TRIAL PRACTICE CLINIC POLICIES


Larry McDonough

Visiting Professor of Law

Hamline University School of Law

1536 Hewitt Avenue, Room 213W

St. Paul, MN 55104

651-523-2472

Fax 651-523-2400

http://hamlinetpc.homestead.com/

lmcdonough02@hamlineuniversity.edu


(Based on materials prepared by the late Clinic Director Angie McCaffrey)


TABLE OF CONTENTS

I.         INTRODUCTION

 

II.        THE CLINIC OFFICE

 

III.       WORK FLOW

 

IV.      FILE MAINTENANCE AND CLINIC FORMS

 

V.        SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS AND INTERPRETER

 

VI.      MAINTAINING CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

 

VII.     AVOIDING CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS

 

VIII.    

 

CLOSING MEMO AND FINAL CLIENT LETTER GUIDELINES

 

IX.      COURSE AND SELF-EVALUATION

 

X.        MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CLINIC OPERATIONS

 

XI.      STANDARD TPC FORMS



 


I.         INTRODUCTION


Welcome to the Trial Practice Clinic.


Students will represent clients with housing cases under the supervision of Visiting Clinical Professor Larry McDonough.


The classroom component will be devoted to discussion of the cases you are working on, ethical issues that arise, necessary litigation skills, and the means by which lawyers can integrate the development of a professional role with their values.


Much of your class time and time spent with your supervisor will focus on learning and practicing effective self-evaluation. The reality is that much of your professional learning -- particularly in the area of practical skills -- takes place after you leave law school. To be an effective advocate, it is critical that you develop both the habit and the ability to observe yourself and other attorneys in a careful, thoughtful manner. You are expected to engage your supervisor and classmates in critique of your work, and you should strive to use self-evaluation, as well as critique by others, to improve your future performances. The course emphasis on self-directed learning demands that you adequately prepare for and actively participate in classroom case discussions and simulations. In addition, at the mid-point of the semester, you will complete a self-evaluation questionnaire which you will review with your supervisor.


The clients of the Trial Practice Clinic are all low-income persons. Primary responsibility for the legal welfare of the client rests with you! The TPC has high standards and strives to provide the highest quality legal services possible. This requires your hard work and diligence.


All TPC case work is performed by students under the supervision of Professor McDonough. Each student will meet once a week with Professor McDonough to review updated ticklers, work for that week and plans for the next week. Check with Professor McDonough before sending out any written materials and before giving any oral legal advice. Client confidences must be strictly maintained. Students will decide what legal work needs to be performed for clients in consultation with Professor McDonough. The following written documents are required for each of your cases:

 

            A.        For all new cases, a typed summary of the initial interview.

 

            B.        A proposed weekly tickler (under “Forms” on TWEN) to review with Professor McDonough at each weekly meeting.

 

            C.        A timesheet listing date, hours and all work performed (under “Forms” on TWEN). NOTE: Each student should maintain a separate timesheet for each file they work on.

 

            D.        Draft direct exam, cross exam, brief, and closing argument.

 

            E.        Letters to client and landlord as needed.

 

            F.        A closing or transfer letter to the client. The purpose of this letter is to say goodbye to the client and summarize your actions over the past semester.


Students’ legal practice is governed by a Supreme Court Rule (Rule 2 Clinical Student Practice)

 

II.        THE CLINIC OFFICE


The Clinic Office, Room 214 W (located on the second floor across from the Law Library), is available for your use for working on Clinic cases. The Clinic Office is usually unlocked from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For after hours entry, you will be given a lockbox code to obtain a key.


Vickie Jauert is the Clinic/Skills Programs Administrator. Her office is Room 212 W, next to the Clinic; her phone number is 651-523-2140. Sue McBrayer is the Clinic Secretary. Her desk is in the Clinic Office; her phone number is 651-523-2898. She will be doing most of the typing and secretarial assistance for our Clinic. Please consult with her if you have questions regarding Clinic procedures or supplies, computer use, GroupWise, copying, etc.


