University of Idaho College of Law Public Interest Law Group

I felt excited and nervous as I prepared to go into the Idaho State Bar office on Monday morning. The Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program staff was supportive and welcoming, so I was soon put at ease in their office. They seemed genuinely happy to have Sarah and me in the office. Our supervisors were helpful and immediately put us to work.

My task at the IVLP was to research and crystallize the Idaho Uniform Probate Code in Title 15. Many of the calls received at the IVLP are about estates and probate procedures, so I expanded an existing memo that elucidated this area of law for future use on the IVLP website. It was a creative process to anticipate the kinds of scenarios and questions that the average person might have about creating and contesting a will. The research took me in a myriad of directions, from conversations with the DMV about transferring title to inherited vehicles to the Idaho Bureau of Health Policy and Vital Statistics for how to procure a death certificate. I re-phrased the Code’s “legalese” in ways that a non-lawyer could easily understand. I learned about an area of law that is less exotic, but no less important, than other areas of law. It made me realize how integral estate law is in the lives of everyday people.

On Wednesday night, Sarah and I assisted with a workshop for divorce and child support orders. I mainly did child support calculations while Sarah assisted an attorney with a divorce case. This was especially rewarding, since it brought me from legal theory and into the practice of law. I was able to have some conversations with area attorneys about their work and research. There was also a satisfaction about getting to help real people complete their necessary legal work. There was a tangible look of relief on their faces as they walked out the front door with their notarized orders.

I would recommend the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program to any law student looking for a placement. The work will vary from week to week, and the staff at the Idaho State Bar loves working with students. I am looking forward to doing some more volunteer work with them the next time I am in Boise.

For more information, visit http://www2.state.id.us/isb/pub_info/IVLP.htm

Lacey Rammell-O’Brien

Wrapping up day five.  I must admit, I was initially disappointed to have been assigned a project where I would not meet any of the people that would be effected by our work.  Luke and I spent all of our time researching and writing a motion.  In additional, Luke spent half of his time pouring through thousands of pages of unorganized discovery trying to attach some meaning to it all.  While not what we had expected, this process has been an incredible learning experience.  I was not one of those law students that shadowed a lawyer prior to coming to law school and I don’t know very many attorneys personally.  So my entire perspective has changed as a result of this process.  I didn’t get to see the effects of my work, but I know it will at a minimum lighten the burdened load of an already over-burdened legal aid attorney.  I think we both learned a great deal about effective researching, and taking a seemingly impossible task and learning how to break it down into small manageable parts.
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Luke and I are almost at the end of our second day at the Idaho Legal Aid Clinic in Boise.  We have been given a hefty workload and are currently researching and assisting in the preparation of a motion to compel.  The issue is regarding a discovery dispute and a parties assertion of privilege as a means to withhold otherwise obtainable documents.  The work is definitely challenging, and we are applying Civil Procedure rules to a very real situation.

The people working here are fighting a noble battle.  This clinic is one of I believe ten in the country working without any state assistance.  Several staff members work full time to fill this void by writing grants to public and private entities.  The Clinic has to turn away one of five applicants that are in desperate need of legal advice and assistance.  But those that do receive the assistance have generally been victims of domestic violence or are dealing with landlord tenant issues (elder law).

More later…

Megan and Luke O’Dowd

University of Idaho Press Release Jan. 24, 2008

Law Students Expand Scope of Alternative Spring Break

MOSCOW, Idaho – Last spring, 14 University of Idaho College of Law students headed for post-Katrina New Orleans to unwind. Specifically, to unwind the red tape that tends to bundle into a Gordian knot when governmental, social and legal infrastructures are swept away.

The students participated in Alternative Spring Break, helping victims of Hurricane Katrina to untangle legal issues and providing manual labor, free of charge.

It’s a decidedly different kind of spring break.

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