Another insight that came to me while looking at my resume is how I enjoyed:

8) working on behalf of children / students – in law school, I worked on behalf of more than 30 children to free them from state custody to return to their families, and in college, I was a Court Appointed Special Advocate to give the court my recommendations about the grandmother’s custody of her two grandkids

In fact, the best thing I accomplished while I was in law school was getting a handwritten letter back from one of the kids I represented. I remember her immediately jaded reactions at such a young age to my introductory list of questions – what’s your SSN blah blah – practically rolling her eyes at me, but with just the barest hint of hopefulness. She was clearly a lot more intelligent than the other children I had spoken to by the way she quickly answered my questions. But I still remember how she got almost teary when asked where she wanted to be, and she talked about being able to be back with her father and what they would do together if she was released.

I ended the interview by telling her she was a smart girl and that I couldn’t promise anything but that I would do my best. She was thankful and just the smallest bit hopeful. The letter she wrote back to me said that she was so thankful to be back with her father and that she wanted to grow up to be a lawyer just like the nice lady who had helped her. I was so touched but I left the letter at the clinic so that it would be for everyone to see and to be honest, I didn’t really think much about it. I don’t think I even copied it, which is too bad. I wonder if it’s still there, somewhere.

But looking back now, I have no doubt that short interview with her changed her life. I don’t know how I got from there to here. I’ve learned a lot over the years about how complex custodial situations can be and I wonder if I would have done what she asked if I was as jaded now as those social workers may have been then. But I’m glad I did.

I wonder what happened to the professor who led us and if he still does the same work. Maybe I’ll find out.