The Clinic Office has two interview rooms (each with a phone and computer station) and a student work area (with an additional phone, computer stations, and fax machine for local faxes only). The Trial Practice Clinic will primarily be using Interview Room A (214 A), which does have a direct telephone number, 651-523-2070, and a voice messaging system so that your clients will be able to leave a message. However, you are responsible for checking the voicemail daily. The Clinic phones are to be used for local calls only; for long distance calls, you must make arrangements with Sue or Vickie (or Professor McDonough) to use a different phone. Alternatively, you may obtain a long distance calling card from Sue or Vickie. The phones in the interview rooms have speakers (to allow multiple participants in a single room to participate in a phone conversation). All of the Clinic phones have 3rd party conference call capability. However, conference calls requiring more than three participants on three different lines are prohibitively expensive. Please do not initiate such calls without approval of Professor McDonough.

    

Client files are located in the black file cabinets in the center of the Clinic Office. Open cases are in the two cabinets immediately adjacent to the student work area. The files are arranged alphabetically by Clinic. Some files are in large folders with many sub-parts. Please be sure to keep the entire file together in the large expandable brown external folder so no parts are lost.


In addition, please take great care to assure client confidentiality. Never leave a file or client papers unattended in the Clinic Office or anywhere else in the building. Be especially attentive to how you handle superseded drafts of pleadings and correspondence. If you intend something to be thrown away, make sure it gets into the Clinic paper shredder.


Avoid taking files out of the Clinic Office unless absolutely necessary. If you must take a file out of the office to somewhere else in the building, you must fill in the file sign-out sheet in the folder on top of the file cabinets. Note: Except for court appearances, you should never take files out of the Law School Building.


You will be assigned a mailbox in the Clinic Office. It is critical that you check your box every day. Messages from Professor McDonough and your clients will be put in your box, as well as mail, and work you have requested from the secretarial staff. On those days when you are not at the law school, please call or email Sue McBrayer for your messages (smcbray01@gw.hamline.edu, 651-523-2898).


The Clinic is a very nice space but it is limited. Please do not use the Clinic Office or interview rooms to study in. It is critical that the rooms be available for client interviews and work on cases. Also because of client confidentiality concerns, never bring a non-clinic friend into the Clinic. Please do not use Sue McBrayer’s desk at any time as it is her personal space. Thank you!

 

III.       WORK FLOW


We try as much as possible to function like a regular law office. In the most practical sense, that means we have serious time, personnel, and monetary constraints! As a general rule, you can expect 24-hour turn-a-round on correspondence and short memos. For longer projects, please give Professor McDonough and the secretarial staff advance notice regarding your needs and deadlines.


The procedure we would like you to use for producing written product depends on how you work and the work product:


If you are using a computer in the Clinic Office:

 

         Type up your document;

 

Store it in your personal sub-directory on the U:\ drive Footnote which Sue will create for you (give it a name that you will remember);

 

Print out a hard copy of the document and put it in Professor McDonough’s mailbox in the Clinic Office with the pink “Incoming Assignment" sheet filled out (under “Forms” on TWEN); create a footer on your document that gives the file name and path so that Professor McDonough and the Clinic Secretary can find the document to edit.

 

Professor McDonough will review your draft and either return it to you for revisions or pass it on to Sue for final typing.


Instructions for Inserting Footers into Documents, Word Instructions

 

First, you have to save the document to your personal sub-directory on the U:\ drive.

 

Go under File à Save As

 

Click on “Shared U:\ drive” à LAW à LAWYER à YOUR CLINIC à Your Folder (1st initial and last name)

 

Go under view, choose “header/footer”, then click in the footer area.

 

Once in the footer area, change the font size to 8pt. Then, in the Header and Footer Toolbar, choose insert auto text, and choose filename and path. Close the toolbar and make sure you save the document again to add these changes.

