KU Law Blog

Elder Law Field Placement Program is a ‘particularly rewarding’ experience

Rising 3L John Schoen participated in KU Law’s Elder Law Field Placement Program. **Photo by Ashley Golledge.**

At the beginning of my 2L year, I began to look at what type of law I would be interested in practicing after graduation. I liked the idea of doing estate planning and the accompanying work that goes along with that planning. I took Professor Reaves’ Elder Law class in the fall. That course provided a good overview of the programs and benefits that are available to older clients.

In the spring, I structured my schedule so that I could spend Fridays in an externship with the Kansas Legal Services office in Kansas City, Kansas. KLS is funded by several different state and federal funding allocations. Some of that funding is specifically allocated for older clients (over 60 years of age). As an “Elder Law” extern, I was assigned to those cases funded for elder clients. That provided me with the opportunity to work a wide variety of issues. I drafted wills and Powers of Attorney, wrote land transfer deeds, gave advice on elder care and Medicaid considerations, and provided statutory guidance.

Although I was not an expert on any of these topics, I was assigned to an experienced lawyer in the office who provided necessary guidance as I worked through each issue. It was an excellent opportunity to practice transactional law while under the direct supervision of experienced lawyers. My time at KLS included the opportunity to interview clients at senior centers around the metro with my advising attorney. Those interviews covered a myriad of issues and allowed face to face interactions to deal with those issues. It was particularly rewarding when we could prepare the appropriate legal documents on site and meet their legal needs in a single visit.

While I worked on Elder Law issues with my advising attorney, I also had the opportunity to learn from lawyers in the other specialties at KLS. That gave me the opportunity to observe court cases and participate in conferences for a wide variety of legal issues. I also gained an appreciation for the complexities of operating a law office under the budget constraints and requirements of different government programs.

The field placement experience provided me with a broad overview of the type of legal issues that elder clients face and the legal documents that support responsible later life planning. I didn’t specifically build estate plans while in the field placement but the interviews that I did and the documents I drafted gave me a solid background on many of the components of an estate plan. I’ll take Professor Donaldson’s Estate Planning Principles and Practice classes during my 3L year and expect to incorporate many of the things that I’ve learned in the elder law field placement.

— John Schoen is a rising 3L at the University of Kansas School of Law.

Student Spotlight: Ellen Bertels serves state of Kansas

Ellen Bertels (center) and ACLU attorneys exit a federal courthouse in Wichita. *Photo by Thad Allton/Topeka Capital-Journal.*

Kansan Ellen Bertels finds reward in the opportunity to help those in need in her home state.

Bertels is spending her summer as a summer clerk at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Kansas in Wichita. The ACLU Foundation of Kansas is an organization dedicated to protecting civil rights and liberties for Kansans.

“The ACLU of Kansas is the preeminent public interest impact litigation group in Kansas,” Bertels said. “Their attorneys get to work on the forefront of state and federal law all around the state. I was so excited when I saw there was a 1L position where I could research Constitutional law and work directly with social and public policy issues in my home state.”

Bertels, a rising 2L from Overland Park, aspires to make a difference for Kansans.

“The more familiar I become with the practice of law in Kansas and the more compassionate people I meet advocating for underserved and underrepresented Kansans, the more sure I am that I want to stay in Kansas and follow in their footsteps,” she said.

At her internship, Bertels attends hearings, depositions and client meetings; conducts research; helps draft deposition and direct examination questions; reviews and analyzes discovery documents as they come in; and interviews potential clients. Bertels enjoys the quick pace of her office’s workflow and the opportunity to do new things each day.

“It is really rewarding to get to do work that serves communities all across the state of Kansas,” she said.

Rising 2L Ellen Bertels is spending her summer as a summer clerk at the ACLU Foundation of Kansas in Wichita. *Photo by Ashley Golledge.*

Bertels was pleasantly surprised by how involved she gets to be with supervising attorneys and their work at her internship.

