Skip to main content

Meeting the Client


Prior to this first day meeting my Health Advocacy Clinic (“HAC”) client, the only experience I had with client interviewing was at my graduate assistantship. However, my interactions in those interviews was limited since my supervisor was the lead investigator role. That said, I was finally able to take the “lead” when interviewing my HAC client, and I was truly looking forward to the experience.


Before meeting my HAC client, I did a couple things to prepare. One, I made a script of main discussion points that I wanted to be sure to bring up during the interview.  Two, I worked to memorize the first 20-30 seconds of my script so that my interview would have a “natural flow.” This would allow me to quickly build rapport with my client.

The day finally came to meet my client and my nerves were getting the best of me in anticipation of his arrival. Ironically, my client had to cancel the meeting and rescheduled for the following week, so I used the additional time to continue preparation. On “Take #2” of meeting my client, I took the “lead” so that I could have as much experience interviewing my client as possible. At one of our HAC classes, the HAC director explained how critical and valuable it is to meet with clients. Thus, she allowed me to take the “lead” during the interview to ensure I learned from the opportunity.  

The interview took around 20-25 minutes to complete and all went well. I stuck to my script and obtained the information I sought to gather. I admit that I started off speaking rather quickly, in part due to my nerves. I also didn't want to keep my client longer than needed. Yet, even if our meeting was brief, I was grateful to have experienced my client’s lively and genuine personality. Additionally, my client appeared comfortable discussing his current issues and challenges. This new information will be very useful to his case, so I truly appreciated him sharing such sensitive and private details.

As the meeting wrapped up, I walked my client out and thanked him for his time. My client responded by thanking me and complimenting me on my “slick hair style.” I interpreted this to be “an approval” of having me as his student-attorney. Subsequently, I knew that I had accomplished my goal of building rapport with him and I look forward to our next meeting. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why did I Come to Law School Again?

I came straight to law school from undergrad. Although I’ve had part time jobs, I’ve spent most of my life in school. I was drawn to law school because in comparison to the other graduate programs I was considering, law appeared to me to be a profession of “doers.” By this I mean, a profession that does more than participate in academic research and writing; a profession that actively interacts with people from all walks of life and has the skills necessary to bring about real change in communities. I do not mean to downplay academic scholarship, which is essential to meaningful debate, particularly in the legal field, and is often a catalyst to change. But to me, as someone who has spent most of her life in a class room and spent a lot of time writing and researching, I wanted to do more—interact with people, find out what people need and want, and help bring those needs and wants to fruition. Over the last two years in law school, I did not exactly find what I came looking for. In f...
1 comment
Read more

In the Beginning there was . . . Pleasant Terror

I left the first meeting of our little group excited, inspired, and pleasantly terrified. A long-time resident and self-proclaimed advocate of Aurora, I am ashamed that this was my first visit to Hesed House. I had read about it, thought about it, and heard its praises sung countless times, but all of my ‘good’ excuses kept me from lending a hand or ever checking it out for myself. I wish I had, because I would have known sooner that Hesed House far exceeds its glowing reputation. As Mr. Dowd showed us around Hesed House and its Community Resource Center, I became more and more excited to be associated with this shelter. I was impressed by its leaders’ tireless efforts to serve the homeless population by pooling the efforts of multiple organizations, faiths, and disciplines. They do not limit themselves to supplying shelter and food, but helped to establish homeless children’s rights to attend school and set their guests up for success by providing access to job training, counseling, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shelter

I was nervous, but it is a nervous feeling that I have felt before. A feeling of excitement because I am about to embark upon another journey with the purpose to create change. Although I have had a lot of interaction with people in poverty, every new interaction is a learning experience. I was impressed by how vast the Hesed House facilities were; it was the biggest homeless shelter I have seen. It pushed me toward both a feeling of gratitude and sorrow. I felt grateful that facilities like Hesed House exist so that people in poverty have the ability to have a roof over their head and access to food. On the other hand, I felt sorrow because it breaks my heart that poverty has such a strong hold on so many individuals in our society. It is an uneasy feeling for me that Hesed House is the only shelter in Aurora when there is an overwhelming need in the area. However, I am glad that it can accommodate as many people as it can and that it touches the lives of so many in more ways than jus...
Post a Comment
Read more