10 things I cannot wait to do this summer in DC

1. Be back in my office, the courtroom, in client meetings etc 🙂

2. Drink my coffee during my morning commute

3. National Mall at night to look at the lit up monuments

4. International Spy Museum 

5. Walk around Georgetown 

6. Jog around the National Mall at sunrise 

7. Foodtrucks!

8. Newseum

9. Do homework for my summer class at Library of Congress

10. Go on a Foodtruck tour

7 of the coolest moments from my internship

1. Working on a murder trial

2. Getting dropped off by myself at the court house to file motions and get a case taken off the docket

3. Doing two accident reports by myself

4. Interviewing witnesses for a theft $1,000-$10,000 case (the case will be dismissed after the defendant pays her restitution)

5. Completing two Immigration 1-90 and two N-600 forms

6. Doing a motion for reconsideration of sentencing 

7. Working on two estates

 

10 of the funniest moments from my internship

1. “And if the tigers fail to stay away from the children they will be in contempt of court”- Callahan

2. (talking about getting a Visa for a client) “I think my mom had to get me visas for Brazil and CostaRica”-me “What were you doing there?-Joe “Working in orphanages for a month, 2 summers in a row”-me “Lexie have you ever done anything remotely near bad in your entire life?”-Joe

3. “I will be the fun police and make sure you and Joe don’t work too too hard and take time for a little fun.”-Julie “We run from the fun police.”-me

4. ”Georgie!! Did you miss me today?!?”-me “It was … Quiet without you”-George

5. ”No wasn’t that case nol-prossed?”-me “Well one of his was but he has two”-Joe “Okay good so I am not crazy”-me “Well…. I am not saying that…”-Joe

6. “Like I don’t know what they do, they sleep until like 11:00am.”-me “They’re in college thats what kids do they stay up late and party and then they sleep..”-Shannon “Well why??”-me

7. (Radio comes on with something about a crisis relief worker) “I do not think that is the profession for you.”-Joe “Ha no I would laugh at the people.”-me “COMPASSION Lexie, compassion.”-Joe

8. “This is lexie, she works with my husband and spends more time with him then I do”-Julie to her friend

9. “But its not perfect  “-me “Balance baby.”-Joe “What will they think when they see that on my grad school application?”-me “They will think oh she’s kind of normal”-Joe “Are you calling me not normal?”-me “There is NOTHING normal about you.”-Joe

10. You look really tired. -Joe “You did not just call me a wuss”-me “What?? I didnt call you a wuss, I said “you look tired” everyone gets tired, you’re a human”-Joe ”Wuss, tired, its the same thing!! Oh and also, telling a woman she looks tired is a polite way of saying you don’t look very pretty today!”-me

Top 10 D.C memories with The Westend crew

1. Walking to the monuments and Crepeaway with Dalton and Sheena.
2. Screen on the Green
3. Watching soccer at Circa with everyone
4. Food adventures with Elliot (Hill Country being our favorite)
5. Hanging out on the steps of the building
6. Playing cards
7. Library of Congress tour
8. Late night walking to the White House
9. Sheenas birthday
10. Watching Sex and The City and playing Carrie Bradshaw dress up with Sheena before going out

I dont want to leave :(

I am very sad to report my time here is running low…. But I don’t even want to think about that, lets just say I am living in denial. As the weeks progress I get harder and more interesting projects. Last week I worked on four citizen applications, did a motion for reconsideration of sentencing, a petition to convert an estate from regular to small, started a Schedule B form for a small estate and met with a couple of clients. One of the clients was for a new case that I am working on that involves theft and selling alcohol untaxed and the other was about an estate. Also, we are working on a murder trial that is scheduled for early next week. On Friday I went to court in the morning and then I spent a lot of time in the afternoon trying to contact the jail to find out someones bond and why he was arrested. That’s when I discovered reason 1,000 I want to become a lawyer, I crave excitement. Obviously someone going to jail isn’t exciting but trying to figure out why they are there is! Meanwhile, I am frequently checking USCIC’s (Immigration services) website waiting for two green cards to get approved for renewal. Confession- USCIC is definitely my home page for when I log onto the computer and I have the case number memorized so I can check quickly every time I click on the internet… not only on my work computer but my laptop as well. As much as I am in complete denial that I do not have much longer here I have started thinking about how much I am going to miss this office. I’ve become so comfortable here and would rather just stay forever… But I need to go and get a JD first.