“It’s challenging, but it’s also a real privilege to be in the middle of it after only one year of law school,” she said.

Bertels earned undergraduate degrees in English and Italian from the University of Kansas. She decided to stay in Lawrence for an additional three years to pursue her legal education after receiving, “incredible support from staff and faculty at KU before even submitting an application.”

“I knew that there were so many opportunities for me to get involved — clinics, research, publications, student groups — and that I wasn’t precluded from doing any of them based on the size of the student body or because of an overly competitive culture among the students,” Bertels said.

Bertels is the president of the Public Interest Law Society; the vice president of KU’s chapter of the American Constitution Society; a KU Law Student Ambassador; a research assistant for 1L Lawyering classes with Professor Pamela Keller; and a member of both Women in Law and OUTLaws & Allies.

She looks forward to the opportunity to pursue clinical opportunities at KU Law and experience other forms of public interest litigation. Ultimately, Bertels plans to pursue a career in her home state as a litigator or trial attorney with a focus on public interest work.

“Kansas is wonderful, but there is so much work to be done to make it a safe and equitable place for everyone,” Bertels said.

— By Ashley Golledge

This post is the fourth in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates are engaged in over the summer of 2019 and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about David Biegel, Samantha Natera and Mohammad Hameed.

Alumnus commits gift to establish public interest law fund

Donald Giffin, L’53. Photo courtesy of Spencer Fane, LLP.

A law school alumnus has pledged to support students pursuing public interest work at the University of Kansas School of Law.

The planned estate gift by Donald Giffin, L’53, is a percentage of investments with a maximum value not to exceed $1 million. The gift will go toward establishing the Donald and Esther Atha Giffin Public Interest Law Fund. The fund will provide support that may include scholarships, stipends, awards, fellowships and research assistantships for KU Law students pursuing public interest law.

Donald Giffin said he hopes the gift will allow KU Law students “to study public interest law and to become interested in it, despite the cost of obtaining an education in law.”

Giffin had followed the work of the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale Law School, and wanted to support interest in work that’s “compassionate and considerate to all members of society” at KU Law, he said.

Stephen Mazza, dean of the law school, expressed his gratitude for the gift.

“The Giffin family’s commitment to supporting education and opportunities for future Jayhawk lawyers is admirable. This latest gift will open doors for students wanting to pursue public interest law, regardless of their resources,” Mazza said.

Donald Giffin, center, talks with fellow KU Law alumni at the 2018 50/50+ Reunion Dinner. — Donald Giffin, center, talks with KU Law alumni at the 2018 50/50+ Reunion Dinner. *Photo by Earl Richardson.*

Giffin has been a consistent supporter of the law school as an alumnus. He has been part of the school’s Board of Governors for nearly 30 years, including time as the president of the board and as a senior governor. In 2007, Giffin received the Distinguished Alumni Award, the law school’s highest honor. He is a recipient of the James Woods Green Medallion and previously was an advisor and supporter for the school’s LL.M. in Elder Law program.

During his time as a student at KU Law, Giffin was a founder and editor in chief of the Kansas Law Review, and a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and Order of the Coif. Giffin also holds a bachelor’s degree from KU and an LL.M. from Yale Law School.

“My legal education has been very good to me,” Giffin said. “I’ve appreciated it and been able to use it throughout my life, and I’ve been very grateful for it.”

Giffin is a retired partner at Spencer Fane, LLP, where he practiced business litigation and alternative dispute resolution, concentrating in the areas of civil litigation, antitrust litigation and officers, and directors and professional liability law.

Make a gift.

— By Margaret Hair

Student Spotlight: Mohammad Hameed uses background in engineering to excel at intellectual property law internship

2L Mohammad Hameed is a summer intern at the at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

When applying for summer internships, second-year law student Mohammad Hameed looked for a position that would enable him to gain a solid understanding of the foundations of intellectual property and gear his legal education toward patent law.