 

If you are using a computer without network capability: (the “next best method"):

 

Type up your document;

 

Store it in your personal sub-file on the hard drive of the computer you are using (give it a name that you will remember);

 

Also, store the document on a Flash Drive or email the document to Sue and assign it a name you will remember;

 

Print out a hard copy of the document and put it in Professor McDonough’s mailbox in the Clinic Office with the pink "Incoming Assignment" sheet filled out (under “Forms” on TWEN). Tape the flash drive to the pink sheet. Make sure you write on the pink sheet where the Clinic Secretary can find the file on the attached flash drive. If you use word processing software other than MS Word, write the name of the software on the pink sheet.

 

NOTE: With so many people using the Clinic computers and computer labs, the Clinic has been hit hard by crippling computer viruses. Always scan a disk before beginning your work on a Clinic computer (virus scanning software is installed and runs with a single click of an icon);

 

Professor McDonough will review your draft and either return it to you for revisions or pass it on to Sue for final typing.

 

IV.                              FILE MAINTENANCE AND CLINIC FORMS

 

Good record-keeping is an important skill for an attorney to develop and maintain.

 

It should be possible for Professor McDonough to look at a client file at any time and be able to discern an accurate and up-to-date chronology of the case. To make this possible, each client contact or other work on the case should be documented on a Record of Conversation/Conference form (under “Forms” on TWEN). All papers should be acroclipped into the file.

 

It is your job to sub-divide client files as your work progresses. The following sub-files are recommended:

 

Administrative and Intra-office Memoranda

 

Records of Conversations/Conference, results of factual investigations, etc.

 

Correspondence

Legal Research

Pleadings

Old Ticklers

 

You should also create a sub-file of all your rough drafts of correspondence, memoranda, and pleadings. That way you have a complete record of the history of your work on the case. You should create a docket sheet for your pleadings sub-file briefly describing each document filed with a court or administrative agency, as well as the date of filing.

 

Sue or Vickie will prepare new case files for your use. These new files are located in the top drawer on the left side of the white credenza in the Clinic Office. Each new case file contains several standard TPC forms:

 

Timesheet

Representation Agreement

Authorization for Release of Information

TPC Business Card (to be handed out)

Case Tickler

 

Examples of these standard Clinic Forms are reproduced for you on TWEN under the “Forms” link. In addition to the standard Clinic Forms listed above, you may have occasion to use the following additional forms during your Clinic work. They are:

 

Record of Conversation

Closing Form

Directions to Hamline/Parking (Map)

Client Satisfaction Letter

Billing Form for Interpreter

 

These forms, like the new case files, are kept in the top right hand drawer of the white credenza in the Clinic Office.

 

V.                                SCHEDULING INTERVIEWS AND INTERPRETER

 

One of the harder logistical tasks you will face this semester is scheduling interviews with clients! You'll need to maintain some flexibility and good humor as you try to juggle the schedules of Professor McDonough, your client, and in some cases, an interpreter.

 

Interviews should be held in the Clinic interview rooms (214 A and 214 B) or in rooms 305, 307, 309 and 311 in the Law Library. To reserve a Clinic interview room, make a note on the room reservation sheet on the door. To reserve a library room, check at the main library desk. Please reserve your room well in advance (the reservation book is at the main library desk). Note: As a Clinic student, you have special permission from the library staff to book rooms more than 2 days in advance. If time allows, always send a confirming letter and map to any client coming in for an initial interview.

 

During your initial phone contact with your new client, one important task is to determine whether you need the assistance of an interpreter for an effective first interview. If you decide an interpreter is needed, speak with Professor McDonough for an appropriate referral. Please keep track of the hours interpreters work on your cases. The Clinic pays interpreters. We have a standard Interpreter Billing Form (under “Forms” on TWEN).

 

VI.                              MAINTAINING CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

 

Under Professional Rule of Conduct 1.6, a lawyer shall not knowingly reveal a confidence or secret of a client. This broad ethical obligation exists without regard to the nature or source of information or the fact that others share the knowledge. Moreover, lawyers have a special duty to protect the common law and statutory evidentiary attorney-client privilege. At a minimum, this necessitates avoiding professional discussion in the presence of persons to whom the privilege does not extend. You have an affirmative obligation to advise your client about the attorney-client privilege and timely to assert the privilege unless it is waived by the client.

