Matthew Daniels - Criminal Defense Clinic
Robyn Kish- Advice Desk
Richard Marcus - Family Law Clinic
Susana Ortiz - Criminal Defense Clinic
Robert Skowronski - Family Law Clinic

SUPPORT STAFF

Tracy Kish - Office Administrator - Room 614

Rosemary Alexander - Assistant Office Administrator - Room 616

Julia Copeland - Receptionist/Secretary - Front Desk

Lesle Head - Secretary to Family Law Clinic - Room 618

Elizabeth Koziol - Secretary to Gary Laser and Pam Kentra- Room 618

Carole Ross - Secretary to Vivien Gros and Jon Decatorsmith - Room 612

Florina Silva - Secretary to Richard Kling and Dan Coyne - Room 610

Norma Valle - Secretary to Richard Gonzalez and Ed Kraus- Room 612

Kathy Morgan Welch - Secretary to Laurie Leader and Matthew Bernstein- Room 610

FACILITIES

STUDENT WORK ROOMS

- Room 603 - Room 605

The student work rooms are to be used for working on case assignments and projects.

CONFERENCE ROOMS

- Room 601 - Room 602

- Room 604 - Room 635

The conference rooms are to be used for client interviews, depositions, and meetings. They must be booked through the receptionist. These rooms are "public" areas, so items should not be left in them overnight. Rooms 602 and 604 are used by the library after 5:00 p.m., as is room 635 after 6:00 p.m.; and anything left in them could disappear.

COPY MACHINE - Room 607

Do not attempt to remove jams or make repairs or adjustments yourself. The copy machine is to be used only for the reproduction of materials for Law Offices assignments. If you are not familiar with how to use this machine or have difficulties in its operation, ask one of the secretaries, Julia Copeland, or Tracy Kish to assist you. Our maintenance contract excludes repairs resulting from abuse to the machine. Student code numbers will be assigned for each student.

FAX MACHINE- Reception Area

The fax machine is to be used only for sending and receiving Law Offices faxes. When you send a fax, fill in the information (date, phone number, number of pages, and client name) on the log sheet which is located next to the fax machine. Dial 9 before the number for outside faxes.

STUDENT PRINTER- Room 601

The student printer is to be used only for the printing of Law Offices work related to cases. You must fill in the log next to the printer with date, your name, client name, and client number. This printer may not be used for any other personal or law school work. Please notify Julia Copeland or Tracy Kish if you have problems with the printer.

OFFICE SUPPLIES - Room 606

Office supplies are available to students for work related to case assignments and projects. Please request supplies from the receptionist at the front desk when you need them.

MAIL SLOTS/TELEPHONE MESSAGE SLOTS/E-MAIL MESSAGES (CHECK EACH DAILY)

Each student is assigned a mail slot in Room 605 and a telephone message slot which is located in Room 603. Mail and telephone slots and E-Mail must be checked daily for messages from your supervising attorney or other Law Offices' personnel.

If for any reason you will be unable to check your mail slot and phone message slot any business day, you should arrange for someone else to do so and relay any messages to you.

Students should use the telephones located in the student workrooms for incoming calls. If you expect clients to call you, tell the clients when you are in office to accept calls. This will alleviate the necessity of a client having to place several calls in order to reach you. The Law Offices' receptionist is not expected to take telephone messages for students.

COURT FORMS

All court forms and miscellaneous forms are located in the 2nd bank of filing drawers to the left (west) of room 615 as you face the files. Each drawer is appropriately marked with its contents. If you have trouble locating a form or you discover that we are out of a particular form, contact Kathy Morgan, Room 610. Also, do not use the last form in the file folder. Make a copy of it and let Kathy Morgan Welch know that we need more copies of the form.

FILE CONFIDENTIALITY

In order to maintain attorney-client confidentiality and the integrity of our files, the following policy shall be observed:

Absent the specific permission of your supervising attorney, no file shall be removed from Law Offices. In the event that you have checked with your supervising attorney, a file sign out sheet must be completed. The location and format of the file sign outs vary from attorney to attorney.

