My first trial here, I handled a small case, like most of us do when we do our first trial. And we were representing a young woman who had been involved in a very bad-looking accident but from which fortunately she had only suffered relatively minor injuries. She had been struck while turning left, and her vehicle had rolled over multiple times. And, unfortunately, the defendant’s insurance company had decided they didn’t feel that the case was worth anything because they didn’t feel like she was injured.

What they didn’t recognize, particularly because of her cultural background as a Maong woman was that her responsibilities, while not involving employment, were extensive. She was the provider for the household in terms of taking care of the children, managing the household on a day-to-day basis. And this was a large household. And, like many people in that situation, the household suffered when she was unable to do her tasks at home and when she was unable to provide on a daily basis in a way that wasn’t necessarily monetary but that was crucial for the family.

Fortunately, we were able to win the trial. And at the end of the trial, we were able to return to her something that compensated her for what she had gone through through that period and the difficulties that the family had gone through generally.