No training. Over 300 cases. I got to 312 and stopped counting. First week, pay cut due to some sort of "error" that involved hiring me in at the wrong rank. Or something like that.
People aren't getting the representation they deserve. Apparently the caseload is more than twice the recommended annual caseload. Some say that's just the way it is and you'll get used to it and stop caring so much while others, choosing not to mince words, just call it malpractice. Sometimes I tell people to complain to whoever they think will listen. To call the office and complain about me because I did not devote enough time to their case. I haven't heard anything.
I wasn't shown how to do anything. What little experience I had has proven to be irrelevant. Nothing I've done comes close to this volume, this speed. Listen to messages or check email? Write motions or go to the jail? Well, seeing as I can't get beyond an omnibus motion, I'll just go to the jail. A motion takes about 3 minutes. The jail can take hours. Answer the phone or file papers?
I'm guessing half the people that make up my caseload have substance abuse or mental health issues. Sometimes its just pot. Whatever. Sometimes its crack, heroin, pills, booze, cocaine, or a combination of all those. Sometimes it started when they were young. Mom says she could tell when Juan was a little boy that he was different. Now she doesn't know what to do. Some people have serious issues. I am not qualified to represent these people. Some people have issues that are far beyond anything I've ever encountered. I am not qualified to represent these people. But I "do."
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