Additionally, you must be circumspect in discussing your cases with anyone but your supervising attorney or other "co-counsel" on the case. You are dealing with the lives, future, money, and other things important to your clients. Moreover, and aside from ethics and professional responsibility issues, a law office atmosphere is not generated when students are openly talking about their cases across the room, on the elevators, in the cafeteria, or elsewhere. Put yourself in the position of your client and imagine how you might feel if you walked into an unfamiliar area and heard a number of strangers discussing the intimate details of your life.

OFFICE PROCEDURES

Law Offices is the law school's in-house clinical legal education program. It provides clinical education to its student interns and legal services to its clients. Thus:

* Appropriate lawyer-like decorum is important not only because you and the attorneys need the quiet in order to carry out the day-to-day business of running a law office, but also because our clients expect and are entitled to such conduct.

* Law Offices does not provide you with supplies for your personal use or use in your other classes.

* Use of the telephone and fax is limited to calls related to Law Offices' work.

* Use of the photocopy machine is limited to Law Offices' work.

* Use of computers and student printer is limited to Law Offices' work.

* Clients and visitors to Law Offices expect this facility to look like a law office. THE STUDENT WORKROOMS MUST BE NEATLY KEPT. Please make sure that papers relating to cases are put back in the files, that files are returned to their appropriate file drawers, and that trash is put in waste paper baskets. This is your office and these are your clients.

STUDENT WORD PROCESSING

You must do as much of your own word processing as is practicable just as you would for any other course. The are 15 computers available in the student work rooms for students to use in Law Offices related work. Computers may not be used for personal work or work for other classes.

All word processing you complete should be forwarded to your supervising attorney's secretary via e-mail (F6 to attach a document). The e-mail should include the client's name and a description of the document you are sending. This way, the secretary will have access to any documents typed by the students in the case that she is asked to make revisions.

The computers are connected to a common laser printer located in Room 603. The printer is set up to count the number of pages printed by each student. Therefore, it is important for you to record every print job in the log next to the printer. The log will be compared to your individual account on a weekly basis.

Because of the high cost of the printer, toner cartridges, paper, etc., use of the printer is limited to Law Offices work. Unfortunately, it is not possible to allow you to print personal documents such as assignments from other classes, your resume, etc.

NOTE:If you need to have a secretary type a document, it must first be reviewed and approved by your supervising attorney. Please allow as much advance notice as possible for typing assignments. If you need anything mailed, the secretary will provide the postage and mail the document for you.

VOUCHERS

When you are asked to run a business errand for Law Offices, you will be expected to walk if there is time and the errand is within walking distance. Otherwise, you will be reimbursed at $0.405 per mile or public transportation fare. You are not reimbursed for taxi fare unless you receive prior approval from your supervising attorney, Tracy Kish or Rosemary Alexander.

Students will be reimbursed for other expenditures only if they have prior approval from their supervising attorney, Tracy Kish or Rosemary Alexander.

All reimbursements require written vouchers and original receipts.

To be reimbursed for an expenditure, obtain a petty cash voucher from Rosemary Alexander. Fill in the voucher, have your attorney initial the voucher, and return the voucher and original receipt to Rosemary Alexander.

FEES/COSTS/CHECKS

The attorneys of Law Offices charge their clients fees. The attorneys are responsible for collecting all fees. You should not accept or handle fees unless your supervising attorney has instructed you to do so. Filing fees and case costs are usually collected prior to any expenditure of funds on behalf of clients. All money transactions with or concerning clients must be recorded in the case file and reported on proper forms with relevant receipts to Rosemary Alexander.

If you need to have checks written for court costs, deposition transcripts, etc., you must first fill out a check request voucher and have it initialed by your supervising attorney. Checks cannot be written unless funds are available in the client trust account. Check request forms may be obtained from Rosemary Alexander. Rosemary will make out the checks for you when you give her the check request form. You should submit the check request at least two days before you need the check to ensure it is ready for you.

