Why did you choose to work with one of the clinics? And why did you choose the Criminal Law Clinic?
I came to law school knowing I wanted to be a public defender. The public defenders who I spoke with recommended working in a criminal clinic during law school, and when I chose BU, one of the things that drew me to it was its clinical programs.
Have you been working as a defender or prosecutor? Why did you choose this role?
In our first semester, we are assigned cases on both defense and prosecution sides. This is one of the clinic's strengths. Even though I know that I want to do defense work, having an opportunity to work on a few prosecution cases deepened my understanding of criminal law, trial practice and the operation of the court system. It helped to see the different incentives each party is facing and to understand what it takes to get a favorable disposition.
What was your most memorable case, and why?
One defense case was memorable not because of the charges, but because of the client himself. He was a gay man and despite being disabled and unable to work, he was very much involved in HIV/AIDS activism. As someone who is very involved in LGBT communities, and who had worked and volunteered with a lot of the same HIV/AIDS organizations my client had, it was both motivating and challenging for me to have the opportunity to work for him. On the one hand, we communicated easily because we were involved in similar work, but on the flip side, I knew that if I screwed up, people who I know would hear about it. It's that opportunity to make a difference in a real person's life that is both the most satisfying and the most terrifying part of being in the Criminal Clinic. It's why so many of us came to law school, and yet few law students or lawyers ever end up having an opportunity like this to be a part of maintaining a person's freedom.
Why is it important to represent cases pro bono?
We have knowledge and access to certain resources that few people have access to. In short, as law students, we have a lot of power in the world. It's our ethical responsibility to use that power in ways that benefit people who don't have the resources that we do.
What did you gain from participating in the program?
I became a better speaker, a better writer and generally a more persuasive person. I can't stress how amazing this program has been. Never before have I received the kind of useful feedback on my writing and oral persuasive skills as in this clinic. Because it's taught by a team, you're able to get feedback from people with a wide variety of styles and experiences. And because of the small number of students and large number of faculty members, you get near-constant feedback on your writing and oral advocacy. Whenever I wrote a motion or a memo, an experienced professor was there to help me draft and fine tune it until it was so polished that I knew I was providing the best advocacy for my clients that I possibly could.