 

Meeting these obligations in our Clinic work is easy if everyone follows some basic rules:

 

As noted above, never leave a file or client papers unattended in the Clinic Office or anywhere else in the building. In many cases, the very fact that the Clinic represents a client is a client confidence. You have betrayed that confidence if you leave an envelope with the client's name out on the table in the Clinic Office (obviously, leaving out open case files or case ticklers is far worse!). Be especially attentive to how you handle superseded drafts of pleadings and correspondence. If you mean something to be thrown away, make sure it gets into the shred box in the Clinic.

 

Avoid the temptation to discuss your Clinic cases informally with acquaintances. You never know who is listening, or if the person you are speaking with has a conflict of interest. Keep your discussion about case work limited to the TPC classroom and between you and Professor McDonough. Notwithstanding this general principle, it is sometimes productive and advisable to consult with outside experts about the legal options in a case. Take great care in such discussions. Never mention a client name. Avoid giving out information that allows the person you are speaking with to identify the parties indirectly.

 

Control who attends client interviews. Frequently, our clients come to meetings with friends, neighbors, advocates, and even the spouses they seek to divorce! You must prepare in advance to explain the attorney-client privilege and urge that your communications be private. If your client elects to waive the privilege, make sure they are knowingly doing so, and not just because of your oversight.

 

VII.                             AVOIDING CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS

 

"Conflict of interest" is an issue that affects all lawyers regardless of the type of practice they have. As a Certified Student Attorney in the Clinic, you are held to the same standards of conduct applicable to lawyers in Minnesota. You have an affirmative duty to speak with one of the Clinic faculty members if you believe that there is a potential conflict of interest for you in the Clinic. The relevant rules of professional conduct (Rules 1.7 thru 1.13) are linked in the assignment for Class 2. Please familiarize yourself with the Code.

 

Conflict of Interest Rules

 

A conflict of interest exists whenever the attorney, any other lawyer with whom the attorney works, or any person represented by the attorney has interests adverse or potentially adverse in any way to the interests of any other client of the attorney, the attorney's office or the attorney personally. Even if the attorney and other lawyers in the attorney's office take action most beneficial to all clients involved, the conflict of interest still exists unless certain steps are taken.

 

When a conflict or potential conflict of interest arises, an attorney usually has there possible options: (1) inform all interested parties of the present or potential conflict, inform them of all possible consequences of the conflict, and continue this multiple representation if all parties give the attorney informed, express (usually written) consent; (2) after informing all parties of the conflict, withdraw from representation of one of the parties if withdrawal will sufficiently cure the conflict; or (3) withdraw from the representation of both parties. A fourth option, the erection of screening procedures (a "conflicts wall"), may exist in some situations.

 

The policies underlying conflict of interest rules are the duties of loyalty and client confidentiality.

 

Rule 1.7a provides: "A lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation of that client will be directly adverse to another client..." Rule 1.7b requires a lawyer not to represent a client if the representation of that client would be materially limited by the lawyer's responsibility to another client, a third person or the lawyers own interests. Under Rule 1.10 if a lawyer must decline employment or withdraw from employment, no partner or associate in the firm may accept or continue employment. Because the Clinic operates as a law firm, it is important that we carefully screen for conflicts of interest.

 

Rule 1.6 requires that lawyers preserve the confidences and secrets of clients. The underlying premise of Rule 1.6 is that both the attorney/client fiduciary relationship and the poorer functioning of the legal system require the preservation of a client's confidences and secrets. A client must feel free in discussing matters with his or her lawyer. A corollary of that free exchange of information is the client's belief that the lawyer will never use anything disclosed to advance the interests of any other person or to impair the interests of the client.

 

The possibility of even an unintentional leak of client confidences requires the imputed disqualification of law partners and associates, spouse-attorneys, and even other lawyers in office sharing arrangements. That is why the Clinic must be extra careful to monitor potential conflicts among students with outside employment or other relationships giving rise to conflicts.