IN-HOUSE CLINIC STUDENT REQUIREMENTS

The In-House Clinic program is a three or four credit ungraded course for which you will receive a grade of Pass, Low Pass, Fail, or Incomplete. Students are assigned to supervising attorneys and practice groups. Please note: Advice Desk can only be taken for 2 credits and Intellectual Property can only be taken for 3 credits.

If you are enrolled for three credit hours, you will be expected to put in a minimum of 168 hours at the rate of 12 hours per week for the fall or spring semesters; 24 hours per week for the summer semester. If you are enrolled for four credit hours, you will be expected to put in a minimum of 224 hours at the rate of 16 hours per week for the fall or spring semesters; 32 hours per week for the summer semester. Your hours should be completed by the last day of classes for the semester. (See section below on Time Sheets.) These hours are spent in the activities described below.

Course work includes primarily work done on client cases, or similar projects that are assigned to you by your supervising attorney. It also includes the practice group lectures held periodically, supervising attorney conferences scheduled at various times to discuss case assignments and projects, section meetings to discuss designated topics, office duty which is described below, various interviewing experiences, and some written assignments requiring research and multiple drafts as well as short memoranda or legal pleadings.

Sometimes your course work will require your attendance at places other than the Law School, i.e., to attend a trial, to attend a deposition, to attend an administrative court hearing, to interview a client, or to investigate the facts of a client's case. Some weeks may require more hours than the average, while others may require less. It might be necessary for you to do some of your work in the evenings, on the weekends, or during your holiday and vacation times. As is generally true in the practice of law, you will be expected to be somewhat flexible to meet the needs of your clients and your supervising attorney.

From time to time in Law Offices your assignments may be supervised by attorneys other than your supervising attorney. The other attorneys with whom you work will critique and evaluate your work in the same manner as your supervising attorney. You should maintain the same standards for any assignment that is given you, whether or not it is for your supervising attorney.

Because of the varying needs of our clients, it is not possible to set out a specific list of tasks that each student will be required to perform nor to give you a completely objective standard by which you will be judged. You are learning to become lawyers, and you must begin to think like lawyers in the sense of having your reward be the satisfactory completion of your client's work, rather than a grade at the end of an examination. It cannot be overemphasized that you will be judged on your ability to act in the same professionally responsible manner as an attorney would act.

OFFICE DUTY - IN-HOUSE CLINIC I STUDENTS ONLY

Each in-house Clinic I student is required to sign up for office duty consisting of one hour per week in the fall and spring semesters and two hours per week in the summer semester. This is a regularly scheduled time period. Attendance at your regularly scheduled time is mandatory. You should sign up for office duty during the mandatory meeting at the beginning of the semester, or with the receptionist (at the front desk) during the first week of classes. Office duty begins on the first day of classes for a semester and ends on the last day of regularly scheduled classes for a semester.

While you are on office duty, you will be available to perform a variety of tasks for Law Office attorneys or their secretaries. These may include service and filing of pleadings, researching points of law which can be looked up quickly, copying documents, and such other clerking and office responsibilities as may be necessary.

Satisfactory completion of office duty involves arriving for your regularly scheduled hour on time, signing the check-in sheet with our receptionist, looking in your phone message box, checking in your student mailbox, picking up assignments from the receptionist, the attorneys, or the secretaries, and remaining available in Law Offices for the entire time (when not on assignment) in the event that there may be an additional assignment. If you show up for office duty more than 5 minutes late, you will be considered absent. If you fail to attend your regularly scheduled two hour office duty session during the summer, you will receive two absences.

An excused absence is permitted only if you request it prior to the time you are on office duty. If you wish your absence to be excused, inform Tracy Kish or Rosemary Alexander, preferably in writing. They will forward your excuse to Gary S. Laser, who in his sole discretion will decide whether your absence will be excused. If Professor Laser is not available to make the decision prior to the time of your office duty, he will decide shortly thereafter whether the absence was excused. Attending meetings or going to court with a Law Offices attorney does not count for your student duty time. If you wish to attend meetings or court appearances, or will be absent for any reason, you must make arrangements for another student to take your place during that time, advise the receptionist that you will be absent, and give her the name of the person who will be replacing you. If your replacement does not show up for office duty, you will be charged with the absence.

