My Internship Experience: 
Learning a Human-Oriented Approach to Lawyering

I thought at Regional Housing Legal Services we would confront issues where we would be representing individuals who faced eviction by their landlord.  I soon learned that we represent non-profit organizations that are engaged in community and economic development for their neighborhoods.  I also learned that we provided technical assistance to the organizations that help to empower low income people.

On the first day of work, I went to a meeting with my supervisor and heard members of a Resident Council voice their concerns to developers about what could happen to them when construction began on the revitalization of the public housing project in which they live. On the surface, relations were amicable, but there was an underlying feeling of distrust in the air. How were the residents to believe the developers would adhere to their agreement when the developers were saying they didn't have enough money to do what the Resident Council wanted them to do? Did the developers go into the agreement with good faith? So, it was our job to represent the Resident Council and negotiate the best deal on their behalf.

With a second client, the developers’ contractors were not adhering to the blueprints and the Resident Council didn’t have a voice as to what was being finalized.  So, in the public housing units that had already been built, there were units where it was questionable whether they met building code regulations.  Again, our job was to represent the resident council’s members and to negotiate the best deal possible.  We were also to guide our clients through the development process while informing them of their rights.

All of our clients were in different stages of their own process.  There was one client that was established as a non-profit organization and wanted to become tax exempt, another client was waiting to hear from the IRS about whether they would be granted tax-exempt status.  It was our job to give our clients guidance, to assist them in establishing themselves as autonomous, self-sustaining organizations and to help them accomplish their humanitarian goals. 

Regional Housing Legal Services is a law firm whose top priority is the client, and his/her needs rather than trying to do what will benefit the firm.  It uses a human-oriented approach to lawyering that I have never before observed.  This human-oriented approach to lawyering is a value that I will remember and take with me into my future career as a lawyer.