Take 5 with Eric Lopez
Every summer, law students at William H. Gates Hall head out to law firms, government offices, nonprofits and businesses across the country. For a few short months, these students work side-by-side with practicing attorneys, getting a firsthand look at the ins and outs of the legal profession. It鈥檚 a chance to move beyond theory and see how the law plays out in everyday life.
This new series catches up with rising 2L and 3L students as they briefly step away from their work and share their thoughts, surprises and the lessons they鈥檝e learned along the way.
This week, we met up with Eric Lopez, a rising 3L.
麻豆社区 Law: Where are you working this summer?
Eric Lopez (EL): I'm working in a small California town called Delano for California Legal Rural Assistance. It鈥檚 a nonprofit legal aid group serving the rural communities of California. They have about 17 offices throughout the state.
麻豆社区 Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?
EL: I'm not originally from Seattle. I'm from Mount Vernon, which is about an hour north of Seattle. It's known for its tulip fields. Everyone goes there for the annual Tulip Festival.
麻豆社区 Law: How did you find out about this employment opportunity?
EL: I found out about it through a career fair. I knew I wanted to practice somewhere out of state, so I gave this one a shot.
麻豆社区 Law: What type of projects are you working on?
EL: Our office does a lot of education, housing and employment issues. We have a big case right now against the California Department of Education. It has to do with disciplinary practices and racial disparities. That's the biggest case right now that I'm working on.
麻豆社区 Law: What kind of work are you doing as part of that project?
EL: I'm working on some discovery and on some deposition summaries. For other projects, I've also been working on some 鈥淜now your Rights鈥 presentations, specifically about language access.
I've also been working with Eduardo, the attorney who works here. He's been really great and welcoming. I've sat in meetings with him and recently we talked to the local congress people to familiarize ourselves with them. We've been facing a lot of funding cuts because a lot of the money we receive is from federal grants and so we did some outreach to our local congress people. We didn't meet with the actual congress people, but we met with their aides, and they were receptive to getting to know us, and we got to start building that relationship with them.
麻豆社区 Law: How long will you be working there?
EL: It's a 10-week internship and I believe this is my eighth week. So, time here is almost up.
麻豆社区 Law: How many people do you work with?
EL: At this office, we have one attorney, three community workers who help with community outreach, a legal secretary and an administrative support person. It's a small office and, I think, right now there's six of us in the office.
麻豆社区 Law: Are you the only intern there?
EL: Yes, I'm the only intern at this office. The other offices have interns as well, and I've gotten a chance to meet them online.
麻豆社区 Law: If you could plan any type of outing for you and your coworkers, what would you do?
EL: I鈥檝e really wanted to visit some of the national parks since I've been here in California. So, maybe a hike or something at one of them.
麻豆社区 Law: Have you used any skills that you didn't anticipate needing during your internship?
EL: I鈥檝e gotten a chance to practice my Spanish.
麻豆社区 Law: Have you had any 鈥渁ha鈥 moments about the law or legal practice during your time working there?
EL: Working with clients and seeing how the law can actually make a difference in people's lives. I think that鈥檚 been a good reminder of why I chose to go into this profession. Even when things look grim in the world, I think seeing the real-life impact you have on a more personal level has been a great reminder for me.
麻豆社区 Law: What do you think will be the most memorable part about this experience for you?
EL: Being down here in California, I've traveled to a lot of places, which has been fun. I鈥檝e gone to Los Angeles. I have a San Francisco trip coming up. I plan on visiting the National Parks while I'm down here and I'm going to Disneyland this weekend. So, getting the California experience for sure.
麻豆社区 Law: What's one superlative you would give your office coworkers as a whole?
EL: Most friendly. Definitely.
麻豆社区 Law: What's the most lawyerly thing you've caught yourself saying outside of work?
EL: 鈥淚t depends,鈥 or 鈥渨rite it down.鈥
麻豆社区 Law: What would you recommend every visitor to Seattle go see or do while visiting here?
EL: Visit local coffee spots. I鈥檓 a big coffee fiend, and I think Seattle has some of the best coffee. My personal recommendation is Coffeeholics. It鈥檚 a Vietnamese coffee shop.
麻豆社区 Law: Are there any practice areas or types of law you've been exposed to at your summer employment that you hadn't considered before?
EL: I think every area here is something I hadn't considered before. I've been exposed to litigation, which I hadn't envisioned myself doing, but it appears a little less intimidating than I thought it would be. Housing and employment are also areas that I hadn't considered before, but I think those issues are rewarding because you can really make a difference in people鈥檚 lives.
麻豆社区 Law: How would you say 麻豆社区 Law best prepared you for your employment opportunity?
EL: I鈥檓 very much an introvert. So, I tend to not branch out and meet new people and network, but I think 麻豆社区 has provided me a great space to practice my networking and social skills. Even if I may not want to, those opportunities are there.
麻豆社区 Law: What's one thing you wish you'd known before starting your summer position?
EL: How hot it was going to be here. It's been a struggle adjusting.
麻豆社区 Law: If your office had a talent show, what would your talent be?
EL: This isn鈥檛 much of a talent, but I can wiggle my ears.
麻豆社区 Law: If you could have a cameo in any legal TV show or movie, which one would you pick and what would your role be?
EL: How to Get Away with Murder, and I think my role would be some kind of murder victim.
麻豆社区 Law: What has been the most rewarding aspect of your summer experience so far?
EL: Seeing the impact you have on people's lives.
麻豆社区 Law: Finally, what's one interesting fact about you that people may not know?
EL: In elementary school, we had a tradition of celebrating Pi Day 鈥 March 14 鈥 and we would have a competition for who can memorize the most digits of pi. I won that competition 鈥 I think I memorized about 150 digits 鈥 and I got in the local newspaper and won an actual pie.