Typically, clients approach the Law School’s General Clinic for assistance—but every so often, a case comes from within, spurred by an issue close to the heart of a student attorney. It is at this moment when personal interest and practical knowledge meld, enriching the academic experience and broadening the scope of Michigan Law’s public service.
In the Law School’s General Clinic, the partnership of Mary Watkins, ’14, and David Frisof, ’14, started with a shared docket of asylum cases and landlord-tenant disputes. Then, on a crisp January day, Watkins went to see a man about a horse.
“The first time I came into the clinic office and said, ‘I need to open a file for Horses’ Haven,’ there was understandably some skepticism,” says Watkins, remembering the reaction of staff to the partners’ new, and unexpectedly equine, clients. “They said, ‘You’re working on a contract for horses? Right.’”
But, given Watkins’s history with the Howell, Michigan-based adoption agency, her involvement in the project is not altogether surprising.
A dedicated Horses’ Haven volunteer, she was in the process of adopting her own thoroughbred, Millie, from the nonprofit when she realized the agency’s contract was in desperate need of an update.
“Mary approached us about wanting to make sure that our adoption contract was up to snuff and that all parties were protected,” says Jill Fredrickson, board president of Horses’ Haven. “As a nonprofit, it’s sometimes difficult to hire an attorney, especially one who specializes in equine law. Mary and David turned the document inside out, upside down, and worked with us at every step to really fine-tune it.”
Under the guidance of Professor Nicole Appleberry, ’94, the partners added Horses’ Haven as a clinic client and began their first foray into contract law.
“Nicole told us that a contract should tell a story,” says Frisof of their approach to the project. “There are many ways to structure the same deal, and it can get complicated. With Horses’ Haven, the purpose of the contract was very straightforward. The key point was to allow the agency to have the right, in perpetuity, to look in on the adopted animal and take it back if they feel it is being mistreated.”
The result of the pair’s efforts was an adoption contract of which the Horses’ Haven board heartily approved. “In a small way, we helped the people at Horses’ Haven continue to do what they love to do, but with the legal protection they need for the future,” Frisof says.
“This contract allows Horses’ Haven to keep an eye on every animal that goes through its door and make sure that every horse, pony, donkey, and even goat that is adopted receives quality care for its entire life,” adds Watkins.
Not your average clinic experience, perhaps, but certainly one that has made a lasting impression—on attorney and client both.
