Wednesay February 28, 2007

Even though I love everyday at my co-op today was even better. Today I got to call interpreters for three different languages, Twi, Somalian and Albanian. At first I was nervous then I kept telling myself that it's ok you can do it. Then when I actually picked up the phone to call the first person I'm pretty sure they could tell that I was nervous and that I was a first timer because if I were them I would so be able to tell as well. Then after that I went to a case of assault where which was pretty interesting then I went to a robbery case, which was a lot more interesting. Then after that at the end of the day I got to interview the Crown Attorney, Richard Garwood Jones, from the robbery case. I found it really interesting because it made me want to be a Crown Attorney in the future, it I become a criminal lawyer. Heres how the interview went:

1. Schaunda: How did you become interested in being a lawyer/the field of law?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• I went to University to finish my Bachelor of Arts also known as B.A.
• My childhood hero, Ken Dryden, who was a hockey player but is now a politician/lawyer.

2. Schaunda: What steps did you have to take to become a lawyer?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• I went to undergraduate for politics.
• Then after I went to Law School for 3 years.
• Then I did my Bar Admission Test for 6 months.
• Then I did articling for one year.

3. Schaunda: Did you always know you wanted to be a Crown Attorney?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• No the criminal defense attorney I was articling with recommended it to me.

4. Schaunda: How many year did you spend in police school?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Police schooling took me 2 1/2 years

5. Schaunda: Which did you like better, being a police or a lawyer?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Being a police were the greatest years of my life.
• Being a lawyer is very interesting, so are the working conditions.
• The field of law is also a lot of sacrifice.

6. Schaunda: What made you switch over?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Well, Crowns work with the police very closely.
• The first year I wanted to try being a police so I tried that.
• Second year I wanted to try being a lawyer then I tried that.

7. Schaunda: Do you miss the days of being a police?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Yes, it's a different experience and different working environment.

8. Schaunda: Would you say being a criminal defense attorney/Crown Attoney a lot more dangerous than being a police officer?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Not at all. Being a police is at a higher risk than being a defense criminal lawyer.

9. Schaunda: What influenced you to make these decisions?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Experience, it opened my eyes.
• Going on the overnight cruiser.
• Reading about what lawyers do, how they have to be organized and be prepared.

10. Schaunda: How many cases does a lawyer have a day?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Depends where they are assigned. A lawyer has multiple trials a day such as sentencing, bails hearing and in quest hearings (which is when some is killed/dies during a hearing. They work ALL the time.

11. Schaunda: Do lawyers get to travel a lot?

Richard Garwood Jones:

• Crown Attorney works away all the time, 24/7 like a police does. They also work very closely with the police. But no, there is not very much travelling.

And of course I thanked him for his time and that was the end of that. I found that to be a great eye opener because now I know I definately want to become lawyer. Now all that's left is for me is to choose what time of lawyer I want to become, family or criminal lawyer.

Tuesday February 27, 2007

Today was good. Myself, my supervisor and the other co-op student had to transfer all the search warrants from the other boxes to new one's so they could be shipped to archiving company. That took a lot of time but we still managed to get everything done. It was fun and felt like the first time I started all over again, took a while to do everything but still managed to get it done. During this process they taught us how to make the boxes and how to enter new documents that come to the courts it was really interesting. But I won't be using that for a while, so the when the time comes I will be taught or refreshed on how to use it again.

Monday February 26, 2007

Today in co-op I finished filing/archiving all the search warrants from the 1980's to 2004. As well, I watched a case about assault once again. It was pretty interesting because it was kind of like the modern teenage high school relationship drama, also it kept my interest and kept me hanging because each second I kept thinking, whats going to happen next and I couldn't wait for the lawyers to make the next move, it was good case, one that I would love to see the outcome.

Week #1 Journal Entry

The first few days are over and I feel more comfortable in my environment and so far more encouraged to be a lawyer. I learned many new things from the people that I work around. When I first got there I thought that I was going to fail at everything and that I was going to have a hard time going what was expected of me, but I proved myself wrong. I found that when you have more confidence in yourself you have the ability to a lot more than you and others thought you could do.

I made a good first impression when I showed up 25 minutes early for my interview and kept showing up early throughout the week. As well as when I called in to notify them because I thought I was going to be late. I really liked it when I went there and they greeted me with open arms and accepted me gladly in their working environment.

At my placement appropriate dress and grooming means dressing professionally, appropriate and comfortable as well as for the occasion. My duties as I already mentioned include filing, working on the computer (with Microsoft office tools, all of them), calling in for interpreters when the time comes, organizing and showing up on time and keeping my role at my placement.

There are two different sizes in courtrooms at my placement, the smaller courtroom


and the larger courtroom
.

One courtroom doesn't have any hierarchy over the other about what case goes to what courtroom. The process to enter a courtroom is pretty simple. You open the doors quietly, then walk in quietly. Following that you bow at the Queen's crest which is above the judge's head then you may take a seat. Then when you're leaving you get up quietly, bow then you leave the room quietly. A major rule is to NEVER discuss anything you heard or saw with anyone when you leave the courtroom as there will most likely be witnesses sitting just outside the doors.

