Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

Interviewing my Mentor

Here is a link to the Interview 2 Audio: 

https://soundcloud.com/karla-milicich/interview-2

Here is a link to the Interview 2 Transcript:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17cv7VnQcwgXuJxyfPMm73YRcZVhygj6AyH2kiDDexMY/edit?usp=sharing

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

I am spending my mentorship time doing tasks for my mentor that pertain to some of his cases or cases that other attorneys in the firm are working for. Some of what I do is write deposition summaries, make copies, fill out subpoenas, and organize case files. There are other experts in the law firm. There are four other attorneys in the law firm, however one three are work for Driskell & Gordon. The other attorney works for his own practice. He has three assistants. The law firm also has two paralegals and myself. My mentor introduces me as his assistant.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?  

My mentor is my sister's boyfriend's uncle. I had met him once before at one of their family reunions and when I was looking for a mentor, I thought I might as well ask my sister if he could help me out and become my mentor. He said he would help me out, and I've been mentoring with him ever since. 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person?

From a scale of one to ten, I would rate my comfort level with my mentor at an 8 at this point in our relationship. I've gotten really close to my mentor and I sometimes call him Uncle Jack. He is a really neat person and I have enjoyed mentoring with him. He is a very respected individual and very professional. If ever I had any legal issues in his expertise, I would not hesitate to contact him. 

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

This interview started off well. My mentor likes to talk in detail so I know I learn a lot from what he said in this interview. I do however feel awful that during the last few minutes, my parents had been calling me non-stop and it did affect the audio. Aside from this, the interview did go well. Next time, I will make sure to contact my parents beforehand and let them know that I'm going to be in an interview. 

I have also become more certain about my questions and a bit more confident with asking them. I try to speak clearly and ask my questions accordingly, trying to make it seem like a casual conversation. I do still have to work on the way I phrase somethings, but other than that I am doing alright.

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

 

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I have a mentor and I completed the interview yesterday. 

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.   

I have yet to decide on a specific area within my topic. I am currently researching the different fields within my topic, civil litigation, to understand each one and then I will decide which one I will further investigate. I have been most interested in estate planning and drafting wills and trusts, as that is what I have experienced during my mentorship. 

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?


I feel that published PDF files or documentaries will help me in the next month to gain more research depth. I will have to research which are the best documentaries in the specific areas I will be researching and use the CRAP method to determine if they are reliable or not. 

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

At the moment I have an idea of an EQ and it is as follows:

"Through what means, do you believe, would be ideal for a quick and easy trial?"

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

The scene this image was taken from was during a trial, hopefully that's enough to capture your attention!

What is my Independent Component 1 idea?  I would like my Independent Component 1 to revolve around a case that was supposed to go to trial, however it was settled before the trial date and therefore, did not go to trial. 

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I had helped my mentor with preparation for the trial including being present at a deposition, writing a deposition summary, filling out court subpoenas, organizing the exhibits (evidence), and organizing the case file. I was supposed to take notes during the trial of how it was carried out, but instead I read through and took notes on a packet handed to me by my mentor by the LA Superior Court that explains the Joint Trial Statement. My mentor had also discussed with me how settlements are carried out. 

Of course, this was not enough for the requirement of 30 hours; therefore, I also wanted to include the Mock Trial we had in class as part of my independent component. I understand that whatever paper I filed or anything I worked on during the preparation and during the settlement of the case during my mentorship was confidential; therefore, I thought that anything I used during the preparation of and during the process of the Mock Trial, would be perfect for this Independent Component 1. Anything I had done during my mentorship could be applied to the Mock Trial. I came up with the idea of creating a case file for the Mock Trial and all the hours I did were documented on a spreadsheet that is linked on my blog. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I have decided to create a spreadsheet in which I explain everything I did within the allotted time specified in each session I worked on the independent component. 

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

I feel that research I will be doing alongside the Mock Trial will help me understand how trials are carried out, not necessarily that of civil, but of criminal. I was thinking of creating an essay identifying the differences between the preparations of both criminal and civil trials based on what I've experienced and the research I do to better understand my topic and how it differs from criminal litigation. 

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

**Posted on Blog, under "Senior Project Hours"

PS: I would like to be advised any other ways of documentation, because I feel that spreadsheets explaining what I did on a day by day basis is not enough. I was possibly thinking of making a short film, maybe a minute or two long, demonstrating what one does during trial preparation. (However, I believe that this might be a good idea for a independent component 2.)