 

What You Should Do

 

If you start new employment while in the Clinic, or if any other circumstances reported on your original student information form change, please complete a new employment form.

 

Ask your employer if the employer's office, or any lawyers in the office, are opposing counsel or otherwise associated with any cases involving the Clinic as opposing counsel. If the answer is in the affirmative, please speak with a Clinic faculty member immediately. If the answer is in the negative, ask your employer to note your involvement in the Clinic and to screen new cases for potential conflicts with the Clinic.

 

If you believe that there is an actual or potential conflict because of where you work or worked, speak with a Clinic faculty member immediately.

 

If you have any questions concerning our conflict of interest policy, please speak with a Clinic faculty member immediately.

 

Our Procedures to Avoid Conflicts

 

To protect ourselves from actual and potential conflicts of interest, it is essential that we all work closely together to monitor potential conflicts. The Clinic staff and faculty will attempt to monitor potential conflicts based upon the information you provided to us. You may also be given more information concerning our cases during the semester to check with your employer. Please consult with a Clinic faculty member about any potential conflict situation as soon as you become aware of the potential conflict.

 

It is essential that you make sure that the screening sheets for each new client are thoroughly completed. The name of the client, all other parties and opposing counsel are important to our conflict screening. Please supplement this information as new information becomes available.

 

What We do When There Are Actual or Potential Conflicts

 

When there are actual or potential conflicts, protection of the client's rights come first. The second most important consideration is the interest of the Clinic student. That means we will decline to represent a potential client if the conflict cannot be resolved with the informed consent of all parties. If we already represent a client and the conflict presents itself due to a student's employment, then consent, or, where applicable, a Conflict Wall may be pursued. Where consent or a Conflict Wall are not possible, then withdrawal of representation or the termination of outside employment may be the only ways to avoid the conflict.

 

If a Clinic student negligently or knowingly fails to identify an actual or potential conflict that presents us with more limited options and may be a violation of the Minnesota Code of Professional Conduct. Please follow the steps outlined above, and we will competently and professionally avoid conflicts of interest.

 

VIII.                            CLOSING MEMO AND FINAL CLIENT LETTER GUIDELINES

 

Hopefully, many of you will successfully close cases by the end of the semester. When you close a case, you should draft a short memo for the file summarizing your work and succinctly state the final results obtained for the client. If you declined to represent a client on subsequent appeals, please explain the reasons for your decision in your close-out memo. A case closing form has been developed for this purpose (under “Forms” on TWEN).

 

You should also write a final letter to the client thoroughly explaining the status of their case and the results obtained. If you decline to represent a client on subsequent appeals, please explain the reasons for your decision and inform the client of relevant appeal deadlines.

 

As in the transfer letter described earlier, the final client letter is your opportunity to tell the client how much you enjoyed working with him/her (if you did). You should also mention that in the next few weeks, the Clinic director will be sending out a short client survey letter to help evaluate Clinic services and provide better representation. Encourage your client to complete the survey.

 

Finally, you should complete a client satisfaction letter by filling out the appropriate information on the form located on TWEN under “Forms” (the client satisfaction letter goes out under Professor McDonough’s signature).

 

IX.                              COURSE AND SELF-EVALUATION

 

At the mid-point of the semester, you will be asked to complete the self-evaluation form reproduced in the course syllabus. After completing the evaluation, turn it in to Professor McDonough and schedule an individual meeting to discuss your assessment. At the end of the semester, Professor McDonough will fill out a similar evaluation form which will be the basis for calculating a letter grade for your TPC work.

 

Method for Self-Evaluation Footnote

 

What happens in law school and in the skills program is only the beginning of your development as lawyers. Historically, law schools have claimed that they teach people how to "think like a lawyer." The traditional classroom courses are training you to take apart cases and apply the previous cases' analysis to the next case. In the traditional classroom, we pose hypotheticals so that you can apply the analysis to a variety of situations. You become legal problem solvers with skills to find the law you will need in the future.

