How to be a Prosecution/PD Gunner? Forum

[spleenworship]

Does anyone know if I have a reasonable shot going for a prosecutor / public defender position after doing big law 2L summer? I have a clerkship with my target state's highest court and have taken some upper-level crim courses but no pd / da experience. I'll try to find an internship or something after graduation and before the clerkship (I graduate in Feb and the clerkship starts in Aug.) but assume I can't find something like that.

Its gonna be harder from my understanding..

Do you have trial skills classes? Mock trial or moot court? You could try to talk those up.

[AreJay711]

Does anyone know if I have a reasonable shot going for a prosecutor / public defender position after doing big law 2L summer? I have a clerkship with my target state's highest court and have taken some upper-level crim courses but no pd / da experience. I'll try to find an internship or something after graduation and before the clerkship (I graduate in Feb and the clerkship starts in Aug.) but assume I can't find something like that.

Its gonna be harder from my understanding..

Do you have trial skills classes? Mock trial or moot court? You could try to talk those up.

Nah. I'll try to do a mock trial this fall though. Thanks for the tip.

[Void]

Does anyone know if I have a reasonable shot going for a prosecutor / public defender position after doing big law 2L summer? I have a clerkship with my target state's highest court and have taken some upper-level crim courses but no pd / da experience. I'll try to find an internship or something after graduation and before the clerkship (I graduate in Feb and the clerkship starts in Aug.) but assume I can't find something like that.

In my area you could totally volunteer for a PD for the 6 months between your graduation and clerkship. Give it a shot- just contact whomever is in charge and ask them about it.

Edit: That said, it sounds like you'll have a tough time establishing "true believer" status, at least for a PD position. It obviously varies by state/region, but my guess is you'd have better luck with the prosecutor's office.

[AreJay711]

I'll try it. I was leaning more prosecution. My original plan was to do biglaw for awhile and then apply to be a prosecutor after I saved some money and paid off my loans a bit but I got stuck in a transactional practice and would hate life doing that shit.

[Void]

I'll try it. I was leaning more prosecution. My original plan was to do biglaw for awhile and then apply to be a prosecutor after I saved some money and paid off my loans a bit but I got stuck in a transactional practice and would hate life doing that shit.

I hear you on the transactional nightmare. Personally I'd rather set my own nutsack aflame than do pretty much any biglaw work, but to each his own.

In my area you'd have a slightly tougher time getting a foot in the door at the prosecutor's office than the PD, but like I said it totally varies.

[adonai]

I'll try it. I was leaning more prosecution. My original plan was to do biglaw for awhile and then apply to be a prosecutor after I saved some money and paid off my loans a bit but I got stuck in a transactional practice and would hate life doing that shit.

I hear you on the transactional nightmare. Personally I'd rather set my own nutsack aflame than do pretty much any biglaw work, but to each his own.

In my area you'd have a slightly tougher time getting a foot in the door at the prosecutor's office than the PD, but like I said it totally varies.

Yeah, it really depends on the area. Some offices like the fact that you bring diverse knowledge from all the other civil stuff you did. My area DA's office takes biglaw attorneys with no crim exp. all the time because they place a high value on whether they feel confident they can place you in front of a jury. I'd say most biglaw attorneys have those skills to begin with so it is pretty easy to get in. Those with hardcore DA experience are a dime a dozen. They're not going to differentiate themselves from the pack.

[JRustle]

EJW is for summer internships too right? Not just post-grad jobs?

[Void]

I'll try it. I was leaning more prosecution. My original plan was to do biglaw for awhile and then apply to be a prosecutor after I saved some money and paid off my loans a bit but I got stuck in a transactional practice and would hate life doing that shit.

I hear you on the transactional nightmare. Personally I'd rather set my own nutsack aflame than do pretty much any biglaw work, but to each his own.

In my area you'd have a slightly tougher time getting a foot in the door at the prosecutor's office than the PD, but like I said it totally varies.

Yeah, it really depends on the area. Some offices like the fact that you bring diverse knowledge from all the other civil stuff you did. My area DA's office takes biglaw attorneys with no crim exp. all the time because they place a high value on whether they feel confident they can place you in front of a jury. I'd say most biglaw attorneys have those skills to begin with so it is pretty easy to get in. Those with hardcore DA experience are a dime a dozen. They're not going to differentiate themselves from the pack.

