{"id":12833,"date":"2011-02-13T20:40:44","date_gmt":"2011-02-14T01:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=12833"},"modified":"2011-02-13T20:45:05","modified_gmt":"2011-02-14T01:45:05","slug":"the-power-of-one-part-two-lawyer-as-counselor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2011\/02\/the-power-of-one-part-two-lawyer-as-counselor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of One, Part Two: Lawyer as Counselor"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Note: this is the second post in a four-part series.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>How long, after your first law school class, was it that someone asked you for legal advice?\u00a0 Better yet, how long, after you announced you planned to attend<\/em> law school, was it that someone asked you for legal advice?<\/p>\n

Legal education strives to enhance certain abilities in the \u201ccounseling\u201d domain. \u00a0Listen closely.\u00a0 View from multiple perspectives.\u00a0 Probe for more facts. \u00a0Gather similar past scenarios and their outcomes.\u00a0 Anticipate consequences of various actions.\u00a0\u00a0 Remain objective. \u00a0And of course, law school begins developing the skill differentiating lawyers from other counseling professionals: the ability to find, understand and apply the law.<\/p>\n

Our education thus gears us to the community\u2019s foremost request of the lawyer:\u00a0 advice about the law.\u00a0 \u00a0Indeed, a good lawyer often seeks legal counsel himself, for two bright minds are usually better than one.\u00a0 A good lawyer also knows her limits, and readily consults with others about subject matters outside her expertise.<\/p>\n

Thus, while many perceive seeking legal counsel as a necessary evil, the ability<\/em> to do so is an almost universally recognized good.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lawyer jokes aside, our friends and family are delighted to have a lawyer in their midst.<\/a><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0 \u00a0Instinctively, we all desire justice.\u00a0 We believe that laws help society achieve it, and will therefore help us as individuals do so.\u00a0 Essential to a free society, is free and open access to the laws which regulate our conduct. \u00a0When counsel regarding the law\u2019s operation lies beyond the reach of many, justice is compromised.\u00a0 Justice Lewis Powell wrote that \u201cEqual justice under the law is not just a caption on the fa\u00e7ade of the Supreme Court building . . . It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s illumination of The Power of One centers around one lawyer\u2019s dedication to make legal counsel more available, to more people, without regard to economic status.<\/p>\n

Tanner Kilander, as a first-year MU law student in fall 1999, started looking for a clinical opportunity to help the underserved.\u00a0 She and another law school classmate heard about an idea for a legal clinic that would pair students with attorneys.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A more senior law student had done research but hadn\u2019t pursued it further; she handed Tanner a file and encouragingly remarked \u201cI hope you can do something with this.\u201d\u00a0 Tanner and her classmate eventually found their way to the Association for Women Lawyers Pro Bono Committee.\u00a0 Within a year, a core group consisting of Tanner, her classmate, and five women lawyers launched a legal clinic out of a church cafeteria in the heart of Milwaukee\u2019s inner city, with zero budget and relying entirely on a few dedicated lawyer and student volunteers.\u00a0\u00a0 The clinic had, and maintains, two basic premises:\u00a0 it serves everyone<\/em> (no income criteria or lengthy screening process) and provides learning opportunities for students.<\/p>\n

Less than 10 years after it started, the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic has moved and added three locations, serving clients in the courthouse, at veterans services, and in a predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhood.\u00a0 Over 200 attorneys and 150 students donated nearly a half a million dollars worth of time to serve 2,500 Milwaukee residents in the last year alone.\u00a0\u00a0 Clinic volunteers guide individuals through family law issues, landlord-tenant issues, unemployment concerns, small claims cases, immigration issues and myriad other challenges.\u00a0\u00a0 See<\/em> MVLC Annual Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Throughout the majority of the clinic\u2019s operation, Tanner donated her talents and time, often 15 or more hours per week, even as she developed her own legal practice and raised her family.\u00a0\u00a0 Did she create or maintain the clinic single-handedly?\u00a0 Of course not. \u00a0Nor do I suggest that legal clinics are a panacea to the thorny problem of access to justice. \u00a0\u00a0The lesson here is that one law student\u2019s dogged, patient pursuit of the mere seed of an idea, coupled with commitment to inspire others to join the pursuit, ultimately resulted in legal help to thousands.<\/p>\n

Yet we need not empower multitudes or pursue large-scale projects, to effect major change.\u00a0 Sure, make those things happen, too.\u00a0\u00a0 But realize that the most important Power of One as Lawyer-Counselor lies in your interaction with every single person who seeks your legal advice, whether a paid client, a pro bono client, or your mother\u2019s second cousin.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Harriet Beecher Stowe wisely observed that \u201cHalf the misery in the world comes of want of courage to speak and to hear the truth plainly and in a spirit of love.\u201d\u00a0 To this lawyer\u2019s ear, that means half the misery of the world is eminently solvable!\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0We begin this work by endeavoring to counsel each person we serve with truth, clarity and kindness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Note: this is the second post in a four-part series.) How long, after your first law school class, was it that someone asked you for legal advice?\u00a0 Better yet, how long, after you announced you planned to attend law school, was it that someone asked you for legal advice? Legal education strives to enhance certain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}