Hello from DC!

It has been an amazing few days, this truly is the best experience I have ever had. I spent a significant amount of time last week on a very complicated auto theft case, interviewing multiple witnesses to get a story map together.(the case will be dismissed after the defendant pays her restitution… yes I am a tiny bit proud… 🙂 )This week, I have a murder case that I am working on and have been busy watching police videos of witness interviews and compiling information. These past few weeks have been some of the most fascinating, invigorating and enjoyable weeks of my life. Whether I am reading cases, calling clients, sitting in a court room or filling out an accounting form for a will, I am so invested in and interested in what I am doing that nothing else matters to me, I can’t explain it really, I am just so happy! One reason that I love it here so much is that these cases are not classroom assignments where no ones lives are really affected, and some teacher just makes something up the night before. These cases that I work on, the outcome actually means something to people. I am midway through week five and any doubt I possibly had that I shouldn’t become a lawyer is gone, I know this is what I was meant to be. I love coming to work everyday because when I get something done I feel very accomplished. It is nice to wake up and want to jump right out of bed to start my day. I am so happy I have a few more weeks here and I cannot wait to see what is in store for me!

10 traits of good leaders that I have learned in the past year

Tags

clutch situations, example character, eye on the prize, good leaders, leadership, politics

1. I used to think to be a good leader you had  to do everything all be yourself . Giving other people things to do makes you “weak” and “imposes on their time”. However, I am coming to realize that to be a good leader you have to learn to let other people take some responsibility.

2. Good leaders help people realize their potential. How are you supposed to do that if you never give anyone a chance to do anything?

3. Good leaders trust and believe that others around them are going to succeed until proven differently.

4. Your attitude and how you handle situations effect other people. How do you expect other people to stay calm if you can’t?

5. Be passionate about what you are doing.

6. If all you want to do is talk, then you are not being an effective leader. You have to have good listening and communication skills.

7. Always be setting an example. Character is who you are when none is watching.

8. What separates champions from those losers who no one remembers is the ability to flourish and succeed while in clutch situations. If chaos is in sight just keep your eye on the prize.

9. There is a fine line between confidence and conceitedness. Leaders have to be confident to get others to listen to them, but not cross the line.

10. Give credit where credit is due.

My favorite things I’ve done in DC so far

1. Starting my internship 😀 😀 😀

2. Founding Farmers Restaurant, Scout made the 45 minute wait not so bad!

3. International Spy Museum and doing operation spy with my mom and Scout

4. Seeing the first ladies dresses at the Smithsonian 

5. Walking around the memorials and then going to Fiorella’s pizza with my mom and Scout

6. Taking fun pictures at the wax museum

7. Going to Sweet Lobby 

 

My desk!

First week in DC

My first day at Vallario Law Group I had no idea what to expect, knowing very well that the previous interns had been law students I had no clue what they would let me do. After the completion of my first week I am pleasantly surprised, this experience has surpassed any expectation that I had. Also, everyone has been great and welcoming, I even have my own office! After my first week I have conducted the interview for and done the paperwork for two accident cases, heavily researched information for a fraud case, gone to multiple court hearings and worked on an accounting for a will and trust. Also, I have had multiple conversations with the guy who does the tech work for our office about a few big projects I will be working on. The first project is moving the firm to Google calendar as opposed to their current software so that it is easier for everyone to access on their computer, IPAD etc. The second project is putting all of our firm’s documents into a server accessible by all people in the office. This includes a folder for each county’s court forms, making our office more efficient and organized. I will begin this project on Monday. I am enjoying this experience so much that I got very upset leaving my office on Friday, knowing I wouldn’t be back until Monday morning. I am from a small town in Ohio and even though I got to college in a Chicago suburb the thrill of commuting to work in a big city has not even began to wear off. I love riding the subway to work with my Starbucks, so much so that I get up so early that I have time to run in the morning before I need to get ready because I am so excited to see what the day is going to bring.