MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Graduate student Hannah Jack is making her mark as the first social work intern at the law clinics at West Virginia University College of Law.
While earning his Masters in Social Work from the WVU School of Social Work, Jack helps legal clinics serve clients holistically, including connecting them to resources to improve their quality of life. She also consults with law students working in the clinics on topics such as communication and stressors in their dealings with clients.
“I hope to pave the way for this type of partnership to continue in the future and demonstrate the role a social worker can play in helping legal clinics provide legal resources,” Jack said. “This role offers opportunities to collaborate with a variety of people: attorneys, clients and even other social workers.”
Jack is supervised by Nicole McConlogue, Associate Professor of Law and Clinic Director. She sees the potential for graduate social work students to improve the legal representation that clinics already provide.
“We’re the only law school in West Virginia, and the clinical law program is one of the premier legal service providers in the state,” she said. “So many of the clinic’s clients have multiple, interrelated legal and non-legal needs that would benefit from the presence of a social worker.”
McConlogue said graduate social work students will help clinic clients address the root causes of their needs while teaching law students about the connections between social and legal needs. They might also perform community needs assessments, strategic planning, and engage in activities with clients and the community such as mediation, outreach, education, and individual and/or group counseling.
“Graduate social work students can also help prepare law students to serve clients with trauma and mental health issues,” she said.
Jack has previous experience in the legal field. One summer as an undergrad, she worked for 1999 WVU law graduate Tasha Catrow, owner of Catrow Law, PLLC in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Jack is from Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in professional writing and women’s and gender studies from WVU. She is a graduate assistant at the downtown campus library.
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