Christina M. Matthewson
Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Norristown, Pennsylvania
THE REALITY OF PUBLIC INTEREST
LAW
This summer I was surprised to find that the
satisfaction I got from doing public interest legal work was
different than I expected. I started work with rosy expectations of
finding self-fulfillment in saving the helpless and the vulnerable.
I don’t know where this image of clients as victims came from, but I
believe it’s a common image for many people. Matt Damon’s role of
hero in the movie “The Rainmaker,” where he saves a dying leukemia
patient and chaste woman abused by her husband, is a popular example
of this image.
Not every legal aid client turned out to be as
lovable or as much of a victim as in the movies. I witnessed
attorneys being lectured by clients about not knowing anything about
the law and being told that the clients would get “real attorneys.”
I overheard countless clients curse at and scream at the phone
intake paralegals. I met clients trying to use Protection From
Abuse orders to gain an advantage in their custody hearings and
clients trying to file their third bankruptcy.
Did my experiences with the unlovable or the
manipulative clients make me dislike public interest law? Not at
all.
In the end it was a great learning experience.
I gained so much more by honestly reflecting on the good and the
bad of public interest law. Continuing to paint unrealistically
rosy pictures in my mind would have only set me up for a
disappointing reality check. Instead, I recognized frustrating
things about this area of law and learned that I still loved it. I
learned that for every client I didn’t like, two more would walk in
the door that I did like. At the end of every week I drew a balance
and always felt satisfied and fulfilled in the work that I did.
Last but not least I learned that I enjoyed
this work most of all because of my co-workers. While my friends in
big city law firms complained of constantly dealing with obtuse
lawyers and crabby secretaries, I never once had a similar
experience. Without exaggeration, everyone I met this summer was
helpful and kind. From the people at the courthouse to the support
staff and attorneys at the Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP),
everyone helped to make my summer experience really interesting. I
was provided an opportunity to work in many different areas of law;
drafting legal documents, meeting with clients, and going to the
courthouse. I was able to see a lot of what a “real attorney” deals
with. I’m thankful to the MLK Internship Program and to LASP for
such a great summer.