This is also true around here- I should have clarified that I meant it would be harder for him to get a foot in the door for temporary volunteer work at the prosecutor's office as a recent grad (as of February) with only SA experience. Just because 'round here it seems like the prosecutor's office is a lot more popular with law students and internships are more competitive than at the PD, so there is probably less room for dudes looking to cut their teeth on a temporary volunteer basis.

[Void]

EJW is for summer internships too right? Not just post-grad jobs?

My understanding is that it's actually MOSTLY for law student/summer intern positions, and there are sometimes a few post-grad opportunities too.

[Borhas]

Does anyone know if I have a reasonable shot going for a prosecutor / public defender position after doing big law 2L summer? I have a clerkship with my target state's highest court and have taken some upper-level crim courses but no pd / da experience. I'll try to find an internship or something after graduation and before the clerkship (I graduate in Feb and the clerkship starts in Aug.) but assume I can't find something like that.

easier for prosecution, especially if you actually have some sort of public service stuff going on in your background

i wouldn't count it though, you have a very uphill battle

try to develop some sort of professional relationship with the local DA office, obviously

[AreJay711]

Does anyone know if I have a reasonable shot going for a prosecutor / public defender position after doing big law 2L summer? I have a clerkship with my target state's highest court and have taken some upper-level crim courses but no pd / da experience. I'll try to find an internship or something after graduation and before the clerkship (I graduate in Feb and the clerkship starts in Aug.) but assume I can't find something like that.

easier for prosecution, especially if you actually have some sort of public service stuff going on in your background

i wouldn't count it though, you have a very uphill battle

try to develop some sort of professional relationship with the local DA office, obviously

I have some public service stuff. I worked for a city government 1L and have some volunteer firefighter experience (which the police department likes, so maybe the DA will too). Fortunately, the judges in my state have home chambers around the state and my judge sits in one of the more busy counties. I'll try to rub elbows with the prosecutors in the courthouse.

I know PDs offices sometimes look down on time spent in prosecutor's offices, but what about the other way around? Do prosecutors look down on time spent in a PD's offices? I'll probably do that anyway just to get some trial experience and make sure I would actually like the job, but I'm curious.

[BlueLotus]

Anyone else register for EJW Conference and Career Fair? Hope it isn't such a bloodbath for TLS'ers as it was last year!

[spleenworship]

Anyone else register for EJW Conference and Career Fair? Hope it isn't such a bloodbath for TLS'ers as it was last year!

I'm not registering until I see 5 post-grad jobs I actually want to apply for.

Also, can I get the tl;dr version of "bloodbath for TLSers"?

[spleenworship]

Does anyone know if I have a reasonable shot going for a prosecutor / public defender position after doing big law 2L summer? I have a clerkship with my target state's highest court and have taken some upper-level crim courses but no pd / da experience. I'll try to find an internship or something after graduation and before the clerkship (I graduate in Feb and the clerkship starts in Aug.) but assume I can't find something like that.

easier for prosecution, especially if you actually have some sort of public service stuff going on in your background

i wouldn't count it though, you have a very uphill battle

try to develop some sort of professional relationship with the local DA office, obviously

I have some public service stuff. I worked for a city government 1L and have some volunteer firefighter experience (which the police department likes, so maybe the DA will too). Fortunately, the judges in my state have home chambers around the state and my judge sits in one of the more busy counties. I'll try to rub elbows with the prosecutors in the courthouse.

I know PDs offices sometimes look down on time spent in prosecutor's offices, but what about the other way around? Do prosecutors look down on time spent in a PD's offices? I'll probably do that anyway just to get some trial experience and make sure I would actually like the job, but I'm curious.

Consider taking a NITA course during your time off before clerkship as well.

[BlueLotus]

Anyone else register for EJW Conference and Career Fair? Hope it isn't such a bloodbath for TLS'ers as it was last year!

I'm not registering until I see 5 post-grad jobs I actually want to apply for.

Also, can I get the tl;dr version of "bloodbath for TLSers"?

On pp. 40-43ish ITT, a bunch of folks with legit PD creds struck out completely.

