I interned with GreenLaw for six months last year and over the summer. One of the projects we worked on during that time is going to trial – well, technically a hearing in front of an ALJ – starting on Monday. I really enjoyed watching the last one – which was pretty short and to the point. This is more of a major event. I’m hoping I can squeeze enough time in between classes to go watch them in action.
Meantime, it appears that the case myself and my clinic partner were given – assuming that it would be a slow burner and unlikely to move forward during our time in the clinic – will also be going to hearing. At the beginning of November. Wha?? Which means, apparently, that we need to have all of our shit together by the beginning of October. Evidently we’re going to spend the entire month of October practicing, or as our supervisor is calling it, “mooting” a hearing. This seems a little idealistic to me after two internships where, in spite of fairly focused preparations, key information was still coming in hours before briefs were due. But then, maybe that’s why she wants to have us be mostly ready early – so we have a framework to incorporate anything new that comes in. Either way, at this point, even writing this blog feels like it might just be taking valuable time away from working on this case.
Oh, and guess what I need to be doing, specifically?
Wait for it. . .
Records searching!! Yeah, baby. I must be getting awesome at it by now. We’ve got a huge stack (literally about nine inches high) of paper from one office, and we’re expecting more from three different health care facilities. This needs to be read through, analyzed and written up by next week. Some subtle differences from the DNR records I spent so much time with this summer:
1. Doctors don’t type their notes. Even calling what they do “writing” is sort of optimistic.
2. These are basically in another language. Medicalese.
I was finally getting the hang of all the enviro-acronyms. Now I’m also learning Latin and Scribble. Onward!