He saw a job posting on USAJOBS.gov to work at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and followed the selection procedure. Hameed is a summer intern at the USPTO in Alexandria, Virginia.

“I figured there’s no better place to understand patents than the place that grants them, the Patent and Trademark Office,” Hameed said.

Hameed was born in Kuwait, but moved to the U.S. as an infant. He has lived in Olathe since he was 7 years old. He earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas in 2017.

He decided to pursue a law degree from the University of Kansas School of Law because of the school’s “well-rounded student body and the expansive IP coursework available.”

Last year, Hameed was the 1L representative for the Student Intellectual Property Law Association, an IP research assistant for Professor Andrew Torrance and a member of KU’s Muslim Student Association. He will be the vice president for the Asian Law Student Association and secretary for KU’s Muslim Student Association during the upcoming school year.

At his USPTO internship, Hameed examines patents directly related to his engineering background under the supervision of patent examiners. He also attends Patent Trial and Appeal Board trials.

“I like IP because it directly relates to my engineering background, and this puts me at the forefront of legal and technological innovation,” Hameed said.

He has also learned some valuable life lessons at his internship. Hameed said the best piece of advice he has received is to explore a variety of topics you’re interested in instead of becoming hyperspecialized in one field.

He enjoys the challenge of learning new facets of intellectual property law at his internship.

“The hardest part is learning the rules of patentability and what qualifies a patent’s acceptance, rejection or further hearing,” he said. “As with anything however, understanding the law gets a lot easier with practice!”

Hameed’s internship has solidified his intent to become an IP attorney. Within the next year, he hopes to decide which subset of IP law he’d like to specialize in.

“I’m getting valuable knowledge related to IP law that is guaranteed to help me in the future as an IP attorney,” he said. “I’ve also met some high-ranking officials including the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property.”

Intellectual property law is an ever-evolving field of law, and Hameed is intrigued to see where it will take him.

“Though several fields of law have seen shifts, IP law has seen drastic changes within just the last few years alone,” he said. “This trend will continue with new technology.”

— By Ashley Golledge

This post is the third in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates are engaged in over the summer of 2019 and early in their careers. Check out earlier posts from this series about David Biegel and Samantha Natera.

6th Semester in D.C. program helped jump-start my legal career

I arrived at KU Law on the first day of classes with laser-like focus on being a health law attorney. I had no clue, however, that the 6th Semester in D.C. program would end up being the perfect way to find my start in this type of work and, more importantly, to feel firm in my self-confidence as a soon-to-be-lawyer.

During my semester in D.C., I worked at the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). This experience gave me several reasons to love the D.C. program, but here are my top three:

Access

While this seems obvious, you cannot forget that you get to live and work in D.C. for an entire semester. More often than not, you are encouraged to take a little bit of time away from the office to truly experience D.C. I had an opportunity to sit in on hearings on the Hill, hear a Supreme Court oral argument and a case presented before the D.C. Court of Appeals. Each time, I felt motivated and inspired to do good work as a lawyer and think bigger in terms of my goals.

Experience

I dived into important and challenging work alongside practiced, impressive lawyers. NAAG also made an effort to tailor my work assignments to align with my interests in health law. Although not directly health law related, one of the most important projects I assisted in was a comparative law research assignment. The end-goal was to help Central and South American countries develop prosecutorial guides to combat human trafficking.I feel proud knowing my research will be used to train Latin American attorneys, in the midst of drastically changing judicial systems, on effective ways to reduce human trafficking and how to work with and treat victims.

Networking

The fact that I have listed networking as one of the things I enjoyed most from the program is insane. I am your classic introvert. However, in the 6th Semester Program, I had my first real opportunity to meet with professionals who had already walked the exact steps I also hoped to take. Because of this, I made meaningful connections that helped me land my first job post-law school. Through many interactions with people I genuinely enjoyed getting to know because of our shared interests, I was offered a position doing policy-related work for a healthcare non-profit that serves Latino communities, like my hometown of El Paso, Texas. I even learned that the organization that hired me hosts regular health initiatives at my alma mater – The University of Texas at El Paso!