[spleenworship]

Anyone else register for EJW Conference and Career Fair? Hope it isn't such a bloodbath for TLS'ers as it was last year!

I'm not registering until I see 5 post-grad jobs I actually want to apply for.

Also, can I get the tl;dr version of "bloodbath for TLSers"?

On pp. 40-43ish ITT, a bunch of folks with legit PD creds struck out completely.

Ugh. Oh gawd, please let me get some PD job somewhere. I don't care where as long as it's within 2 hours of a DO school or in my home state.

My local PDs office is talking about hiring only 3 people again this year.

[BlueLotus]

Is it all right to apply directly to an office after you've been dinged by them via EJW?

[spleenworship]

Is it all right to apply directly to an office after you've been dinged by them via EJW?

I just read the bloodbath. So I'll just tell you what they said then: What do you have to lose?

[spleenworship]

Anyone know anything about PDs offices in New Jersey? I would live there, and they have like 5 DO schools within a 2.5 hour drive of anywhere in the state.

[Void]

Anyone know anything about PDs offices in New Jersey? I would live there, and they have like 5 DO schools within a 2.5 hour drive of anywhere in the state.

Sorry- whats a DO school?

Also, I talked to NJ PD at the NYU public interest fair over the winter. They essentially told me that they're hiring, but not to bother applying until after I passed the NJ bar. That said, others on this thread supposedly received full-time post grad offers while they were still 3Ls, so maybe NJ PD just didnt like the cut of my jib.

[Ty Webb]

Anyone else register for EJW Conference and Career Fair? Hope it isn't such a bloodbath for TLS'ers as it was last year!

I'm not registering until I see 5 post-grad jobs I actually want to apply for.

Also, can I get the tl;dr version of "bloodbath for TLSers"?

I hear you on this. For people in the know, how many full-time hiring offices can we reasonably expect to participate? I know this requires some speculation.

[Void]

Just accepted a PD offer, from an office to which I originally applied completely cold. (Went to their website and shot my materials to the generic HR email address, without even knowing whether they were hiring). No ties to the state at all, and I have to take their bar exam next year.

Me: T2 (second tier, not Top 2), top 15%, e-board on secondary journal, fairly strong law school PD/Public interest experience & coursework.

Sorry but I don't want to be more specific on this public forum. PM me for deets.

Don't give up, guys!

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know anything about PDs offices in New Jersey? I would live there, and they have like 5 DO schools within a 2.5 hour drive of anywhere in the state.

Sorry- whats a DO school?

Also, I talked to NJ PD at the NYU public interest fair over the winter. They essentially told me that they're hiring, but not to bother applying until after I passed the NJ bar. That said, others on this thread supposedly received full-time post grad offers while they were still 3Ls, so maybe NJ PD just didnt like the cut of my jib.

NJ gave at least five offers out in January, pre-bar. I believe they all came from NY/NJ area schools. (Maybe by the time the NYU fair rolled around, their "pre-bar" slots were already filled?)

You don't know what office you'll be placed in until shortly before you begin working in the fall. You start as a legal assistant of sorts, then are promoted to an attorney role upon bar passage.

[kapital98]

Just accepted a PD offer, from an office to which I originally applied completely cold. (Went to their website and shot my materials to the generic HR email address, without even knowing whether they were hiring). No ties to the state at all, and I have to take their bar exam next year.

Me: T2 (second tier, not Top 2), top 15%, e-board on secondary journal, fairly strong law school PD/Public interest experience & coursework.

Sorry but I don't want to be more specific on this public forum. PM me for deets.

Don't give up, guys!

That's really impressive. Way to go!

[adonai]

Just accepted a PD offer, from an office to which I originally applied completely cold. (Went to their website and shot my materials to the generic HR email address, without even knowing whether they were hiring). No ties to the state at all, and I have to take their bar exam next year.

Me: T2 (second tier, not Top 2), top 15%, e-board on secondary journal, fairly strong law school PD/Public interest experience & coursework.

Sorry but I don't want to be more specific on this public forum. PM me for deets.

Don't give up, guys!

Congrats! I'm always skeptical of generic HR email addresses because they seem like a storage bank rather than someone actively checking and reviewing the applications that are sent there. Glad to know that isn't the case in all instances.