If you have any unexcused absences from office duty, see section below on In-house Clinic Grade.

TIME SHEETS

All students are required to log time sheets on a daily basis and hand them in on a weekly basis. Time sheets fulfill three purposes. The first is to enable the supervising attorneys to monitor each student's educational program. The second is to enable Law Offices to bill for student time in certain cases. In order to submit an accurate bill to the client or a fee petition to the court, we need verification of student time through the daily time sheets. Third, it is important for most attorneys to get in the habit of keeping contemporaneous time sheets.

The following activities should be filled in on your time sheets to complete your semester time requirements:

* course work (i.e., your individual work on case assignments or projects requested by your supervising attorney), and court observations.

* preparation and attendance at the fieldwork class;

* preparation and attendance at supervising attorney conferences;

* preparation and attendance at section meetings; and

* office duty.

The following activities may NOT be included on your time sheets time:

* travel to and from school;

* timesheet preparation.

Time sheets must be filled out daily. Blank time sheets are kept in the file folder marked "Time Sheets" located in Room 605. You are responsible for photocopying additional forms as you need them. Give the sheets to your supervising attorney's secretary and keep a copy of your time sheets for your records. (See EXHIBIT A ).

Your completed Daily Time Records are due by 12 noon each Monday for the preceding week. However, if you hand in your timeslips receipt after 12 noon on Tuesday for the preceding week or for any time prior to the preceding week, you must give them to Rosemary Alexander. Timesheets will be treated as late if they are turned in after 12 noon on Tuesday. Please note you must hand in a time sheet for each week of the semester. If you did not put in hours during a week, turn in a time sheet and indicate zero hours. If any of your time sheets, including ones with zero hours, are late, see In-house Clinic Grade Below.

Your timesheets should include all the activities you worked on during the period covered by the timesheet which you may use to satisfy your 168-hour or 224-hour semester time commitment. Such activities include: course work (i.e., your individual work on case assignments or projects assigned by your supervising attorney), and court observations; preparation and attendance at practice group meetings; preparation and attendance at supervising attorney conferences; preparation and attendance at section meetings; and office duty.

If you falsify your timesheet in any way, e.g. recording more hours than you actually worked on particular entries, or recording time for work on activities which you did not do, you will be subject to disciplinary action as provided by in the Chicago-Kent Code of Conduct set forth in the Chicago-Kent Student Handbook, and of course, such time will not be used to fulfill your 168-hour or 224-hour commitment.

IN-HOUSE CLINIC GRADE

You will receive a grade of PASS, LOW PASS, FAIL, or INCOMPLETE for the course.

If you have three or four unexcused absences from office duty ("unexcused absences"), if three or four of your time sheets are handed in late ("late time sheets"), or if you have a combination of three or four unexcused absences and late time sheets, you will receive a grade of LOW PASS. If you have a combination of five or more unexcused absences and late time sheets, you will receive a grade of FAIL.

You may receive a grade of INCOMPLETE if you do not have the minimum number of hours or if you fail to turn in your magnetic door card.

If you fail to complete one or more of your fieldwork assignments in a competent, ethical, and timely manner, you may receive a grade of INCOMPLETE or a FAIL in the course, even if you have put in the minimum required hours for the semester. If you receive an INCOMPLETE, you will be required to complete an additional assignment after the semester is over to receive a grade of PASS or LOW PASS in the course.

IN-HOUSE SENIOR LAW STUDENTS

If you are eligible for an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license, you must have each of your clients complete a Client Consent To Be Represented By Supervised Senior Law Student form. Unless your supervising attorney has special forms, use the blank form in the client file. Extra copies are available in the file cabinet in Room 605. (See EXHIBIT B; See also People v. Schlaiss attached as EXHIBIT C which underscores the importance of receiving the client's consent to be represented by a Rule 711 student).

