Client focus informs current practice

Year of service as a deferred associate deepens appreciation of need for relationships

By: Jared Welsh, Associate, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton

When I was offered the opportunity to spend a year working in the public interest prior to starting as a first-year associate at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, I jumped at the chance.

Like many people, I had become a lawyer in part because it would give me a unique ability to contribute to my community, and a year spent doing public interest work would give me a rare opportunity to focus exclusively on doing just that. At the same time, I hoped it would give me real, practical experience rarely available to first-year attorneys. My time at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation more than delivered on these hopes and expectations; over a year working directly with clients to solve their most pressing issues, I developed skills and experience that have proven invaluable in private practice.

At AVLF, I focused on assisting low-income clients with housing-related issues. Almost immediately, I began working directly with potential clients, identifying legal issues in which we could provide effective assistance. And thanks to AVLF's tremendous expertise and willingness to invest time and resources in a new attorney, I soon was able to guide clients through the process of making a claim or answering an eviction notice with confidence. Before long, I was negotiating with opposing counsel, making court appearances and representing clients in mediations. I constantly was learning not just the law, but the practice of law—skills such as identifying the critical facts in a dispute, convincing opposing parties that compromise made the most sense for them, too, navigating unsympathetic bureaucracies and managing a client's expectations when the ideal solution was truly out of reach. Each day was challenging and exciting, and we always provided attentive, insightful, professional advice and assistance—something that I soon learned was incredibly valuable to our clients, even when we couldn't reach the result they hoped for.

My work at AVLF included many vivid, memorable cases. There was a couple who faced imminent eviction because of a simple clerical error at the eviction court and a woman who couldn't afford to replace all of her children's clothing and other belongings after moving into a bedbug-infested apartment. There were too many clients who had paid rent for months to absentee landlords, only to discover upon receiving an eviction notice that their homes had long since gone into foreclosure. With AVLF's help, many of these people were able to save their homes or obtain the recovery they needed to start over.

In one particularly moving case, I helped AVLF staff and a volunteer attorney enforce a court order to recover a client's property from his landlord, who had evaded service and refused to cooperate with counsel after an illegal eviction. We arrived at the apartment with marshals and a locksmith, gained entry to the property and recovered most of the client's belongings—and, when the landlord arrived to protest, we finally were able to serve him personally.

AVLF routinely achieves such extraordinary results for its clients, and it was a great privilege and a true learning experience to spend a year participating in its great work. But in some ways it was not these special cases that meant the most to me, but rather the day-to-day client relationships I developed, some of which continue even now. Working with clients over time, helping them confront ongoing legal issues and giving them advice based on the insight into their circumstances that only a sustained relationship can provide is at the core of a lawyer's service, whether his clients are low-income individuals or major corporations. Of all the legal skills AVLF gave me the opportunity to develop, this constant engagement with and focus on my clients' circumstances and needs has most deeply informed my private practice. This aspect of my experience as a public interest lawyer has given me a deep appreciation for this most basic part of our profession, which will continue to serve me well in private practice. And the knowledge of what a difference insightful, professional advice can make for anyone will help ensure that I continue to do pro bono work throughout my career.

First weeks on job were 'a crash course in juvenile law'

Deferred health care associate gains quick appreciation for responsibility
By: Diana Cohen, Associate, Arnall Golden Gregory


My very first client as a newly minted attorney was a four year old boy named Jamie,[1] and our initial meeting took place seated on his foster mother’s living room floor while he polished off a plate of chicken nuggets. At the time, I was working as a deferred law firm associate with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Association’s (AVLF) Once Child, One Lawyer Program. My law firm, Arnall Golden Gregory (AGG), has a strong partnership with AVLF and I have always been interested in juvenile law, so the One Child, One Lawyer Program was a perfect fit during my deferral period from the firm.

My first few weeks at AVLF were a crash course in juvenile law. I worked directly with Lila Bradley, the Director of the One Child, One Lawyer Program, assisting her with the docket of child deprivation cases that she handles through Fulton County Juvenile Court’s Family Drug Court program. On a typical day, I would attend hearings with Lila, try to keep pace during impromptu hallway meetings with various social workers and attorneys, and use any spare moments to catch-up on the complicated histories behind each case. One case involved nine children who were divided up and placed in several foster homes. Another case involved a teen boy who had to live in a therapeutic residential facility because severe emotional-behavioral issues had caused him to lash out physically against her foster mother. All the cases involved mothers with drug problems who were attempting to get back on track, with varying degrees of success.

By the time my first solo client meeting occurred, I’d shadowed Lila on countless other child meetings and interviews, but the task still felt daunting. My client, Jamie, had been living in a stable foster placement for as long as he could remember, with a grandmotherly figure who took great pride in his care. The initial case plan was for him to return to his mother’s custody after she completed drug treatment, but things had changed by the time I became involved. Jamie’s mother had dropped out of her treatment facility, stopped attending visits with Jamie and his siblings, and failed to return phone calls from her social worker. The new case plan was to terminate the mother’s parental rights, so Jamie and his siblings could move to permanent adoptive placements. That first meeting was just one of many where I would gradually try to ascertain Jamie’s feelings and preferences related to these difficult issues.

