Working in a Law Office – A Law Clerk’s Reflections on Working In-Person
Working in a Law Office – A Law Clerk’s Reflections on Working In-Person
Chicago, IL
September 21, 2022
By Gilma Bernal
While the legal field is moving towards a remote-based world, I am thankful that I clerked in-person at Hall Prangle and Schoonveld over the summer.
Part of the beauty of being in-person is the ability to sense the intangibles that come with being at a firm. The energy in the office shifted on the eve of a trial. There was a palpable change as the trial team prepared for openings. Each day was a new and unexpected challenge. HPS’s law clerks were able to get firsthand experience of the fast-paced work of a law firm on trial. We were even able to contribute, researching case law related to burdens of production.
We law clerks were also able to witness HPS attorneys Marilee Clausing and Molly Pankauskas in the courtroom. They represented two obstetricians who provided treatment and care of a baby and mother. We were able to observe Marilee during her opening statement. What stood out to me was the narrative structure that Marilee, Molly and all the other HPS attorneys, paralegals and law clerks had prepared, and Marilee’s presentation of it to the jury. Marilee maintained respect and empathy for the plaintiff. Yet, she remained committed to defending her clients by describing the evidentiary support for the doctors into a compelling narrative.
Trials and casework made a busy summer for all the HPS attorneys. Still, HPS’s law clerks were encouraged to attend depositions. We learned firsthand about the different types of witnesses and their legal classifications (lay witnesses, controlled expert witnesses, etc.). We learned the different ways that attorneys need to prepare for each class of witness. We observed how HPS attorneys conducted different types of depositions, which gave us gave us insight into the strategy and approach that HPS was going to bring to the different cases. Importantly, the depositions gave us an opportunity to see how different attorneys including plaintiff’s counsel, elicited testimony.
HPS has been a wonderful place for me to learn about trial and medical malpractice defense. As a rising second-year law student, my summer was full of meaningful experiences that allowed me to develop my skills and learn from great legal practitioners.
Gilma Bernal is in her second year at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Over the summer of 2022, she was a law clerk in Hall Prangle and Schoonveld’s Chicago Office.