Relfection

What have you gained from your mentorship? What actions did you take that helped you get the most from your experiences? How has this mentorship prepared you for the future?  Has it or How has it changed your view of the career area in which you are mentoring?  What would your advice be for future students who wish to participate in HMP?



   Over the past year, my time spent in my internship has taught me several things.  From the internship, I've learned all about being a lawyer, how to work in a setting that's very formal, how to talk to people during high stress situations, and much more.  I've gained the insight that comes with working, like doing what someone else wants you to do and following orders.  I learned how to research laws and past court cases and use what I learned from the research in a current case.  Everything I did in the internship, I tried to use as a way to learn more, so I've gained a tremendous amount.
   The mentorship has prepared me for the future by providing me with a job.  I think everyone needs to know how to work.  That doesn't just mean knowing how to do a task in a job, but how to perform in a workplace with others.  Also, It's prepared me by giving me the opportunity to see what I may make a career out of.  My perspective on being a lawyer has changed drastically.  Coming into the job, I thought being a lawyer meant you were always in the court room.  However, there is a lot of behind the scenes work going on before each trial.  I've seen that being a lawyer is a lot of work, not to say that I didn't think so before, but a lawyer has to follow of bureaucratic type of work.  But that is not to say being a lawyer is in anyway bad.
   For upcoming students, I would tell them interning isn't really hard.  From what I can tell, you're given work that at first may be difficult or just different from what you are used to, but after a little while you pick up on it.  What you do day in and day out isn't what teaches you about the profession.  What you do different from your routine does though.  For example, in my case, every time I had to research something was different.  Normally, I had to file papers, go to the courthouse to pick up files, go to the DA's office, or go to the Solicitor's office.  Doing research meant I had to look up something new and present it to my mentor, so he could use it in his case.  So, pay attention to everything new that happens.  

  

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Forsyth_County_courthouse.JPG

This is a picture of the Forsyth County Courthouse

Public Speaking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShavGuo0_E

Relfection:

   This video is helpful, but it would be more helpful to me years ago.  Unfortunately, I've grown out of the fear of public speaking.  I've been in mock trial for 3 years, I've played solo piano in front of countless audiences (about 8 or 10), I've been in peer court, where I acted as a lawyer for my client's real punishment hearing, and I've taken college classes where I was the only one under 25 years old.  So, I think its fair to say I'm not fearful of public speaking.  That is not to say I'm great at it though.  From this video, it does give good points on how to win over audiences and have a good presentation.  An example, would be the pander to your audience tip.  Personally, I don't believe you should over pander, because you then focus on pandering in lieu of what you really need to say.  However, light pandering can be useful to a crown of people who don't want to be there, like a class of high school students.  The video give more obvious tips, like the structure of a presentation, hook the audience in the intro, have supporting evidence, and use a "powerful conclusion."  We learned that in elementary school, but it's good to have a reminder.  The video says bring water on stage with you.  I agree. I think that's a good plan of action.  You get thirsty, have a drink.  It keeps the tone of the presentation a little bit more relaxed.  So, overall, its a good video, helpful too.  The tips pointed out are straightforward, some are a little obvious, but its all well said and done.      
   I can use the tips in this video in speaking to the group for the presentation.  Its a small group, and I know all of them, (just a few people from mock trial and peer court) but I can still try to stand up straight and speak clearly.  Also, to try to hold their attention I'll attempt to add in a few side jokes to keep their interest.

Annotated Bibliography 3

Douglas, Mariah. "Top Lawyers 2016." Louisville Magazine, vol. 67, no. 3, Mar. 2016, pp. 70-85. EBSCOhost, proxygsu-sfor.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=113489169&site=eds-live&scope=site.

 This is an article from a Louisville magazine about the best lawyers in Louisville.  It has several, small interviews with lawyers, which includes background information about the lawyer and the questions and answers to a few questions.  The questions and answers provide a good amount of detail into the characters of the lawyers presented.  For example, based off of the answer

   “Learning something new, whether it’s about an

     area of law or about another culture or country,"

to the question, "A Day doesn't go by without...?" I can tell that this person appreciates the new things about everyday.  Which is very helpful to my research, because one thing that seems to be present over all lawyers is a sense of repetition.  Repeated cases, meaning only doing DUI's for criminal, or only doing immigration cases, for an immigration lawyer.  So, this shows that people who still want change in their jobs can still be well-renowned lawyers.

Some potential quotes I can use:

“People who aren’t exposed to the criminal-justice system

might think it works perfectly, but that can’t be further from

the truth; (innocent people being convicted) does happen,

and it’s important for people to understand that,"
"

Why class-action law?

“It allows people whose claims would

typically be pushed aside to join

together and fight. It levels the playing

felid for individuals against the large

corporations of the world.”

 

 
 This source is reliable because it is from a notable magazine, it was found using Galileo, and it provides real people with real answers without any opinions from the magazine's author. 

This fits into my research because it shows real lawyers.  I will be able to looks at each lawyer and determine why they became an attorney and what makes them good enough to be put into a magazine.  This is relevant to my topic because its about lawyers who are the "best."

