Legal Assistants: Humanizing the Criminal Justice Process

     It all started with a high school student. She walked into Jim Hennings’ office shortly after Jim created the Metropolitan Public Defender (MPD) in Portland, Oregon. When the office opened over 30 years ago, the staff consisted only of Jim, one other attorney and one investigator. The student asked if she could help and Jim put her to work finding alternative sentencing possibilities for clients, giving rise to a program where interns performed similar work. A few years later, an influx of volunteer paralegals came to the office. Jim decided to combine the two positions by creating the role of the Legal Assistant. Legal Assistants are able to provide both the social work and the paralegal work. They work closely with the lawyers to ensure the case files are updated and accurate while also attending to the social needs of the clients. Without sacrificing its dedication to a zealous defense, the Metropolitan Public Defender is able to help its clients in and out of the courtroom because of Legal Assistants such as Erik Harper and Lynn Holguin.

"It is where my heart is, working
with folks who don’t have much."
Lynn Holguin, Senior Legal Assistant

     Like many of the Legal Assistants, Erik Harper joined the MPD in order to help disadvantaged clients while gaining practical legal experience prior to law school. After three years as a Legal Assistant, Erik enrolled at Northeastern University School of Law. Senior Legal Assistant Lynn Holguin, on the other hand, has been working in the office for over 25 years now. "Throughout the years, my motivation has changed," Lynn says. When she was young, she thought the program was a good opportunity to learn about the law. She then realized that her interest was in criminal law and helping marginalized people. "Now it is where my heart is," says Lynn, "working with folks who don’t have much."

Being There For Clients, Every Day

     The everyday duties of the Legal Assistants include an array of activities, both legal and non-legal, such as: getting clients out of custody so that they can keep their jobs, maintaining family ties, or getting a client a pair of reading glasses. Beth Geary, the director of the Legal Assistants, says, "Basically, it is about being friendly in an unfriendly atmosphere."

     The first duty of a Legal Assistant every morning is to check to see if there are new clients, and determine whether they are in custody. The Legal Assistants will see new clients that day, because the clients won’t be able to see an attorney until he or she is indicted, which is usually not until after ten days. Legal Assistants work hard to contact the clients’ families, workplaces, and doctors and basically just "be available" for the clients. "It’s very important to assure them we’re on their side," adds Erik.

"Basically, it’s about being friendly
in an unfriendly atmosphere."
Legal Assistants Director Beth Geary

     Erik remembers a recent case that exemplifies the difference that the dedication of the Legal Assistants can make in a clients life. An eighteen year-old woman was caught dealing drugs. Erik met with her the day that she was arrested, and Erik saw how concerned the woman was about getting her life back together. Erik and the attorney persuaded the district attorney to set aside the charges until she finished a job-training program. They impacted her because, although the young woman did not finish this exact program, she did enroll in college courses. Throughout this period, Erik maintained contact with her and was able to convince the judge of her commitment even though she did not satisfy one of the technical conditions of her plea agreement.

Teams Structured To Win

     The MPD is so effective in providing full service to each client due to the structure of the office. The office is divided into five divisions: misdemeanors, minor felonies, major felonies, juveniles, and special courts. Each division has a Senior Legal Assistant like Lynn. Lynn and the other Senior Legal Assistants oversee the Legal Assistants in their division. The Senior Legal Assistants meet often among themselves to discuss problems and trouble-shoot and ensure the units operate efficiently.

     Lynn and the other Senior Legal Assistants help Beth to train the new Legal Assistants. The new Legal Assistants spend a full day in orientation, learning basics such as the attorney client privilege. "The best training, however, likely comes from the new Legal Assistant’s peers," says Beth. "Everybody here is a trainer." Although each works individually with his or her attorney, Legal Assistants continually rely on each other for help.

     Within each of the five divisions are teams consisting of an attorney, an investigator, and a Legal Assistant. These teams allow the attorney to focus on the legal aspects of the case, and the Legal Assistant can work with the individual to address other areas of concern to the client. The Legal Assistants provide lawyers and the judges deciding the case with a richer perspective on the person and context that lead to the criminal charge. Jim explains, "They are our clients, not just case numbers."

     Because the structure of the office mandates that there is at least one legal assistant for every two attorneys, Jim says there has to be a real commitment to the team approach. "You have to prove it to the attorneys because the team approach is foreign," says Jim. "You have to prove it to the courts, because they place their trust in you. You have to prove it to the funding sources, and make them understand that there is a decreased likelihood that the client will come back to you."

     Statistics support the consensus that the MPD is a model program for other Oregon indigent defense providers. The success rate shows it could also be a model for other programs beyond the Oregon borders. For example, the office processes misdemeanors in 45 days and felonies in 110 days. Jim says this efficiency occurs because cases do not bog down due to a client’s refusal to talk to the attorney. Because the client has been talking to someone in the office from the time of arrest, the office rarely encounters a client who is unwilling to consult with an MPD attorney.

     Working with Legal Assistants in a team-based approach does not mean that the trial rates are low for MPD lawyers. Ten to twelve percent of the office’s cases make it to trial. "I’d put those numbers against any defender organization," says Jim. At trial, the defenders win about a third of their cases. "We truly believe we are not there to usher them through the system," adds Jim. This commitment to the client extends from the Chief Public Defender to each Legal Assistant. Erik says he became frustrated when the client just wanted to plea and get out. "We have a bigger duty, that the system gets better and our clients get better," says Jim.

Working For and Working With the Community

     The philosophy of helping the whole client goes beyond the walls of the offices of the Metropolitan Public Defender. Many of the Legal Assistants volunteer with local organizations, strengthening the defender office’s ties within the community. For example, Erik served on the Minority Over-Representation in Arrests Committee, which focused on drug-free zones and their impact on minorities. In Portland, people can be excluded from their neighborhoods and support systems because of a prior drug offense. Because many areas are designated drug-free zones, citizens previously convicted for a drug offense are arrested for trespass simply because they try to visit family or other members of their support system. At several committee meetings, Erik spoke up about this injustice. "The only people at the meeting who were addressing the negatives of the drug-free zones were affected citizens and Legal Assistants from my office," says Erik. Legal Assistants can make an impact speaking up because they have much more exposure to these problems than most people.

"We have a bigger duty — that the system gets better and
our clients get better."
Chief Public Defender Jim Hennings

     "Law is very dry and boring unless you bring the community into it," says Jim. He says the dual nature of the Legal Assistant position makes it fun to come to work each day. Legal Assistants may have fun, but they do real work and help real people. "They are not drones or clerks," adds Jim.

     The Legal Assistant also can see the direct rewards of their professional work in reduced recidivism and strong bonds with their clients and their families. Legal Assistants have attended weddings of former clients. One Legal Assistant has his office wall decorated with pictures of babies that were born drug-free after their parents completed drug rehabilitation programs in which the office helped place them. For over 30 years, the Metropolitan Public Defender has been providing these mothers, fathers, and other indigent clients with an excellent defense due to innovative leadership, teamwork throughout the office, and the dedication of the Legal Assistants.

This story in Word (msword, 65 Kb)