Alumni
John R. Clark Loan Repayment Assistance Program When Melissa Gosline was just 3 or 4, she told her grandmother that she was going to be a lawyer. Years later, Gosline moved to Spokane and enrolled at Gonzaga Law, where she discovered a passion for public interest law. As one of this year’s Clark Loan Repayment Assistance Program recipients, Gosline serves the Spokane community while working in the Spokane Public Defender’s office. An early passion realized “It was in high school, after being involved in mock trial and the We The People program that I decided for sure I wanted to be an attorney,” says Gosline. “After completing law school and taking the bar exam, I Melissa Gosline (‘11 J.D.) found myself unsure of what I wanted Spokane County Public to do next. I was encouraged by a friend Defender’s Office to volunteer at the Public Defender’s office… I realized it was a perfect fit. I loved the office, the work that was being done, and after three years I am still here.” As with most public interest positions, Gosline often faces client issues head-on. “The biggest challenge I have faced in public interest is the nagging feeling that there is always more I could be doing to help my clients. Either there isn’t time or resources, but the feeling is there. I remind myself that all I can ever give is my best. As long as I can reflect back on a case and know I did my best, then my job is done.” Finding satisfaction in providing service
Though Hartnett had decided as an undergraduate to attend law school, it was during an internship in his 2L year that he decided to choose a career in public service. “During the internship I had the opportunity to meet with clients and hear their stories. I realized that, but for a few different circumstances, I could have just as easily been in (the client’s) shoes,” says Hartnett. “I wasn’t talking to a stranger, I was talking to myself or the friends I grew up with. I knew that I could tell their story better than a lot of others. I realized that most of (the clients) had never had a person stand up for them and tell their story. I decided I would be the one to fight for them.” Finding rewards in client success Hartnett is confident in the work he does in the Public Defender’s office, though he is also the first to admit that the learning curve can be a bit steep. “Being a young attorney and working in indigent criminal defense can be very intimidating. Not only is a person’s freedom in your hands, some of the people you represent may be more familiar with certain aspects of the process than you. “I think the most rewarding aspect of my work is when I set a person up for success in spite of the very difficult circumstances they face.”
Benjamin Hartnett (‘12 J.D.) Spokane County Public Defender’s office
A plan for continuing service Looking ahead, Hartnett would like to establish himself as a formidable trial attorney and be able to assist new attorneys in developing their courtroom advocacy skills.
For Hartnett, it starts with a story
About the John R. Clark LRAP
Being able to help tell someone’s story can be a uniquely powerful experience. For 2015 Clark Loan Repayment Assistance Program recipient Benjamin Hartnett, the calling
John R. Clark is a 1980 graduate of Gonzaga Law, a former race car driver, and lawyer who believed that “no one is beyond redemption.” In his honor friends and family created the loan repayment program in 2013.
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Working in public defense is not always a question of needing to do more. “Being thanked by my clients is the most rewarding aspect of my job. There is a lot of work that goes into our cases, but when a client is in tears because they are so happy, it makes it worth all the hard work.” She plans to continue in public defense work, and mentoring younger attorneys as she continues in her career.
to work in the Spokane Public Defender’s office started with stories, and those stories carry him through a job that he calls both “intimidating” and “rewarding.”