The 6th Semester program offers countless unique experiences that you just cannot get in a traditional classroom setting. D.C. is great way to boost your resume and learn on-the-job. You will also discover your own abilities and find that it is always an important time to be a leader in compassionate, thoughtful lawyering – the way KU Jayhawk lawyers are taught and trained!

— Emory Saucedo, L’19

After graduating from KU Law, Saucedo accepted a position as a Policy and Program Associate at the National Alliance for Hispanic Health in Washington, D.C. The National Alliance for Hispanic Health is a national non-profit serving Latinos through community-driven services and investments in leading community-based partners.

Student Spotlight: Samantha Natera strives to help migrant community

Samantha Natera grew up on the border of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, where it is not out of the ordinary to cross the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis.

“I have family in both the U.S. and Mexico, and for me it was normal crossing the border every day to go to school or see my friends and family,” Natera said.

Natera, a second-year law student at the University of Kansas School of Law, strives to help the migrant community. This summer, she is a legal intern at Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, Inc. (DMRS) in her hometown of El Paso, Texas.

At her internship, Natera translates client statements, researches case requirements for clients, goes to court with lawyers, visits detention centers to interview clients and calls clients to assist them with applications.

“Going to the detention center has been tough because it seems like a prison even when most of these people have not committed any crimes. They have just crossed the border,” she said. “They have to be detained and away from their families.”

She said the most gratifying part of her job is having the opportunity to help others.

“It is rewarding to see that lawyers here help people who don’t have the means to pay for legal help,” she said. “Having organizations like this makes a difference in people’s lives. I admire DMRS for all the good work they have done and the awareness they have spread.”

The work that Natera does through her internship is directly relevant to current events in immigration law. In June, President Donald Trump pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. and made threats to impose a tariff on Mexican goods. Conditions at migrant detention centers are “horrendous,” according to the Washington Post.

Having grown up on the border of Mexico and Texas, Natera has seen first-hand the conditions that migrants face when they cross the border.

“Most people have misconceptions about the immigration system and immigrants in general. The situation is much more complex,” she said. “There must be more awareness about the conditions most of the people migrating are coming from.”

In addition to her day-to-day responsibilities, Natera tracks updates about the current situation at the border and monitors laws that impact the migrant community.

“Being informed about the current situation is very important,” Natera said. “The law is always changing, and it is important to be aware of this and keep track of the changes.”

Natera applied for her positon as a DMRS legal intern to learn more about immigration law and how she can help people.

“I am very thankful for this opportunity and for being able to help in any way possible to keep families together and educate them about the law,” she said. “This internship has been a great experience, and I am very happy that I can help the migrant community.”

The border-town native earned undergraduate degrees in both finance and international business from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2018. She decided to pursue a legal education at KU Law because of the strength of KU Law’s international law program and the approachability of people in Green Hall.

“When I visited Lawrence, I really liked it. The people were so nice, and everyone was so welcoming,” Natera said. “I think choosing KU Law was the best decision.”

Natera is the treasurer for the school’s Hispanic American Law Students Association.

“I like being part of HALSA because we try to represent Latinos in the legal field,” she said. “We participate in activities like blood drives, a salsa competition and dance lessons to raise funds for the organization.”

She is also the president of the International Law Society, a member of the Women in Law organization and a participant of the school’s intramural sports teams. During the next academic school year, she will also work at the law school’s Office of Career Services as a student office worker.

Natera’s career aspirations have international reach. Her dream job is being a lawyer for the United Nations.

“I want to become a lawyer to improve the lives of people and communities,” she said. “I would love to be part of the United Nations’ legal team and help the UN to provide stability and protection of human rights.”

— By Ashley Golledge

This post is the second in a series highlighting the diverse internships and jobs KU Law students and recent graduates are engaged in over the summer of 2019 and early in their careers. Check out an earlier post from this series about David Biegel.

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