Capstone Project paragraph

    For my capstone project, I am currently working on researching lawyers.  My project is about what makes an attorney great.  So, I've been looking into lawyers, those I know from my internship and those from researching online.  I have been looking at why a lawyer is well known, why he's considered better than another, and other "why" questions.  For example, in real life, the attorney I work for is friends with an attorney I know from mock trial, a club/competition I compete in, so I was talking to the one from mock trial and she said her son just won a case that is infamous for being difficult.  She also said, her son is a lot like the attorney I work for, in that they both are very aggressive in court.  She said they both are very articulate and can be very empowered against the other side.  So, one thing I learned from that is that a good attorney is aggressive in court.  I've been trying to find things, such as this instance, where I learn of a real scenario that exemplifies a specific quality that I can use in my capstone.   

Annotated Bibliography, paragraoh

Chapman, Lindsey. "Happy Birthday, George Crockett Jr., Lawyer, Politician and Civil Rights Activist." FindingDulcinea. 29 Jan. 2017. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.

     This article is celebrating a famous, African-American lawyer, George Crockett.  The article goes into detail about Crockett's life; he went to the University of Michigan's law school, he founded the first interracial bar association in the U.S., he became the director of the Fair Employment Practices Department of the International United Auto Workers, and he was a judge in Detroit.  Crockett spent most of his career advocating civil rights.  He belonged the communist party, and he became a congressman for Michigan.  Crockett has been said to have “operated so far beyond the trenches that it was often decades before society caught up.”  Meaning he was a lawyer ahead of his time; someone to be admired and researched.  Crockett was dedicated, he "spent [his career] championing Civil Rights issues."  This shows that Crockett stood for something, and that something is what led him to go as far as he did.  Meaning, that one trait that helps someone in law go forward in the profession is having a passion.  

   This source is credible because the website was found from one of the given databases to search on.  It cites its sources and gives links to more information on individual parts used in the article.  The source was written somewhat, recently, in 2009.  The information used is well-documented.  

   This article will be used in my research in order to establish traits Crockett held that made him a good lawyer.  These traits will be compared to other lawyers.  For example, Crockett's goal was to increase civil rights; he had a passion.  Another lawyer may have sought after money; he would be greedy.  I would be able to compare which lawyer did better and after basing traits off of several lawyers be able to say which trait goes towards the best lawyer.  This source was very helpful, in that it showed me a famous attorney, whom I have not heard of previously. 

Annotated Bibliography 2

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/profiles/c/george-crockett.html

Source #____ Bibliography

Chapman, Lindsey. "Happy Birthday, George Crockett Jr., Lawyer, Politician and Civil Rights Activist." FindingDulcinea. 29 Jan. 2017. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.

Annotation:

This article is celebrating the first African-American lawyer hired by the Department of Labor.  What is important in this article is what made the man, George Crockett.  He was devoted to civil rights.  He sought out and education; he graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1934.  He faced diversity and had the ambition to climb up the ladder and become a judge. 

Potential Quotes:

“operated so far beyond the trenches that it was often decades before society caught up.”

“Much of Crockett’s career was spent championing Civil Rights issues.”

” An outspoken man who didn’t shy away from controversy, he passionately defended communist leaders, openly protested apartheid in South Africa and served as a Civil Rights activist.”

Assessment:

This source is credible because I found it using one of the websites given, findingDulcinea.  It provides sources for every bit of information it uses.  It lists who wrote it and when it was published.  The website is credible and the sources is lists are all from credible places, such as the New York Times, Blackpast.org, and the Biographical Directory of the United State. 

Reflection:

I will use this article to show why George Crockett went so far in life.  I will pick apart what made him the lawyer he turned into and why.  In the article, it lists all his experiences and what he stood for, I will use this to show that he had ambition.  Crockett knew what he wanted to do.  He also had a cause; he wanted to stand up for civil rights.  Crockett’s qualities are what made him a good lawyer. 

Components of Capstone

• I need and want to know this: (what is driving your research?)
• What is your current essential question (has it changed from when you wrote it earlier in the school year?  If it is the same, use that question for this portion of your proposal).
• Other than the required website, what other tools do you envision to best showcase your project ("Components of Final Project" attachment-look at #3 in this attachment)?
• What will you do for your "real inquiry" ("Components of Final Project" attachment- look at #5 in this attachment)?
    
       I want to know and understand what makes an attorney better than the rest, because I want to know if I should become an attorney.  So, my drive for my research in understanding what I want my future to be.  My current essential question, what I will be research is: What makes an attorney great?  To best showcase my project, I will make a multi-slide show that includes my research as well as create a web page to show-off what I've done.    To really look at my question, I will analyze well known lawyers throughout history and find out what their areas of strength were.  I will also compare these attorneys in order to find out what qualities the attorneys share.  I believe my research will ultimately let me know if I really do want to be an attorney because I will be able to thoroughly compare myself to other attorneys and decide what I want to become.