July 26th

As the week of the 20th came to an end i was offered the opportunity to extend my stay at Pacific Attorney Group. I was honored to have been given the extension and i  decided to stay until the end of the month.

After spending a little over two months at the firm i began to notice a few things about the way it handled its waste. I would frequently see trash cans filled with paper  that were simply being thrown away. The firms receptionist handles hundreds of different articles of mail which sometimes end up in the trash. The remaining mail is then distributed to the paralegals and hearing representatives. Each person then makes notes of the correspondence they receive and throws whatever paper they don't need into the trash.

Not only did unneeded mail end up in the trash but also drafts of documents that were printed also ended up being thrown away. Since there were many new employees entering the firm, there were many instances where someone would print out a court document or a letter to a client and once it was reviewed by the paralegal they would need to make corrections and reprint the document. The drafts would pile up and were eventually thrown away with the rest of the trash.

I began to wonder where all the paper went and whether or not it was being recycled. After asking the paralegal about the firm's recycling policy i learned that it did not have one. Taking Dickinson's ideologies into account i decided to do something to improve the firms sustainability. Conveniently there an open office on the Worker's Compensation section of the firm which meant that there was an extra trashcan that was not being used. After asking the receptionist if a recycling bin would be useful and running the idea by my supervisor i took the spare trashcan and labeled it "paper only."After all i was able to find two bins to designate for paper waste. These bins will be emptied but instead of being combined with the rest of the trash they will be recycled.

Sustainability in the workplace is still a relatively new idea but as new business arise we should see an increase in the importance of making business "greener."Being at Dickinson has given me a first hand look at the importance of sustainability and i'm glad i was able to make a small difference for Pacific Attorney Group.

Reaching the end

This week i learned an important lesson in detail. Filing new applications has become a familiar task for me. With new applications being accepted everyday it is important for me to get them out to the board right away. There were many instances where I would be working on an application and I would be asked to do a more important task such as send a fax to an insurance adjuster or call a defense attorney to answer an urgent question about a case. After returning to complete the application i brought it to my supervisor for review. She pointed out a very important step that i had left out and i had to go back and correct the entire application. 

I learned that regardless of how comfortable i may be with a task it is always important to review it carefully before submitting it. Important information like social security numbers, court issued numbers, and addresses must all be correct. If for some reason you accidentally put a four instead of a five the entire process is delayed. If the court receives any applications with mistakes they are sent back to the firm. The employees at the firm must then stop whatever they are working on and reissue any applications that come back with mistakes. Not only does it effect the efficiency of the firm but since the case cannot move forward without the numbers that are assigned by the court there is a higher possibility that a client's case will be delayed, causing more frustration. One mistake can easily become a bigger problem. 

Aside from the paperwork that comes with the internship i am also learning how to adapt to working with coworkers with various temperaments. There are those who are friendly and welcoming and there are also others who prefer to keep to themselves. I have learned that not everyone will make an effort to befriend you and sometimes it is up to you to make the first move and simply ask how they are doing and provoke some small talk. Saying hello in the mornings and getting to know your coworkers goes a long way. It has helped me become more comfortable with everyone rather than just my supervisor. There have been instances where i had a question but my supervisor was either in a meeting or on the phone with a client. Getting more comfortable with those around me gave me more resources to reach out to when i needed help on an assignment. This sense of community is not only good for me but for the firm as well. Everyone deserves to feel comfortable and accepted at their job site so they can perform to the best of their abilities. 

My highlight of the week was talking to a client on the phone in spanish. About a week ago i sent the client a copy of his deposition, which is a written document of everything that was said during his court appearance. The client is to sign the document, make any necessary corrections, and send it back. On Thursday we received it without a signature or corrections. I was asked to call the client and asked what had happened. After talking to the client and explaining what the copy of the deposition was he told me he had never received it. I then verified his address and the conclusion was that we had mixed up the four digit house number when it was entered into the system. I made the necessary correction and explained that he would be receiving it shortly. Although i had made a mistake earlier in the week i also helped correct an error in a clients case. 

July 7th

Today I became familiar with a different part of the legal process, substitution of attorney. This part of the job is not the most pleasant but it does happen frequently. From time to time attorneys are faced with clients who become frustrated mid way through their cases and decide to take their cases to a different firm in hope of speeding up the process.

After a few months some clients become impatient and begin calling the firm on a daily basis to find out any updates on their case. But what i have learned is that these cases take many months and often years to settle. The clients begin to think that the attorney is ignoring their case but there are many steps in the process that delay settlement. I have seen many instances where the client must wait months for a response from his or her insurance company before scheduling an appointment with a doctor to evaluate the injury. Other examples that slow the process include finding doctors within a clients insurance company's Medical Provider Network. Sometimes doctors are located far from a client's residence and must be reissued or pushed back in order to schedule transportation. These examples have nothing to do with the attorney's effort in the case but from a client's perspective may appear to be a deficiency in the firm.

I was asked to complete Substitution on Attorney paperwork which would be filed to the Marina Del Rey Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. It was important that these documents be filed right away in order to serve the following attorney with the file and paperwork that had already been completed and collected. I also learned that regardless of the substitution the firm would still be included in the settlement and owed a percentage based on the amount of work completed on the case. This amount varies and is often negotiated once the case reaches settlement. There are instances where the two attorneys fail to agree on distribution of fees and must take the issue to court.