Limping to the end

Oh, the joys of being a public defender. Especially as the fiscal year ends. Every year, funds run out, or come close. We get memos or e-mails that we can't order any new office supplies until July 1. So we're low on pens and post-it notes and legal pads. Then we get the notice that we're running out of paper, so we have to start rationing our copying and printing. It's kind of hard to be a lawyer without paper. A lot of what we do is produce documents, which usually have to be copied multiple times. (Multiple copies for the court, a copy or two for opposing counsel, a copy for the client, and, of course, a copy for the file.) Maybe that means I can take the next week off. Or I'll just read cases on the computer and not print out rough drafts of my documents. I don't need to make edits by hand. And I'll hold off on writing as many client letters as I can.

But come July 1, I will be a printing fool.