Student Spotlight: Susie Wine '10
My summer job at the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program (SDVLP) began on May 19. I was one of more than 100 Summer Stipend Fellowship recipients this year, and one of three awarded by the Notre Dame Alumni Club of San Diego and Ross, Dixon & Bell. The Summer Stipend Program is one through which Notre Dame Law School alumni, students, legal employers, and others provide a wage for NDLS students performing otherwise unpaid legal public interest work.
A non-profit firm, SDVLP reaches a group of San Diegans that tourists rarely see—not those who are seeking handouts on C Street, but those who are living independently on a very meager income, those who are in a rehabilitation facility, and those who are struggling to keep a family together. I work on the HIV/AIDS team, which addresses the unique needs of those members of the San Diego community living with HIV or AIDS. At any one time, our team has over 200 files open—mostly in the areas of estate planning, landlord/tenant relations, and medical benefits.
By far my favorite part of the work we do is actually interviewing clients at the Monday night clinic in Hillcrest, which is one of six clinics run by our team throughout the area. This clinic is staffed almost entirely by volunteers: attorneys, paralegals, notaries, and law students meet with clients in the Sunday School rooms of a church. The setting must be very different from the conference rooms at a firm, but the same volunteers come back time after time because they know that they are truly helping someone.
Throughout the rest of the week, the other interns and I work on following up with these clients by doing research, writing letters, making phone calls, and writing more letters. I felt well-prepared for the research and writing aspects of the job, and some of the issues presented by the clients were familiar ones from class. However, a vast majority of the difficulties presented by clients were totally unfamiliar to me. The clients didn’t care if I got an A in contracts—which I didn’t—or if I could successfully identify a fee simple subject to an executory limitation—which I can. The client cares about getting her disability benefits reinstated or making sure his landlord doesn’t go through his belongings.
Working with SDVLP and learning about the other free legal services provided by the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, the Bar Association and others have made me proud to be a small part of the legal community here in San Diego. As I return to South Bend, I’ll bring with me a wider perspective to the things I learn in class.
To learn more about Susie, visit her student profile page.
