though I wasn't sure what to expect...things definitely were interesting today. I began the day riding with attorney Jonathan Ashton to the Lucas County Court in downtown Toledo. As we walked up to the grandiose building, I had no idea what to expect besides the brief summary Mr. Ashton had given me in the car right before. I was coming with him to schedule a date for a hearing for a car accident case, in which a woman had gotten injured after someone passed her car on the left side as she was making a left turn. We got into the court, where the judge happened to be present, and he discussed what his job was as well as the some facts of the case. The defense attorney who worked for the insurance company also showed up to the scheduling. Although Mr. Ashton had explained that this was a commonplace part of his day-to-day work, I found the difference between the attorney's demeanors fascinating, as well as how they acted with the judge. Mr. Ashton played the facts of his side of the case close to his chest, while the other attorney was quick to present her side of the story, but both had the utmost respect for the judge even when he was out of the robe. I also found the general atmosphere of the court to be really interesting, from how the courtrooms were set up to the anecdotes the staff shared, as well as all of the processes required just to set up the hearing. After this, I met up with Mr. Boissoneault in Judge Jennings' courtroom for a not-so-average injury case, in which a policeman was injured in a routine stop by the defendant, who claimed to be a "sovereign citizen", meaning that he felt that he was above the laws that all American citizens are held to. Today was the damages hearing, in which the judge would decide how much the plaintiff, the police officer, could recover for damages, both tangible and intangible. I found myself on the edge of my seat as the defendant, who was representing himself, annoyedly fired questions at the plaintiff, and Mr. Boisonneault promptly objecting each one. Mr. Boissoneault and the police officer, on the other hand, expertly and calmly presented the facts of the case, with the officer even reaching over to show his scars to the judge. The judge then asked if the defendant was okay with the proposed cost of damages that the plaintiff was requesting, to which he essentially answered that because the country is broke, they can write it off as they do with other debts, which didn't exactly help his case. At the end, the police officer was awarded more than $100,000 for his injuries. I couldn't help but smile after seeing the police officer so happy that he could finally move past this and get on with life. It really reminded me of what law can do for people, even in little ways, and definitely touched on the big reason I wanted to do this intensive in the first place. In the last outing of the day, I went to the WTVG 13ABC local news station to watch attorney Michael Dansack do his weekly "Ask The Expert" segment, in which viewers send in their legal questions for him to answer on the air. I also sat with him as he answered the phone before the live show, as people from around the area called in with legal questions, ranging fro job discrimination advice to agreements of rent or custody of children. I loved that as a lawyer, he was able to help people with just advice on the phone, even without an appointment or a full out court appearance. It definitely showed me a different and interesting facet of the job, and the behind-the-scenes of the local news was fun to see as well! Here is a picture of me going through the questions for the segment while he answers a legal question on the phone before the broadcast: Today definitely gave me that real-world glimpse that I hoped that I would get out of this experience. Both asking questions of the attorneys on the car rides back and forth and even seeing them in action in the courtroom not only furthered my curiosity and interest in the field, but also taught me many things I didn't know about the processes of each. Weather it was my discussion with Mr. Ashton about the "eggshell plaintiff rule" (the rule that you have to take the plaintiff in the condition they are in when considering injuries in a case), or the interesting events that unfolded in the damages hearing, I came home eager to see and learn even more.
Additionally, not only did I learn more about the profession, but I also picked up a few things I didn't know about my own community. From the common legal questions people asked to some of the people I talked to at the courthouse, I learned a myriad of things I didn't know about day to day life in the legal field and in the media, that were specific to Toledo, giving me a renewed appreciation for both these fields of work and for the city I live in.
