Blog 5-Interview 1 Reflection

"From a trickle to a roar!"
This has been the first interview and one of the first stages of the senior project. The first stage has begun with a trickle, literally! The rain we saw this week will only be the first in many more to come--hopefully. Of course, now we wait for the second stage and eventually...the roar. 

For the audio file of Interview 1: 
            https://soundcloud.com/karla-milicich/interview-1

For the transcript of Interview 1:
             https://docs.google.com/document/d/1soLpFMqsRItBR6yh0y2U5DMXU_i_eHcto-bRec6kk_A/edit?usp=sharing

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

        The most important thing I learned from the interview is that English is very critical to an attorney's schooling and career. I am specifically referring to critical reading and critical thinking. Mr. Driskell, the person I interviewed, advised me to take English in college because of the advantages he saw that English majors had in law school. Lawyers need to be critical thinkers when it comes to cases; therefore, majoring in English may not be so bad. 

      There was one more important thing I learned that I must definitely change in my next interviews, and that is the fact that the first part of the interview include the asking of permission to record because, as I found out, if this is not done, you are committing a felony. I thought this was very important and should be something I should include in my next interviews. 

      I would also like to change how I asked the questions. I hope to ask more questions in the upcoming interviews and questions that really get into what I want to know. Of course, hopefully by then I will have decided on my essential question.  

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

     I did get additional resources for my research. Mr. Driskell had advised that I create a list of five to ten cases written by the best legal thinkers. This could serve as very helpful for my research of my senior topic and for narrowing down my essential question. 
     I was advised by Mr. Driskell to seek out lawyers from small firms that deal with defending insurance companies. I would like to look into this because my first interest for the senior project had been leaning towards this, but as I found out, Civil Litigation also included business law and personal injuries cases. I do know a personal injury attorney and plan to interview her for my next interview.
     I feel that the advise concerning the researching of the cases written by the best legal thinkers was the most useful because the information provided by those cases may give me an insight on what to decide for my essential question.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

      My interviewee was more than qualified to help me. He is the co-founder of the law firm in which I have my mentorship at. He has been a lawyer for more than thirty years and is well-known and liked in the legal community. He specializes in the areas of litigation, real estate, and business transactions. He has represented many large business clients, including airlines, shipping companies, and the oil industry. He graduated from Loyola Law School in 1976 and has been a lawyer ever since. 

For more information on Mr. Driskell visit: http://www.driskellgordon.com/?page_id=67