LAWYERING TASKS AND RESUMES

The attached EXHIBIT D is the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct.

The attached EXHIBIT E is a memo prepared by Gary Laser describing the obligations of law students and their supervising attorneys under the Illinois Rules of Professional Responsibility with regard to the lawyering tasks delegated to the law students who have not received an Illinois Supreme Court Rule 711 license.

The attached EXHIBIT F is a memo prepared by Gary Laser regarding how students should describe their clinical education experiences on their resumes.

STUDENT COURT APPEARANCES FOR REQUESTING CONTINUANCES

During the semester, there are times when you will be asked to make a court appearance on your own to request a continuance. Attached as EXHIBITS G,H, and I are a memo and supporting documents which you should study prior to making the appearance. These materials provide you with a legal analysis of why you have the authority to make such a court appearance in the absence of your supervising attorney.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR
CRIMINAL LITIGATION PRACTICE GROUP STUDENTS

CLIENT CONTACT

Contact with your clients is imperative for a number of reasons. You are expected to contact your client (if not in custody) or your client's family the night before every court appearance on the case. This insures that your client and his/her family are regularly apprised of the status of the case. With respect to clients who are out on bond, it also insures the client's presence in court and avoids bond forfeiture. If your client or his/her family is inaccessible by telephone, plan ahead! Either write or, with the permission of your supervising attorney, mailgram or telegram the required court information to your client so that he or she gets that information before the scheduled court date.

Additionally, whether or not your client is in custody, you are expected to visit with your client, either in person or at least by pre-arranged telephone conference, at least once between court dates.

HOW TO LOCATE A CLIENT WHO IS IN PRISON

Occasionally you will be asked to find a client of ours who is in custody. Attached as EXHIBIT J is a short memo containing appropriate telephone numbers and the procedures to follow.

PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW IN SUBPOENAING RECORDS

FROM THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT

One of the more common tasks you will do with the clinic is the preparation and service of subpoenas in criminal cases.

EXHIBIT K (see links below) are memos that take you through the process. When you are assigned this task, read these pages. If you still have a question, ask one of the more advanced students in your section or Practice Group. If you still have a question, ask one of the secretaries. If you still have a question, then and only then should you ask your supervising attorney.

Subpoenas requesting:

Officer Services
Pathological Protocol
Records
Recorded Tapes
Other

FILE HOUSEKEEPING

While it is expected that you will be in court each time your case is in court, whether or not you are actually there, you are responsible for maintaining the file jacket. That means you must enter appropriate information concerning what happened in court, the next expected court date, any motions made or filed, any orders entered, etc. Also, fill in the back of the file jacket reflecting any interviews, conferences, or telephone conversations with witnesses, family members, clients, co-counsel, opposing counsel, etc. Not only does this keep the lawyers, including yourself, fully apprised of the status of the case, but in the event there is a need at some time in the future, the time spent working on the case can be reconstructed, verified, and substantiated by using the file jacket as a record.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO
THE REMAINING PRACTICE GROUP STUDENTS

The supervising attorney will furnish you with special instructions for the Employment/Civil Rights, Tax, Mediations, and Health Practice Group.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO

STUDENTS WISHING TO TAKE LAW OFFICES
FOR A SECOND SEMESTER

Students in the LADR program must take at least two semesters of an in-house clinic or combination of in-house clinic and judicial extermship course. Non-LADR students may enroll for more than two semesters of the in-house clinic only if they receive permission from Professor Laser. Students not in the LADR program must meet the following criteria if they wish to be considered for in-house Law Offices for a second semester (called continuing students).

1. Submit a completed Law Offices= application indicating the desire to take Law Offices for a second semester;

2. submit the application by the appropriate due date for each semester;

3. apply to continue in the same division with the same supervising attorney; and

4. receive the supervising attorney's recommendation.

Priority will be given to continuing students only if they wish to continue in the same practice group and if they mark that practice group as their first choice. Please note: Students MAY NOT change supervising attorneys within the same division. Students who wish to or must change from one division to another have to go through the lottery again.

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