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I have over a year of PD experience on my resume. While I'd be ok with PD work, I prefer the DA side. I have a decent reason to want to do DA work as I grew up in a very rough neighborhood and my family has dealt with criminal activity close to home many times. I also just didn't feel right doing a lot of the work at the PDs office. My PDs office told me they automatically reject anyone who says they ever considered the DA's office, let alone worked at one. Is it the same for PD to DA? My recent interview with one of the major DA's offices on the east coast they didn't even mention my PD experience. I don't know if I need to waste a paragraph explaining the switch in my cover letters.

Top 15%, Mock Trial, Secondary Journal from T2 if it matters.

I'm a 3L, have similar experience to you and have had several interviews with DA's offices (and am now working with one for the year). Never once was PD experience mentioned in an unfavorable light. I definitely wouldn't waste space on a cover letter talking about it, just be ready with a good answer if you are asked.

I think that's kind of a one way street. DA offices will mostly accept past PDs and in fact often recruit them, but PD offices will never accept DAs. That's because half the PD office outlook is a philosophical thing about the injustice of the current justice system. So if you're a DA, that kind of precludes that point of view.

I really believe it depends on the office though, I had an interview with Jacksonville PD and they didnt care, I even asked what they thought about it because I thought it was weird they didnt ask. They said they had people that used to be DA's, people that interned there in school, and it just didnt matter to them.

Of course that's only one office but I don't think a blanket statement of "PDs dont accept DA experience" is legit.