  

In the skills setting, we teach you a broader range of what a lawyer does. For example, we discuss the goals of an initial client interview and how to most effectively accomplish those goals. Unless you are able to look back at your own performance and evaluate whether you effectively executed the desired skills, the learning will stop. You must learn to constantly look at yourselves and others to continue to grow when there is no longer a supervisor to give you a critique. What makes lawyers improve rather than stagnate is the ability to examine and learn; this ability is as important as mastering substantive and procedural law.

 

It is doubtful that you will either be trained in the skill of evaluation or even necessarily critiqued in an effective manner once you are out of school and on the job. There is a vast range of training that goes on in the various settings in which you will work, but the dynamics of time and money are almost always at play and the training that will take place is usually focused on the particular type of practice you have entered.

 

Everything we teach in the skills course is a microcosm or specimen to be examined and therefore learned from. We teach areas as cerebral as how to develop a theory of a case to something as mundane as how to document time for billing purposes. Our hope is that every time you as a lawyer are faced with a new client's case, you will routinely develop a theory of the case that will guide your work. We also expect that you will routinely keep accurate time records so you can bill your clients or document your time for your public sector employer.

 

We also expect that you will routinely pause and examine your own performances and those around you to continue to develop your skills. When you walk out of a trial and return to your office, you should stop and consider what happened and why. Most lawyers go home at the end of the day and say "I did well in that negotiation today" or "that other attorney really ruined my client's case" but the excellent lawyers ask themselves what they can learn from what happened.

 

The first step is to develop the habit of reflection, what is absolutely critical to this continued learning process is the ability to realistically and critically examine activities and occurrences so you can use the experience to learn. Simply stopping after the trial and saying, "I did a great closing argument" is insufficient. The question must always be, "Why?" For example, did the closing argument go well because you established good eye contact with the judge so it felt like she was really listening and the argument took on a personal and convincing tone? Is this something you can replicate or is it a peculiarity of this particular judge? Were you able to establish eye contact because you were unusually familiar with the law and facts and so felt comfortable and spontaneous? Consequently, more preparation on cases in the future might pay off. Was it because the argument was the first thing in the morning and you were alert and awake? Is sleep more critical to performance than you realized? Since you cannot always control the time of day a part of a case is heard, how can you compensate?

 

These are examples of beginning to distinguish between that for which you are responsible and can control versus that which is outside your control. Many of you will return from a hearing and complain your client surprised you with unknown facts on the stand. Why? You may want to shift the responsibility to the client, which is sometimes justifiable, but it is more often the case that the trial preparation was superficial and you must figure out what to do differently in the future.

 

The skill of evaluation is one of the skills we hope you will be learning from this course.

 

X.                                MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT CLINIC OPERATIONS

 

                                    A.        Staff:

 

Vickie Jauert:

Clinic Administrator, Lawyering Skills, Litigation Practice, and Practicum coordinator.

 

Sue McBrayer:

Clinic Secretary, Administrative Assistant for Mary Jo Hunter, Joe Daly, and Professor McDonough

 

                                    B.        Please Read the Manual: Almost all procedural questions can be answered; familiarize yourself with all forms.

 

                                    C.        Mailboxes: Check each day. THIS IS CRITICAL. Clients expect immediate contact. It is essential to call Sue for messages if you won't be in the building. If Professor McDonough agrees, you many choose to give clients your office and home numbers so you can get calls quickly. In any correspondence you send, please ask that return mail be sent to you at Hamline University School of Law CLINIC. If you don't list CLINIC, the mail tends to get lost in the university system.

 

                                    D.        Phone Calls: Use the phone in Clinic Office for local calls. For long distance, please make arrangements with Sue to check out a long distance card as none of the Clinic phones have long distance capability on them. For conference calls of four or more persons, check with Professor McDonough. Clinic phones are not for personal use. The three phones in the Clinic are for your use, and Sue can transfer incoming calls from her phone to any phone within the Clinic.

 

                                    E.        Copying: A copy card is available from Sue. Copying should be limited to 25 copies or less. If you need more than 25 copies, your item should be sent to the campus copy center after you get approval from Professor McDonough.

