Blog 21: Exit Interview

Content:

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

EQ: What strategy is most beneficial to defend a client in a misdemeanor case?

Best Answer: The strategy that is most beneficial proactive listening to the clients specific needs and background story. Although both of my other answers were extremely beneficial, there were beneficial in only specific scenarios while this answer can be used in every single situation. 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

Each of my answers were focused on the different stages of dealing with a client. First, the client interview, then arraignment, then trial. This answer had to do with the client interview, so while looking up strategies to interview I thought about psychology and how the therapists get clients to open up and I saw the connection between the two and looked for research in that area.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The problems were that a lot of the research was geared toward psychology, business, etc. And then I resolved that by basically looking for how it was similar and trying to find more strategies that lawyers shared that were helpful and matched the ones that were similar. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The two most significant sources I use to answer my essential question are:

California Criminal Law Procedure and Practice
 Ruddy, Sara H., Nancy Yuenger, and Jeff Adachi. California Criminal Law Procedure and Practice. Oakland, CA: Continuing Education of the Bar--California, 2008. Print.

and

Calfornia Penal Code
California Penal Code 2014 With Selected Provisions from Other Codes and Rules of Court: Desktop Edition.. California: West , 2013. Print.

These two are the most significant because they are both in use by the lawyers at my mentorship. The first really helped me understand how the courtroom works and the rules and regulations so I could understand the cases at mentorship and the ones I read for research. The second, is the law and charges in raw legal text. It's one of my most significant because it's basically a primary source of the law.