Kaitlyn Cahill was ready and eager to handle her first hearing in Philadelphia's Dependency Court, where she expected to file a petition for an order for protective custody of a minor.

A 2L who is completing a co-op placement with the Child Welfare Unit of Philadelphia's Law Department, Cahill had spent months acquainting herself with Pennsylvania's Juvenile Act and Child Protective Service Law.

Cahill had watched attorneys prepare for and handle hearings to resolve the fate of minors who were living in foster care.

But on March 24, Cahill would have her first opportunity to represent the city in a shelter care hearing that would decide the whereabouts of a child whose parents were suspected of neglect.

Through no fault of Cahill's, the process did not go as expected. During the hearing, new information emerged that had not been previously disclosed to Cahill.

"That forced us to alter our strategy," Cahill said, adding that the child in question would be returned to a parent, instead of remaining in the city's custody.

Cahill said she kept surprisingly calm, despite confusion that unfolded in open court.

"Maybe I should have been rattled," she said. "I wasn't as intimidated as I thought I'd be."

Still, the hearing served as a reminder to Cahill that family law is fraught with the unpredictable and with complications that inevitably result from fractured communications.

"No matter how hard you prepare, it might not matter," said Cahill, who plans to establish her career in family law.

"Law can be so abstract, but in the world of child welfare, you have a direct impact on people's lives," she said, adding that she could envision herself representing either families or the government. "What's best for the kids doesn't necessarily mean keeping them away from the parent."

A native of Sand Hill, N.Y., Cahill has felt a pull toward public-interest or government practice ever since she studied economics at the State University of New York-Geneseo. Initially planning a career in business or finance, Cahill became fascinated by the economics of urban communities and the opportunities to make life better for struggling people.

Knowing that economists around the world have cited the role of women in stabilizing blighted communities, Cahill said family law offers potential rewards at the grassroots level.

"If you focus on women, there's more of an opportunity to have a favorable impact on the community," she said, citing studies of the impact of micro-lending in India and elsewhere.

In March, Cahill was chosen by the school and Philadelphia City Solicitor's Office to receive the Carl "Tobey" Oxholm III Summer Law Fellowship. The fellowship is designed to support a student who intends to pursue a career in local government service.

Calling legal practice in the child welfare sector "an important job, but kind of a thankless job," Cahill does not expect her work to be easy.

But the mix of constitutional and criminal matters that intersect with family law will keep things interesting.

And then there's the prospect of making a positive difference in young lives.

"I had a great childhood," she said. "Seeing people who didn't makes you want to do something to help."

"We're retraining your brain to think in a different way," she said, adding that it helps litigators enormously when they can simultaneously see an argument's positive and negative points.

The exercise is excellent discipline, student Aminah Shabazz observed.

"Things come up in court - like evidence that could throw the case," Shabazz said. "You have to be able to switch gears and still be believable to the jury."

To melt inhibitions, Geller begins classes with silly recitations like "red leather, yellow leather" or "you know you need unique New York."

One class closed with a lightning round exercise called "185," which features word play that helps students think and solve problems quickly. In the exercise, students took turns improvising a joke about 185 members of a certain group being refused service in a bar.

"One hundred eighty-five doctors walk into a bar," Heather Starek said, following the prescribed set-up. "The bartender says, 'I'm terribly sorry, but we don't serve doctors.' And the doctor says, 'Could you at least give it a shot?'"

Ba-dum-bum.