Zachary McNish's interest in community service law seems to have been driven by the same instincts that led him to spend three years in the Peace Corps in Panama after he graduated from college
Law students give the poor a hand
Program pays for 'externs' to do pro bono work for the needy
Community
By MIKE SNYDER
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
Zachary McNish completed his summer of courtroom experience in Houston last week with a 1-2 record.
In his first case, he convinced a judge that his client had been unlawfully locked out of her apartment. A second client lost a case involving allegations of lease violations at a mobile home. And last week, when McNish showed up for another eviction case, the judge ruled for the landlord after McNish's client failed to appear.
"I tried my best to represent her, but it's hard when the client doesn't show up," said McNish, 26, who is about to start his second year at the Duke University Law School in Durham, N.C.
Even though he's not a lawyer yet, Texas legal procedures allow McNish to represent clients in certain types of cases in Justice of the Peace courts. What's more unusual about his experience, though, is that the law firm that paid his salary had no connection to the cases he was handling.
McNish was one of two Houston "externs" hired by Howrey Simon Arnold & White to work for nonprofit agencies that provide legal services to the poor. McNish worked for Lone Star Legal Aid, while University of Texas law student Crystal Leff worked for the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program.
Law students typically sign up for internships after their second year, with an eye toward an eventual job at the firm if all goes well. Howrey Simon, a 600-lawyer firm with offices in Houston and nine other cities, has tweaked that model by sponsoring students after their first year and supplying them to agencies that do community service work.
"I can't go so far as to say it's unique, but it's certainly unusual for a major law firm to do this," said Paul Mott, a staff attorney at the volunteer lawyers' program who supervised much of Leff's work this summer. "It's very commendable."
When it started the program last year, Howrey Simon placed seven students in agencies around the country, including one in Houston. This year it sponsored eight students.
The externships reflect Howrey Simon's commitment to provide services to clients with limited ability to pay — what lawyers call "pro bono" work, said Peter Ormsby, a partner in the firm's Houston office.
"It's another way to promote pro bono work and help out public interest organizations," Ormsby said. "Funding is short for almost all these organizations that are geared toward helping the poor in our community."
McNish's interest in community service law seems to have been driven by the same instincts that led him to spend three years in the Peace Corps in Panama after he graduated from college. His experience with Lone Star Legal Aid, he said, has reaffirmed the wisdom of his decision to go to law school.
McNish said he understands he must balance his passion for helping people with a realistic understanding of how much he can accomplish.
"You realize that the world is a big place and there are lots of problems, and you know you can't solve everything," he said. "But the point of being human, almost, is to do your share."
