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Abstract

The General Practice Clinic at Hamline University School of Law was established in 1985. It was designed to provide civil legal services to low income persons, including persons who are relative newcomers to Minnesota, as a result of being refugees from their homelands. Over the years the students have assisted clients with family law matters, supplemental security insurance hearings, consumer cases, reemployment insurance hearings and immigration cases, particularly related to family reunification. As a result of client priorities and the availability of other resources in the community, the largest area of client need has been in the immigration area. Of necessity, students in the clinic have frequently sought the assistance of interpreters to facilitate communication with their clients. Because of the demographic patterns of the Twin Cities, students have worked with clients needing interpreters for a number of languages, including Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese, French, Haitian Creole, Amharic and Tigrinya. Due to my family background I have needed the assistance of an interpreter from a young age. My mother was an interpreter for the United States army in Germany after World War II. I was born a year after she and my father moved to the United States. When I was five they helped my grandparents and aunts and uncles emigrate to the United States. They were displaced persons during World War II. The result for me was a sudden immersion into the German language. I became a quite fluent listener but not a very fluent speaker of the German language. I did not have the opportunity to learn to read or write the language. I understand the frustration of the person who can understand much of what is said, but needs an interpreter to respond in detail. I still need interpretation and translation assistance to communicate with relatives in Germany.

Publication Title

Clinical Law Review

Volume

6

Issue

2

First Page

347

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