By Sajeda Shaikh, Justice and Legal Thought
The internship was a great way to gain professional experience and connect the concepts we learned in class to their real-life applications.
This semester I completed my practicum internship at the Student Legal Aid Office. The internship was a great way to gain professional experience and connect the concepts we learned in class to their real-life applications. Through my internship I worked on student legal cases with the attorney, and in the time I spent in the office I saw a lot of things, from roommate disputes to drug possession and reckless driving. I was responsible for initially interviewing clients and taking notes on the details of the case, and then for following up with them after their court dates or other developments and checking in. The internship required me to independently keep track of my clients and their statuses, and I honestly enjoyed the real-world responsibility that came with it.
I think the most important part of my job specifically was staying professional and focused even when clients had issues that were not easy for them (or myself) to discuss.
It was not always easy to communicate with clients, especially because most people come to legal aid when they are in a crisis, and have something legitimately concerning in their life. Clients were often emotional and sometimes difficult, but I think that is by and large why the legal aid office is a necessity on campus — if those students had not been able to come to us many of them would not have had the resources to talk to a lawyer at all, and would likely have found themselves in bad or worsening situations. I think the most important part of my job specifically was staying professional and focused even when clients had issues that were not easy for them (or myself) to discuss. I think that anyone looking to make laws or change them should work in a legal aid or pro bono office first, and observe how big and abstract laws can have real, life-changing effects on everyday people.
This poster stood out to me because I was looking into interning at the Student Legal Aid office before deciding to intern somewhere else. I am very interested about the way the internship was and to learn more about what it entailed. I learned that there is actually an immigration attorney provided to students that may need it. I hadn't even thought about how important this privilege is to students and how many people this could help. One question I would ask is how you feel this experience will help you later on in your legal career?
I chose this poster because the legal aid office at our university has interested me a lot as a way for students to start practicing law before even going to law school. I learned so much about how I can use this program if I ever need legal advice or if I want to ever work in legal aid when I get older. However, I would like to ask if you think you actually learned anything about advocacy that could relate to the real world, or if it felt more like a simulated event?
What stood out to me about this poster is how this internship was involved with campus activity, and what a major role students could play in University systems. I learned about the student legal aid office which I did not know a lot about. My question would be: how did you handle students who were particularly emotional and how did that effect your perception of campus polices.
This project stood out to me because I had never heard of the Student Legal Aid Office existing on campus. I learned that the office provides legal help for students who may not be able to get the help that they need. A question I have is how can the students access the office and get as much help as needed.
This project stood out to me because I have always wanted to know more about the Student Legal Aid Office at UMD. I have always wondered who worked for the office, and who the office would represent. I learned a lot from your project, as I now know that at the Legal Aid Office student interns work with attorneys, and they deal with cases that students may have such as serious roommate issues, drug possession, etc. You also bring up a great point that many students may not have the resources available to hire a lawyer outside of the Student Legal Aid Office. I was wondering how many hours a week you interned and what your hours were like?