Friday February 23, 2007

Today I arrived at co-op a little bit earlier than usual. When I got there I went straight into working. Archived about 6 boxes and then started a new one. There were no cases going on today, but hopefully we will be getting some newer more interesting ones next week.

Thursday February 22, 2007

My day at co-op started out like every other day did, arrived at around 11:15, ate lunch and at approximately 11:30 it was time to work. Today I managed to finish organizing all the exhibits and started a new box of search warrants. Unfortunately there were no cases going on in court. Nevertheless it was still a good day, and once againg I managed to make a fun day out of it. After leaving english and math, not that theres anything wrong with them, it was good to go to something that I'm very passionate about. After I finished organizing, I got to do some paper stredding which was interesting because they let me read pver some stuff before I shredded them, but of course it was my decision if I wanted to or not. Following that, I went to the room with all the boxes of search warrants and I started filing again. But because I got a hang of what I had to do this box took a little less time. As a result, that allowed me to start more boxes so that I won't be spending everyday of four months to be doing filing of the same thing. Then at 3:15, I was allowed to go home. Which is a good, because filing and have to put everything in chronological order is REALLY hard, never thought so before, but it is 100% true.

Wednesay February 21, 2007

Here is the third day at the law office, well i FINALLY finished filing one box and I'm starting a new one. But one REALLY interesting new job that I have gotten was organizing all the exhibits used in cases before and cases that are going on now. Although the working space isn't so comfortable, it is still really interesting because I get to actually visualize the different exhibits that have been used and trust me you name it, it was there. At first I was kind of scared because everything that ran through my mine was "will there be guns, oh my gosh what go I do if there is?" "What if I touched the trigger and it goes off." Stupid little things like that. But it was all good, because my supervisor re-assured me that even if there is, theres nothing inside them anyways but just be careful because they are pretty heavy. And again, the work space was a cramped little room, but I still made the best out of it. Today was different because I never knew how much fun it would be to actually work around lawyers. Before I usually thought, "why do I wanna become a lawyer. All they do is work, work, work and they so boring and have no fun." But the lawyers that were around me were nothing like that. They were all laughing, telling jokes enjoying themselves. It was kind of like they weren't even lawyers, or even professionals. Until you see them in the courtroom.

Tuesday February 20, 2007

It is now Tuesday the 20th a start to a new day, the second day of my co-op. This day was a little different from yesterday's day. This is because I was a bit more familiar with the atmosphere and the people, who seem to be very kind, supportive, helpful and nice. But there was no time for "chit-chat" because in a law office you HAVE to get your work done in an organized and neat way. But it was nothing I couldn't handle. But they aren't as hard on co-op students as they are on the people who actually work there, nevertheless, I still do play an important role at my placement, because they depend on me to be there to get all their filing done and all the other stuff they are going to throw at me, so my duties are basically similiar to secretarial duties. Anyways, today I got to finish watching the cas I was watching yesterday, but I also had to keep in mind that I have other responsibilities like finishing everything I started before I get to go home. Overall, I'm really enjoying myself so far. I hope it stays the same. As well, so far I D E F I N A T E LY still want to be a lawyer, a family or criminal lawyer those have been the most interesting ones I've come across so far.

Monday February 19, 2007

On Monday February 19, 2007, it was my first day ever being in a law office as apart of the "working crowd". It started out pretty slow, at first I was shy, wasn't really familiar with anyone there, except really my supervisor, who I have only met once before. There wasn't anything planned for me that so I was told to go watch some case going on in court, there was a choice of an impaired driving case or an assault causing bodily harm case. I went to the first one which wasn't really anything I was interested in, so I went to the second case after it had returned from recess. It was quite interesting. After the case was finished I talked to my supervisor and asked what I would be doing then she told me over the course of the four months that I would be there, I would be doing filing. And man were there a number of serious boxes in one little tiny room that I have to share with another person. So, I decided to get a head start on the filing of one box, which by the way consisted A L O T of search warrants from the 80's. By the time it was three I was barely done one box, so Cheryl, my supervisor told me to just continue with it another time.

Today was fairly different from my other days in co-op.

Today I went to my placement for an interview,

which went well. I got accepted and will be starting on Monday.

I am looking forward to starting and getting the experience I need

to reassure myself that being a lawyer is the career

I really want to persue. My responsibilities will include filing

and most likely working on the computer. I am also

responsible for keeping confidenciality. The people I

will be working with seem to be really nice and supportive.

Therefore, I don't think being at my placement

is going to be a horrible experience.

Work Update

Today in class, we worked on and finished

our cover letters and resume's.

It was a hard but manageable task,

but I managed to get it done.

Following that, we worked on an assignment

that tells us the advantages and disadvantages

of having a union, as well as the definition of a union.

Today in class we had guest speakers came in

to teach us how to make a proper resume,

as well as a cover letter,

as well as what to do and what not to do during an interview.

This was beneficial,because it helped me sort of prepare myself

for my interview as a lawyer's assistant. it was very educational,

and was also something I could take along with me in the future

for great help and advice.

Today's Work

Today in co-op we did the passport to safety test.

We also learned how to make a blog.