It’s Saturday morning, and you’re caffeinated and ready to go! Here’s a step-by-step guide on what will happen.
Virtual Saturday Lawyer Day
- A few minutes before your shift starts, sign into Zoom using the link that was emailed to you.
- When you log in to the Zoom meeting on Saturday morning, we will welcome you and give you a brief overview of how the program works. This will include a review of landlord-tenant basics as well as tips for successful client interviews.
- Volunteer attorneys will be paired with one or two law students, paralegals, or community volunteers and then be matched with a potential client facing a landlord/tenant issue. Each team will receive a case summary and relevant documents.
- Unlike past Saturdays, teams will have about 1 hour to prepare for the client interview. This will involve reviewing the case summary and related documents, developing a list of questions for the client, preparing initial thoughts on strategy (demand letter, call to opposing party, etc.), and conducting brief legal research.
- At 11:00, volunteer teams will meet with the client in a zoom breakout room for an initial meeting and work session. Once you’re in the breakout room, introduce yourself to the potential client and confirm that they have understood and signed the Disclaimer Form that was emailed to them. If not, ask them to sign it virtually or give you consent to sign it on their behalf. You will also sign the Disclaimer Form.
- Take notes, writing down the information the potential client is sharing with you and the names of any potential adverse parties (property manager, building owner, etc.). Please email your notes to AVLF at the end of the interview.
- The goal of this session with the client is to get any additional information needed from the client and then begin work on next steps in the representation – drafting a demand letter, preparing for a phone call to the other side, or drafting a complaint. You can use the Client Questionnaire [Tenant] to guide your questions, or just let the interview flow naturally.
- Unlike past Saturdays, volunteers will meet with only 1 client. Volunteer attorneys will be expected to accept the case for representation or find someone in their firm to assist, barring any conflicts.
- The AVLF Managing Attorney will be available throughout the morning to answer questions, assist with strategy development, and otherwise troubleshoot.
- We plan to wrap up by 1:00.
- AVLF’s malpractice insurance policy covers all of our volunteer attorneys!
In-Person Saturday Lawyer Day
Are you a paralegal or legal assistant? On Saturday, we’ll need your help welcoming clients and scanning documents.
- You can view this 40-minute training video to prepare for in-person Saturday.
- Arrive at AVLF’s office a few minutes early so you have time to grab coffee and breakfast!
- When you join us Saturday morning, we will welcome you with some light pastries and coffee, followed by a brief orientation.
- Clients will arrive around 10AM and will sit in on a presentation to learn about their rights and defenses as tenants.
- During this time, volunteers will receive case summaries and client documents to review or may sit in on the client presentation as desired.
- After the client presentation, volunteer attorneys, law students, and paralegals will meet individually with the clients to provide limited advice and/or assistance in drafting demand letters or other documents that the client can use to advocate for themselves.
- When you meet with the client, introduce yourself and explain the Disclaimer Form that is in the yellow folder to them. The client and all volunteers should sign both copies of the form. One copy is for the client to keep.
- Begin the interview by asking the potential client to tell you about their legal problem with their landlord. You can use the Client Questionnaires [Tenant] to guide your questions, or just let the interview flow naturally.
- Try to cap the interview/fact-gathering portion of the meeting at about 30 minutes. You will then want to begin drafting or revising the demand letter, complaint, or other materials that you will be providing to the client.
- Every client should leave with hard copies of the documents needed to take the next steps in their case and a list of items to achieve those steps.
- AVLF staff attorneys will be available for questions throughout the morning.
- Unlike traditional Saturday Lawyer clinics, there is no expectation for representation of the clients who attend this workshop.
- AVLF’s malpractice insurance policy covers all of our volunteer attorneys!