How to Step into Public Interest Service: Attorney Li Ai-lun Shares Her Practice Insights

On October 14, 2015, the Judicial Reform Foundation organized an "Out-of-the-Box" seminar for lawyers at the Lawyers Training Institute, inviting two attorneys, Li Ai-lun and Kuo Te-tien, to share their legal careers to date, providing trainee lawyers who are about to embark on their legal journey with alternative visions of the profession. This article covers the insights shared by Attorney Li Ai-lun.

It turns out that those who study law do not necessarily have to choose the path of a traditional litigation lawyer; participating in NGO activities is also a wonderful career path. Moreover, many large international NGOs have reached a scale equivalent to that of multinational corporations, contrary to the general impression that NGOs often face financial issues or operational difficulties. It turns out that those who study law do not necessarily have to choose the path of a traditional litigation lawyer; participating in NGO activities is also a wonderful career path. Moreover, many large international NGOs have reached a scale equivalent to that of multinational corporations, contrary to the general impression that NGOs often face financial issues or operational difficulties.

During the lecture this evening, Attorney Li shared with the audience her journey from university graduation to legal practice, recounting how she stepped into the field of public interest service.

Like many law students, Attorney Li took the bar examination after graduating from the law department. However, because the passing rate of the bar examination was not high at the time, Attorney Li did not pass the examination in her graduation year. Instead of continuing to study for the next examination like other classmates, she chose to enter the Legislative Yuan to serve as a legislative assistant. Attorney Li said that in school, one often heard professors criticize the quality of legislation, and she wanted to experience firsthand how the legislature operates, which led to her decision to enter the Legislative Yuan.

Later, Attorney Li successfully passed the bar examination and entered a law firm for her internship. After two years of practice, due to personal factors and other circumstances, Attorney Li decided to pursue advanced studies in the United Kingdom. As to why she chose the UK for further studies, Attorney Li said that English was the only foreign language she spoke, and compared to the United States, she longed more for the European environment, which is why she chose the UK. Attorney Li recalled that she decided to pursue advanced studies in the UK during the Lunar New Year and flew to the UK in July. Interestingly, when Attorney Li went to study in the UK, it was 2008—the peak of the global financial crisis. Due to the exchange rate difference, Attorney Li was able to rely on her own financial resources to complete her studies in the UK. During her studies in the UK, Attorney Li met many classmates who were involved in international organizations, only then discovering that those who study law do not necessarily have to choose to be traditional litigation lawyers; participating in NGO activities is also a wonderful path. Furthermore, the scale of many large international NGOs is already equivalent to that of multinational corporations, contrary to the general impression that NGOs often face financial problems or operational difficulties. This inspired Attorney Li's desire not to serve as a traditional litigator, but rather to develop her career toward NGOs.

"Lawyer training classmates are very important!" Attorney Li said with a smile. After returning to Taiwan, through a training classmate working at the Legal Aid Foundation, she came into contact with the Foundation and learned that there happened to be a job vacancy at that time, subsequently joining the Foundation through this friend's introduction. Attorney Li said that during her past training at the law firm, she had also handled some assigned legal aid cases and thus had a basic understanding of the Legal Aid Foundation. The Foundation primarily assists financially disadvantaged defendants in litigation and establishes special projects for cases of a distinct public interest nature; the first case Attorney Li handled at the Foundation was a project involving credit card debt liquidation. Some cases at the Foundation are assigned to external lawyers to lower litigation costs for clients. However, the capacity of external lawyers is ultimately limited, and certain matters—such as capital cases, campus cases, and class action lawsuits—are less suitable to be assigned to external lawyers. In such situations, internal staff attorneys at the Foundation are needed to undertake them, and Attorney Li later applied to transition to a full-time staff attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation.

"At the Legal Aid Foundation, I can take on many cases that are unavailable in private practice," Attorney Li said. Because of these cases, she was able to connect with many friends in NGOs, and many friends would also refer cases to her to handle. Attorney Li believes that the greatest benefit of being at the Legal Aid Foundation is that she can handle the cases she genuinely wants to work on, while achieving her goal of not serving as a traditional litigation lawyer. Attorney Li shared her past experience of handling a case for the first time at a law firm. It was a case appealed to the third instance; she received the case assigned by her employer on the day before the annual vacation, and she had to work through the night to rush out the brief before the holiday. In the end, the brief was successfully completed in time, and the case was successfully revoked and remanded by the Supreme Court.

Attorney Li mentioned that she is often asked what to do if she cannot answer a client's question immediately, or if a client does not trust the competence of a young lawyer. She said that even in her practice today, she still encounters situations where she cannot immediately answer a client's question. The field covered by the law is vast; in fact, as long as one honestly informs the client of one's unfamiliarity with the specific area and explains that one will discuss it further after conducting thorough research, most clients will find this acceptable.

Another question was: some people believe that the law should not solely serve the wealthy, yet many people nowadays seek free legal consultations, which consumes time and cost; how should one draw the line between charging fees or not? Attorney Li believes that as long as a lawyer devotes time and effort, charging fees is reasonable.

Additionally, someone asked how one should defend a client when it is definitively confirmed that the client is guilty. Attorney Li believes that if it is truly confirmed that the client committed the crime, one should endeavor during interviews to have them acknowledge the criminal conduct. If the client refuses to admit it, one should carefully consider whether to take on the case; if the client admits to the wrongdoing, the defense should focus on helping the client mitigate the severity of the sentence.

When asked whether she had ever faced victim families expressing their views to a defendant's defense counsel, Attorney Li shared a criminal capital case she once handled. In that case, after the court session concluded, the victim's family questioned Attorney Li as to why she would defend the defendant, believing that the defendant deserved capital punishment. At that time, Attorney Li explained to them that under the law, this was a mandatory defense case assigned to her by the Legal Aid Foundation. Looking back, she felt her experience at that time was insufficient. "If it were today, I would bow to them and leave quietly." Attorney Li believes that lawyers have work they must perform properly, and the grief of the victim's family is also a genuine reality. Attorney Li also shared another campus-related case where both parties ultimately settled, because the victim's family merely wanted an apology from the defendant's family. After the defendant's family apologized and the two sides reached a settlement, the victim's family instead worried about whether the defendant would be sentenced to prison and asked Attorney Li to defend the defendant properly, which was a very unique experience.

Finally, someone asked: given that the Legal Aid Foundation frequently interacts with economically disadvantaged people or individuals from the grassroots of society, who are inevitably more emotional or regard the lawyer as their last lifeline, how should one handle the emotions of clients seeking assistance? Attorney Li believes that one should spend more time listening to the client's account. She expressed that many clients are often in a weaker position when speaking in court—interrupted by judges, told to get to the point, or intimidated from speaking during proceedings—and by the time they want to speak, the proceedings have already concluded. Therefore, lawyers should spend more time listening to the client's perspective and envision with empathy what mental state they would be in if they were in the client's shoes.