What went well?

• Going off my work from the week prior, I was able to reach out to the 50 clients who had cases in question and were detained by the Home Office. While I was just asked to make introductory phone calls at the start, I took the imitative to make follow-up voicemails and call several times to the various numbers on file to make sure the client at least knew of my organization. In these calls, I would use translators to have them explain the services BiD offers, and what the next steps would be. In a typical case, I would listen to their story and send either an outreach or prison pack and then ask the client to sign an LOA (a letter of authority) while I create a client file for them in our database. Then I would politely ask them to send back the signed form along with another containing our privacy statement. Once we get a hold of this form, then the firm (hence Tara and I) can formerly act on their behalf and represent them in any legal matter. At this stage, then I would start asking for more personal details such as potential financial, housing, and other court documents that they may have. Only after we collect all the intended documents is when BiD can create a B1 (the bail form needed to apply for asylum) and then wait to have a court date from which we can see if the client is eligible to be released or not. Knowing I could go through the entire list of detainees in a week, leaves me in a good place as I know I am staying with the July 1^st deadline that looms over my mind. At this point, I am actively playing the waiting game as I hope to hear back soon from as many clients as possible.

What could have been done differently?

• In terms of things I could have done differently, I wish I would have done some outside training with IT-related matters. I always claim that I have proficiency with Microsoft applications but knowing that I was working alongside such big firms, being able to ensure total transparency and reach that tight attorney client privilege status was much more difficult. These firms used Microsoft SharePoint but this was an application that was honestly unbeknownst to me. So naturally, there were a lot of technical issue in sharing folders and getting all members of each Pro Bono team, along with our select individuals in the firm on the same page. After talking with our IT guy and sending out apology messages when needed, I was able to figure out all the technical details. However, if the moment I learned this was the platform that we were using, I should have started to look at YouTube or any other online tutorial to get used to everything.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

• When working with others, I learned that I exhibited mass determination to finish my responsibilities while balancing relations with so many other organizations and still trying to connect with my boss and my colleagues at work. Handling so many cases at one time may have been stressful but I am embracing the challenge and am excited about how these cases will go. The arguments the Home Office are stating as reason to deport the 50 individuals are blasphemous, so I am confident that we can pick them apart in court and successfully allow everyone to stay within the UK.

 What did I learn about leadership?

• As far as my leadership attributes, I was able to highly develop my collaboration and team working skills. Besides capitalizing on the diverse nature of clients, languages, cultures, experiences I was working with, I needed to have emotional intelligence to learn and attentively hear. There were many boundaries I faced in this week, but I still tried to build the stronger relationships and networks I wanted to achieve since my first day in the office.

What do I want to develop or focus on next?

• Looking at what I can develop or focus on next, I want to focus on collecting documents quickly and then being able to facilitate the process as much for the formal attorneys we are working with on standby. With that being said, I look forward to the work I get done in Week 5 of my internship.