Long Term Project

While interning, I am working on a long term project with the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center. I'm creating an outline for probono lawyers who deal with domestic violence cases, but may not know exactly what is involved. In this outline I'm including the basic laws of West Virginia concerning domestic violence; what kinds of questions should be asked when meeting your client; what to do if you only have five minutes with a client prior to the hearing; and what to expect during and after the hearing.

When I began this project, I tried to put myself in a lawyer's shoes who may not be familiar with domestic violence in West Virginia. I thought what I would want included in an outline to get an idea about what to expect and what to do. I began my research on West Virginia Benchbook's website to understand the laws on domestic violence. When I began reading the benchbook, I felt overwhelmed with the information being given to me. At first I couldn't understand what it was trying to explain since it was in "lawyer talk." I quickly realized I would have to break this down (or not), depending on what kind of language I will have to use for the kind of audience who will use this outline. After the first couple of pages, though, I began to feel more comfortable with the benchbook.

It took me a couple days to go through the whole book and write down everything I though was or could be important. Let's just say I wrote entirely too much information down (but better safe than sorry). I am now in the beginning stages of taking out the most important information from what I've collected from the benchbook and will begin creating rough drafts of different possible outlines.

While this doesn't need to be finished until the end of my internship, it is an on-going project that is going to test my ability to work freely on my own and come up with an outline that I would feel comfortable with. It's difficult not knowing exactly what is expected from this project, but it makes it a challenge that I am more than willing to take on. In the end, my research, interview, planning, and writing skills will have improved and this outline will be the proof of it.