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.
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.
Franklin Trapp is such an amazing person. He is more than a skillful lawyer,he has gifts that he uses to serve others in need. When I met Franklin I was in serious trouble and lucky to be alive. My head was not in the right place because I had endured severe physical abuse and emotional abuse and not living in reality. I had lifelong friends and family working desperately to make me realize the truth about who the man I loved really was. Three years later and I'm free. Looking back,I cannot believe this happened to me. Franklin Trapp made two statements that I could not deny about myself. I will never understand how he could have known the real me after just meeting me for 20 minute,coupled with the emotional state I was in at the time. What makes Franklin stand above the rest is he is blessed with intuition and book smarts and that is hard to come by. Keep up the good work Mr. Trapp. I not only thank you for the hand you extended me, but for restoring my faith in mankind.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much,
Christine S case from 10/2010