HIV/AIDS Clinic

New Faces

The HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic welcomes new professor, Joyce Stanley Batipps, who joined the clinic in late July 2001. Professor Batipps brings recent Social Security Disability expertise to the clinic, having spent the past few years practicing in this area with her own firm, MedLaw Consulting. She is a ‘96 graduate of the D.C. School of Law, and is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. Prof. Batipps is an active participant in several community organizations and has worked closely with members of the D.C. Council.

Jacqueline Craig joined the clinic as a paralegal/ administrative assistant in the beginning of August. She has been an enormous help in preparing for the new semester. Craig is a graduate of the Antioch Paralegal Program and fa- miliar with the mission of the School of Law.

Internships

This summer the clinic forged a relationship with Marymount University in Arlington, Va., by establishing a paralegal internship with the Business Law Program at the University. The clinic was fortunate to have Jennifer Sommer in the internship position, because of her commitment to working with persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Having previously volunteered with related groups, Sommer worked with several clinic families and provided much needed support over the summer. She has returned home to New York to take the LSAT amidst plans to attend law school in fall of 2002.

Two former clinic students, Gina Walton, 3L, and Guana Williams, 3L, joined the professors this summer to assist in the year-round casework that doesn’t take summer breaks. Walton and Williams participated in the Clinic during the spring semester. Both were selected for the two summer intern positions supported by the clinic’s Ryan White grant. As part of their work, Walton and Williams handled a number of cases, appeared in D.C. Superior Court for their clients with custody matters, and provided support on a number of other client issues.

Public Policy

The clinic professors have been instrumental in bringing draft Standby Guardianship legislation before the D.C. Council. This bill, drafted with the assistance of Professor Natalie Wasserman and members of the Family Ties Project, was introduced into the Council in July 2001 with hearings expected in the fall. Standby Guardianship will provide a much-needed alternative for families in which the custodial parent is HIV positive and concerned about the future of his/her children should anything happen to that parent. Standby Guardian laws exist in at least 20 states. These laws allow a chronically ill parent to appoint a custodian for a minor child without giving away any parental responsibility until a triggering event, such as incapacity or death, occurs.

Clinic Clients

During the spring semester, clinic students represented clients who presented a number of pressing issues including custody, neglect, housing, and social security disability matters. Several clients obtained joint custody of children with a trusted caregiver, such as a grandmother, aunt or friend. Other clients executed last wills and testaments, in which they expressed their wishes for future care of children. They also executed durable powers of attorney for health and finance, and made living wills to avoid heroic measures should they become terminally ill.

The work of the clinic continued throughout the summer. Students appeared in court in uncontested and contested custody cases. Gina Walton has been representing a client in a contested case in which she appeared at a hearing to argue her client’s side. She has been dealing with opposing counsel in her attempt to bring the parties to a reasonable settlement. With a case as complicated as this one, Walton is gaining valuable litigation experience which, in most instances, does not happen until students graduate from law school and pass the bar. The clinic gives its students an opportunity to learn the various facets of litigating a case and dealing with clients, as well as opposing attorneys.

Outreach: Community Service

Clinic professors have engaged in outreach activities to expand the scope of the clinic’s mission in order to help educate various agencies and clients about, and how to access, the different benefits available to them.

Professor Gay Gellhorn presented training to a citywide group of case managers and social workers on Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Case managers learned how to explain these programs to their clients and then take an active role in advancing their clients’ claims for disability benefits and accompanying medical insurance.

Professor Wasserman participated in a panel discussion on Standby Guardianship and Alternative Methods for Transferring Custody at a conference held in Philadelphia in June 2001.

Professor Carol Suzuki attended the AIA conference held this May in Washington, D.C., with Jennifer Sommers, a paralegal intern working in the clinic this summer.

HIV Clinic Pushes Student to ‘Another Level’

During the course of each semester, I stay up late, study for finals, jump through all the hoops, and I often sit and think about why I chose to come to law school — did I make the right choice, and is this really what I want to do? However, my first day in court, where I successfully represented my client in her joint custody case, I realized that I am in the career path of where I want to be.

There were often frustrating times such as when my client would not return my phone calls and would not do what I asked of her in order to substantiate her case. But knowing that I helped her with her custody issue, coupled with her expressed sentiment and appreciation, gave me a feeling beyond words.

Secondly, when my client needed help obtaining an attorney for representation in her criminal investigation, I located her an attorney to advise her and help her get the matter resolved.

Before an attorney at PDS was assigned, I attended a meeting between my client and postal inspectors. I was pleased to have the opportunity to attend the meeting because I wanted to make sure that she invoked and maintained her right not to give a statement before being represented by counsel. My presence gave her ease and she was less intimated by the postal inspectors. Again, her expressed appreciation was very rewarding.

I feel confident that after this clinical experience, I successfully strengthened and improved in the six core lawyer competencies as well as organizational skills. While I am no stranger to hard work, the HIV clinic was challenging and pushed me to another level in areas such as, but not limited to, oral and written communication, professional responsibility, problem solving, and practice management. I am grateful to know that I can take the experiences from this clinic and effectively apply them to my future career as an attorney.

-— Brandi Nave, 3L