Paul Hajjar
MidPenn Legal Services
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

When people found out I was going to law school, they would always follow up with, “What area of law are you going to focus on?” I was never able to give a definite answer to this question. I found myself teetering between big firm and public interest law. However, after an exciting opportunity to intern at the MidPenn Legal Services office in Harrisburg, I learned that public interest law brings me the greatest source of gratification.

My experience working for the MidPenn Legal Services can be highlighted by a speech given by the late Dr. Martin Luther King at Ebenezer Baptist Church entitled “The Drum Major Instinct.” This instinct, he said, is what drives our inner desire to feel important and to try to get ahead of our neighbors. He warned that this instinct could lead us into peril as we try to show off to one another, ultimately living outside our means. But if the drum major instinct could be harnessed, we could use it to fulfill our inner desires by working to help others and promote positive change and social justice.

Within my first week working at MidPenn Legal Services I was helping a client who was fighting an eviction by her landlord. By writing a short brief to the judge we were able to get her eviction postponed long enough for her to have time to find a new place to live. In another case, judgment was rendered against a client, thus preventing him from receiving unemployment compensation because he had been accused of willful conduct, as grounds for terminating him from his job. I was able to draft a letter of appeal to the court which ultimately led to a reversal of their decision and awarding him unemployment compensation. The gratification I received from such news was overwhelming. It was amazing to see how something as simple as a letter could change someone’s entire life situation. The reaction I felt is the same feelings I believe Martin Luther King was referring to if one were to use their drum major instinct in a positive way.

I was fortunate enough to have my experience at MidPenn juxtaposed by my experience at a large firm in Cape Town, South Africa. Although I had similar tasks, the clients I was assigned to were not in dire need of my service. Nevertheless, they were still in need of legal help. Although working at the firm was rewarding, the work I was doing and the clients I was helping did not touch me in the same way as the ones here at home.

Social justice can be fought on many levels. My experience working with the MidPenn Legal Services has shown me that my drum major instinct is most fulfilled when helping those who have no other place to turn for help.