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in an unlikely beginning...to my first day at the office, I was first scheduled to sit in on a marketing meeting with the marketing director Jan Aguilar and attorneys Drew Massé and Kevin Boissoneault. I was surprised at how much marketing had to do with not only running the firm, but with the people and cases themselves. The focal point of this meeting was marketing strategies in Michigan, specifically the more rural parts of it, such as Monroe and Lenawee counties. During the meeting, we looked at statistics of the average clients and what types of media they heard about the firm on, from TV ads, billboard, or on social media. From that, the group figured out the effective ways to spend the marketing budget, which advertising contracts to renew, and what new things need to be done in the coming months. Below are some of the notes I jotted down during the meeting: After this, I quickly had to switch gears for a witness deposition with attorney Aaron Kovacks. Going into it, I had no idea what to expect, so I quickly asked him questions before the meeting to get a feel for what was about to happen. Essentially, a witness deposition is when the opposing attorney questions the client on the facts of the case, including the incident itself and prior work, life and medical history. In this case, the defendants attorney was questioning our client, a middle aged woman who had been in a car accident. This is done to get a full view of the victims account of the case, including what prior history may have affected it and what happened after the fact. This is used to determine how much she can recover for damages and what other aspects of the case must be considered We then filed into the conference room, which included me, the attorney, the defendant's attorney, and a court reporter, who scribed the questions and answers for court records. The whole process was very interesting to me, and here were some notes I took during: All in all, today was a great introduction of what I would generally be seeing over the course of the intensive. Since it was a lighter schedule, I got to ask a lot of questions and even noted some things that I'll research in the coming days. The deposition case as well as others I'd heard about throughout the day were really compelling to me, and I found myself wanting to know what the outcome of each will be. It was interesting to hear and see the clients in person, not just an account of the case or their medical records on paper. It really went to show that a lot of law is somewhat of a gray area, things that you can't just get across on paper. How does one compensate for physical suffering? How do you put a price tag on lost time? These are just a few of the questions I found myself wondering today and looking forward to learning more about, especially when in court in the coming days.
early on i realized...that a lot of organization had to go into making this intensive be the well rounded exploration I wanted it to be. So, I spent the entirety of the first day organizing and consulting with the office manager of the office to figure out my schedule for the coming weeks. After looking at each attorneys schedule, (comprised of trips to court, other office locations, and regular office meetings) we figured out a preliminary schedule of events I could sit in on every day.
Along with this, I did some research on the types of law the office covers. The firm mainly deals with cases in workman's compensation, personal injury, social security, and general law (including divorce, bankruptcy, wills, etc.). While some of these areas were familiar to me, i didn't know the specific details of them, so I spent some time researching what a lawyer in each specialty does and the processes and laws that they consist of. WORKER'S COMPENSATION According to the Worker's Compensation Board: "Workers' compensation is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. Employers pay for this insurance, and shall not require the employee to contribute to the cost of compensation. In a workers' compensation case, no one party is determined to be at fault. The amount that a claimant receives is not decreased by his/her carelessness, nor increased by an employer's fault." PERSONAL INJURY According to the American Bar Association, personal injury law deals with "Every tort claim, regardless of its basis, whether intentional, negligence, or strict liability, has two basic issues—liability and damages. Was the defendant liable for the damages you sustained, and, if so, what is the nature and extent of your damages? If you can prove liability and damages, our system of justice will award you compensation for your loss." SOCIAL SECURITY According to a General Law Firm site: Social Security disability law consists of the rules used to decide who will qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, and how much money they will receive. Because these are federal programs, state and local laws do not apply. SSDI benefits are meant for adults who become disabled and unable to work for at least one year. Benefits are only available to those who have paid a sufficient amount into the system (through payroll taxes), and have not yet reached retirement age. SSI serves a different purpose. It is designed for disabled people with little or no income, regardless of whether they have paid anything into the system. GENERAL PRACTICE General law, I also learned, deals with general topics such as criminal law, bankruptcy, wills, probates, estates (etc.). Each have their own processes and ways of doing things, so I figured I'd use my time in the office to ask more questions and tangibly learned what happened in each type of case. sources for today 1. http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/onthejob/WCLawIntro.jsp 2.https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_issues_for_consumers/personalinjury.html 3. https://www.hg.org/social-security-disability.html |
Authoraneesa shaikh, senior at maumee valley country day school Archive
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