trip I felt like a complete novice, very far from being able to demonstrate the knowledge and poise of the practicing attorneys I was watching. By the end of the trip I began to see how I could also present myself to clients with the confidence and clarity necessary to earn their trust.
Read More... (I realized that watching this real-life attorney-client interaction would be one of the most useful experiences I would get on the wills trip.)
| Posted by Erin Deignan Reis on Thu. March 17, 2011 2:46 PM
Categories: Spring Break 2011 (Western)