For the first five minutes of our meeting, Jamie stared intently at the chicken nugget crumbs on his plate, occasionally shrugging as I asked him about school. His trust would not be won easily. As I got to know Jamie better during subsequent meetings, I learned that he enjoyed visits with his six siblings (who were living in different foster homes), and felt especially attached to his three year old sister. From time to time, I would ask Jamie about his mother. He would look over at his foster mother, thinking perhaps I meant her. Jamie’s foster mother would gently remind him that his mother is the lady he sometimes sees on Saturday when he visits with his siblings. “Oh, their mother,” Jamie would reply, thinking he’d solved the riddle.

When I transferred from AVLF to my position at AGG as a healthcare associate, the firm adopted Jamie’s case on a pro bono basis so I could continue to work on it. During my first year at AGG, I represented Jamie and his three year old sister in the termination of their mother’s parental rights. Although termination of parental rights (TPR) is considered a last resort, Jamie’s case had been pending for years and, after initially working very hard in her drug treatment program, his mother had gone into a downward spiral involving drugs and prison, followed by close to a year of no contact with her younger children. The TPR hearing, which I handled on Jamie and his sister’s behalf, was expected to be relatively simple given the compelling facts in favor of termination.

I’ll never forget the pit in my stomach when Jamie’s mother appeared for the hearing. Despite her prolonged absence, she now wanted to make one last effort to maintain her legal status as Jamie’s mother. It would be my job to cross-examine her when she testified in the case – to ask questions that highlighted her track record of failing to care for her children. In the end, Jamie’s mother testified that she did not feel comfortable taking care of him and his younger sister; rather, she hoped to preserve her relationship with her older teenage children who were represented by another attorney. I was spared from having to ask many difficult questions, but it was a very close brush with one of the hardest tasks that any child advocate will have to face.

Months after the TPR was final, Jamie was transferred from his foster mother’s house – the only home he’d ever known – to a new adoptive home 60 miles away. Jamie’s foster mother felt that she was getting too old to care for him long-term and therefore felt that she could not offer herself as an adoptive placement. Although Jamie’s adoptive parents are completely dedicated, the transition was rough. Jamie began acting up in school and bedwetting. His adoptive parents are continuing to work with him, his teachers, and a therapist to help him adjust to the huge change in his life.

Although Jamie’s case closed when the adoption became final, I have continued to handle other pro bono One Child, Once Lawyer cases during my last two years at AGG. Certain critical legal skills are common to both my healthcare and juvenile law practices. In both areas, I have to listen closely to my clients, try to put myself in their shoes, and understand both the immediate issues and the bigger picture. The best regulatory advice comes from an attorney who understands a healthcare client’s business, just as the best child representation comes from an attorney who understands the child’s broader family relationships, educational concerns, and psychological issues. My One Child, One Lawyer cases have taught me that lawyers have a great deal of power, and that power needs to be handled with the utmost care and sense of responsibility. Life-changing decisions are made every day in Juvenile Court – when families are split apart, or new families are created. In my healthcare regulatory practice, our clients rely heavily on the counsel that we provide, and I take that responsibility very seriously.

AVLF and its programs embody a commitment to public service and a belief in the ability of committed attorneys to do great things for their community. I try to emulate these ideals in my current practice and believe they have given me an excellent foundation for a meaningful legal career.

Former AVLF Deferred Associate Recounts First Experiences in Court

Crucial law lessons learned from AVLF domestic violence work after receiving firm's deferral

By: Franklin Trapp, Associate, DLA Piper LLP (USA)

I entered my 3L year, 2008 – 2009, happy to have an offer from a law firm – DLA Piper. Then came the economic downturn, forcing many law firms to defer their future associates. When I initially learned that I too would be deferred from my original start date, naturally I was nervous about my future. However, DLA Piper handled the situation beautifully, helping me to find and obtain a fellowship position with AVLF’s Domestic Violence Project – a project to which my firm has dedicated many hours representing victims of intimate partner violence. As a Deferred Fellow at AVLF, my job was to work the DV Project’s intake center and represent clients in court. That is, instead of being out of work, DLA provided me with a generous stipend and I had the opportunity to both practice law and to help those in need.

One of my first clients, Susan, had been brutally beaten by her husband. One night, a few weeks after leaving her husband, Susan received an anonymous phone call. The voice on the other end of the line told her that something was wrong with her car. Susan went out to the parking lot to check it out. Her husband was waiting in the shadows and attacked Susan with a syringe, screaming that he was going to infect her.

I represented Susan in her attempt to get a 12-month protective order. The chilling facts of the case, combined with a history of violence, made the court’s decision open and shut. Afterward, thanks to AVLF’s comprehensive service to victims of intimate partner violence, I was able to represent Susan in her divorce. This was uncharted waters for me – the first divorce I ever handled. The process was contentious, to put it mildly. It was typical to leave status conferences with the husband screaming at me and my client. The husband also was able to delay the case significantly, so that it dragged on and on with little progress. However, we finally obtained the divorce, and on terms favorable to Susan. A year later, I checked in to see how she was doing. AVLF, she said, helped to give her life back to her. Now Susan is pursuing a degree in education and feels she is truly free from her husband’s abuse.