 

                                    F.        Fax: There is a fax machine located in the Clinic that is for local faxes only. The fax number is: 651-523-2400. You must dial a “9” first before the number. There are fax cover sheets on the right hand side of the machine. If you need to fax something long distance, please attach a pink Incoming Assignment form to the fax, include the number to which the fax is being sent, and leave it in the Clinic Secretary’s box.

 

                                    G.        Office Access: For after-hours use, the key is available in the lockbox attached next to the Clinic door. See Professor McDonough or the Clinic Secretary for the code combination. PLEASE remember to replace the key immediately. You must enter the code again to replace the key in lockbox after opening the Clinic door. The Clinic is to be used by Clinic students only in order to protect client confidentiality. DO NOT bring friends in. Clinic students should use the Clinic for Clinic work only. Sign in when you use the Clinic.

 

                                    H.        Interview Rooms: Reserve interview rooms A and B in the Clinic Office. The room reservation sheets are attached to each door. The interview rooms are used heavily. Reserve rooms with as much advance notice as possible. Room 205 is also available to use, but must be reserved. If you need to reserve 205, please let the Clinic Secretary know, as soon as possible, the date, time, and reason you need the room reserved.

 

                                    I.         Office Supplies: File folders and computer disks are available from Sue. Computer disks must be returned to Sue at the end of the semester to protect client confidentiality. You should bring all other supplies you might need, such as pens, paper, etc.

 

                                    J.         Resources:                  

 

Form files

                                                Minn. Rules, small library, small business and nonprofit texts

                                                WESTLAW and computers

 

These are located in the back of the Clinic Office in the cabinets above the work spaces.

 

                                    K.        Files: Open and closed cases and form files are arranged alphabetically within each case type. Please make sure to put your files away in the correct drawer. Please DO NOT remove files from building except for hearings. If you must remove a file for a hearing, make sure to log the removal of the file in the File Sign Out Log Book on top of the file cabinets. You must have Professor McDonough’s permission. ALL FILES ARE TO BE IN THE FILE CABINET IN GOOD ORDER BEFORE GRADES ARE SUBMITTED.

 

                                    L.        Work Flow: Drafts MUST BE reviewed by Professor McDonough before submission to Sue. Please append all enclosures and provide all needed addresses, including CC's. Also include the name of the draft, the disk on which the draft is found, or indicate if it is under U:\LAW\LAWYER\ Clinic name (Small Business, Child Advocacy, Trial Practice etc.)\your 1st initial & last name\. Use the pink Incoming Assignments form for all work requests. Professor McDonough will give final review and mail the items. The file copy will be put in your box for filing in the file. If you use a disk at home, you must also save it in your folder on the U:\ drive in the Clinic Office.

 

*PLEASE GIVE ADVANCE NOTICE FOR BIG JOBS TO SUE.

 

                                    M.       Confidentiality: Please be very careful about client confidentiality in office, in library, computer screens, and with conversations with others. Do not leave client files out in public if you leave the Clinic Office for a break! There are both recycle and shred bins in Clinic. “RECYCLE” is for non-client, non-confidential material. “SHRED” is for the client confidential material you do not need to keep in your file, such as a duplicate. (However, you must keep copies of everything in your client file.)

 

                                    N.        Telephone Numbers:              

                                                                        Sue McBrayer                                    651-523-2898

                                                                        Vickie Jauert                                      651-523-2140

                                                                        Mary Jo Hunter                                  651-523-2077

                                                                        Joe Daly                                             651-523-2121

                                                                        Larry McDonough                             651-523-2472

                                                                        Clinic Fax                                           651-523-2400

 

XI.                              STANDARD TPC FORMS

 

(see the “Forms” link on TWEN)

Clinic Student Information Form

Student Certification for Clinical Student Practice

Confidentiality Agreement

Incoming Assignments Form

Clinic Case Screening Form

Timesheet

Representation Agreement

Authorization for Release of Information

Case Ticklers

Record of Conversation/Conference

Case Closing Form

Client Satisfaction Letter

Interpreter Billing Form