On another case, I faced an opposing counsel who, to put it mildly, had a great deal of difficulty behaving in a civil manner. This case forced me to develop a thick skin, and to do that quickly, too, while learning how to advocate for my client in the face of a truly awful opposing counsel. The opposing lawyer’s primary tactic to obtain favorable terms for her client was to bully me at every opportunity: yelling, filing false conflict letters and bogus “emergency motions,” barraging me with insults, even calling me names. I have to chuckle now, remembering the emails I received from this lawyer – whenever my name appeared in the text of the email, she actually would insert a devil-face emoticon next to it. Once in the lobby outside the courtroom, this lawyer was so loud and threatening that the court staff felt compelled to call in the Sheriff’s department to calm her down. To deal with this lawyer’s behavior, I found myself preparing more diligently and thoroughly than I ever had before. I wanted to cover every possibility and make sure that everything I presented to the court was airtight. The negative example and behavior of this opposing counsel taught me a great deal about procedure, ethics and civility. All along the way, my mentors at AVLF guided me and taught me how a real lawyer should act and how to truly and honestly represent my client, all the while playing by the rules and maintaining a poker face. The case was ultimately resolved in my client’s favor. Later, she obtained a divorce, thanks to the help of another AVLF volunteer lawyer. I haven’t seen that opposing counsel since our last court date, but her behavior during this case has made her the stuff of legend with the court staff.

Now, I am a second-year associate with DLA Piper, working mainly in construction law. I am constantly aware of how much there is to learn about this area of law, and about practicing law, period. But learning the ropes in a court of law, with real live clients whose safety may be at stake, and in an often intense courtroom setting, forced me to understand how to respond swiftly and how to think outside of the box. I truly believe those experiences are easing my path from naïve, wide-eyed associate to useful lawyer. I have a long way to go in this career, but I am very grateful to my firm and to AVLF for allowing me to start my practice with this experience. Serving as a Deferred Fellow turned out to be both incredibly useful and a great luxury: it gave me confidence, and it gave me the time and the support to learn skills I will always be able to use throughout my career.

They Were Always There When I Called

By: Michael Lucas, Director of Housing and Consumer Law Programs, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation

Ms. B arrived for her appointment at the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s (AVLF) Saturday Lawyers Program desperate for help in getting her, her daughter, and her four year-old granddaughter out of the deplorable living conditions they had been subjected to – and felt trapped in – for several months. After hearing of the severe structural, mold and mildew conditions leading to the counters collapsing and Ms. B literally falling through a wall left brittle by moisture, the insect infestation resulting in spider bites on the four year-old, and damage to personal belongings, David Zacks, Kilpatrick Townsend Partner and seasoned litigator, Hillary Rightler, first-year associate in Atlanta’s Complex Business Litigation group, and Nick Stanislo, the Firm’s Manager of Civil Investigations and recent recipient of AVLF’s annual “Making a Difference” award, jumped on board.

This team got to work immediately. Nick focused on unraveling a complicated ownership and management picture, and within a few days I was pulling into Ms. B’s apartment complex with David, Hillary, and Nick. The situation was worse than we expected: a several building, several-hundred unit, sprawling complex that – save maybe a half-dozen occupied units – looked like a ghost town with whole buildings roped off, boarded up, and likely full of squatters. The management office looked deserted, although the landlord still managed to collect Ms. B’s rent and threaten eviction. We quickly attracted the attention of the hapless “maintenance man” – apparently acting in that role in name only – who questioned our presence as Nick gathered photographic evidence for the case.

It was what happened inside, however, and the quick outcome that followed, that I will carry with me as an example of the Saturday Lawyer Program, Kilpatrick Townsend, and the Atlanta Bar at its very finest. The remarkable professionalism and skill with which David and Hillary gathered pertinent information, assessed the situation, and formulated a litigation plan was, for me, rivaled only by the level of respect they showed for Ms. B’s dignity and intelligence. Rarely do attorneys get both so right. Within a couple of weeks, Ms. B was able to move her family into a new apartment, thanks not only to the $2,500 cash settlement and lease rescission David, Hillary, and Nick secured, but equally to the confidence, support, and sense of empowerment their representation gave her. What looked effortless to – and came just in time for – Ms. B was actually the result of expert investigation, efficient research, and skillful negotiation. Having David Zacks taking the lead didn’t hurt either.

Last week, Hillary received a call from Ms. B. Ms. B wanted everyone to know that she was all settled into her new place in Decatur and that it was safe, quiet and clean. What left an impression was that Hillary reported hearing a significant change in Ms. B’s voice and mood, just from their short phone conversation. She seemed upbeat and ready to start over. While my position at AVLF exposes me to far too many dire situations like Ms. B’s, it also allows me to witness – and be moved by – the better angels of our nature reaching out to help. Our profound thanks to David, Hillary and Nick and to Kilpatrick Townsend for always saying yes.