How to be a Prosecution/PD Gunner? Forum

[BlueLotus]

If you can pass the bar you can be a PD. I guess if you have active warrants you may have trouble visiting your clients in jail?

well, fuck. i also have pretty serious c&f issues too. :sigh:

I mean, you would need to pass the bar for any of these jobs.

I know, I know. I'm just paranoid as fuck that my past mistakes will screw me over when it comes to the BAR.

[Easy-E]

Do AG questions fall under this thread?

[raekaya]

Anyone interested in creating a thread (or posting here) about what different offices allow their interns to do (based on your own experience or word of mouth)? It varies so wildly, is incredibly helpful for people choosing summer gigs, and yet there is so little information on it.

[Anonymous User]

I'd be happy to post in another thread about that, this one is getting a little lengthy.

Does anyone have any intel on Prosecution/PD are any public interest lit heavy jobs in Seattle? I'm a pd in a UBE state and am thinking of making a geographic change. I have a good amount of family in the seattle area but none of them have any connection to the legal field. I'd prefer to do PD work out there but any insight into the DA hiring and whatever arm the city has for their civil litigation would be appreciated.

[raekaya]

As promised: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=244864

I'd appreciate any contributions and I promise to contribute myself once there are enough posts that I can post anonymously without giving myself away.

[iShotFirst]

I'd be happy to post in another thread about that, this one is getting a little lengthy.

Does anyone have any intel on Prosecution/PD are any public interest lit heavy jobs in Seattle? I'm a pd in a UBE state and am thinking of making a geographic change. I have a good amount of family in the seattle area but none of them have any connection to the legal field. I'd prefer to do PD work out there but any insight into the DA hiring and whatever arm the city has for their civil litigation would be appreciated.

Also very interested in this.

[werther]

Can anyone provide information on the interview process in New Jersey Prosecutor's Offices? I would greatly appreciate if anyone could share their experience.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone provide information on the interview process in New Jersey Prosecutor's Offices? I would greatly appreciate if anyone could share their experience.

What are you interviewing for? I interviewed for a 1L summer position, so obviously it was pretty low key.

[M.Zaccone]

Hey All,

I applied for a full-time semester internship with the Manhattan DA, this upcoming fall (my 3L year). The application instructions seemed to emphasize how important it was to get in your application before the deadline (April 15), because offers are rolling. I had hoped to get it in by March 15 when applications opened to take advantage of the rolling offers, but life intervened, and I couldn't get it out until that Friday morning (March 20).

Has anyone else who applied heard back, or have their references contacted? I guess I’m not sure what the timeframe for these type of decisions are compared to 1L summers and 2L OCI. Not sure when I should start to “worry” (for lack of a better word).
Any info from current or former applicants would be much appreciated

Thanks!

[isuperserial]

Interested 1L checking in.

[Anonymous User]

Hey All,

I applied for a full-time semester internship with the Manhattan DA, this upcoming fall (my 3L year). The application instructions seemed to emphasize how important it was to get in your application before the deadline (April 15), because offers are rolling. I had hoped to get it in by March 15 when applications opened to take advantage of the rolling offers, but life intervened, and I couldn't get it out until that Friday morning (March 20).

Has anyone else who applied heard back, or have their references contacted? I guess I’m not sure what the timeframe for these type of decisions are compared to 1L summers and 2L OCI. Not sure when I should start to “worry” (for lack of a better word).
Any info from current or former applicants would be much appreciated

Thanks!

I have pretty much the exact same situation, including dates. I got called for an interview a week ago, but as I am in another state I cannot interview until late next week. I am concerned that the delay will have a negative impact on my application. Do you have any updates on your app status?

[sd5289]

Hey All,

I applied for a full-time semester internship with the Manhattan DA, this upcoming fall (my 3L year). The application instructions seemed to emphasize how important it was to get in your application before the deadline (April 15), because offers are rolling. I had hoped to get it in by March 15 when applications opened to take advantage of the rolling offers, but life intervened, and I couldn't get it out until that Friday morning (March 20).

Has anyone else who applied heard back, or have their references contacted? I guess I’m not sure what the timeframe for these type of decisions are compared to 1L summers and 2L OCI. Not sure when I should start to “worry” (for lack of a better word).
Any info from current or former applicants would be much appreciated

Thanks!

I have pretty much the exact same situation, including dates. I got called for an interview a week ago, but as I am in another state I cannot interview until late next week. I am concerned that the delay will have a negative impact on my application. Do you have any updates on your app status?

For the fall? You should be totally fine.

And to the poster who got his application in 5 days after it opened, relax. Everyone has to interview first before they have the chance at an offer, which typically takes place around this time of year for the fall semester internship. Right now they're gearing up for the summer internship people to start in June.

[M.Zaccone]

Hey All,

I applied for a full-time semester internship with the Manhattan DA, this upcoming fall (my 3L year). The application instructions seemed to emphasize how important it was to get in your application before the deadline (April 15), because offers are rolling. I had hoped to get it in by March 15 when applications opened to take advantage of the rolling offers, but life intervened, and I couldn't get it out until that Friday morning (March 20).

Has anyone else who applied heard back, or have their references contacted? I guess I’m not sure what the timeframe for these type of decisions are compared to 1L summers and 2L OCI. Not sure when I should start to “worry” (for lack of a better word).
Any info from current or former applicants would be much appreciated

Thanks!

I have pretty much the exact same situation, including dates. I got called for an interview a week ago, but as I am in another state I cannot interview until late next week. I am concerned that the delay will have a negative impact on my application. Do you have any updates on your app status?

For the fall? You should be totally fine.

And to the poster who got his application in 5 days after it opened, relax. Everyone has to interview first before they have the chance at an offer, which typically takes place around this time of year for the fall semester internship. Right now they're gearing up for the summer internship people to start in June.

Thanks sd5289 for bringing me down to earth a bit. ITE it's easy to let your fears get the best of you, so I do appreciate the level-headed response. Anyone else who has similar concerns feel free to PM me, as I've had some developments since I posted.

[Anonymous User]

Would being an officer in Fed Soc. diminish my chances of getting PD?

[swampman]

Would being an officer in Fed Soc. diminish my chances of getting PD?

Just don't put it on your resume.

[bugsy33]

Anybody heard from Cook County PD about summer placements? Getting right down to the wire.

[pdwannabe]

Anybody heard from Cook County PD about summer placements? Getting right down to the wire.

they are generally pretty slow about it. but i was notified of my likely placement on tuesday (the 5th). i would email them and let them know when you can start, and they should get back to you (eventually)

[underthirty]

.

[Displeased]

Would being an officer in Fed Soc. diminish my chances of getting PD?

It very well may. During one of my PD internships, a supervisor rejected a Fed Soc member's application with the comment, "Those people want to kill our clients."

I'm a bit curious why you would be even consider pursuing public defense if you're a Fed Soc officer. In my experience, public defenders are generally members ACS, NLG, or other left-leaning groups.

I generally agree that public defenders lean left as a group, especially the younger ones.

But some of the older public defenders I've met/worked with are old school Republicans. Even some of the younger PDs are Ron Paul style Libertarians. My old supervisor thought Obama was the worst thing to happen to the country since Nixon, but nobody would fight harder then him for a client. It takes all kinds.

I'm also somewhat surprised by the religiosity of PDs. I'm a pretty staunch atheist, so maybe I notice this more, but there are a lot of very Christian PDs. Weird considering how jaded and cynical PDs can get.

But my experience is limited to a handful of offices in a single state, I'm sure this is the kind of thing that varies wildly from office to office. I'd DEFINITELY err on the side of leaving the Federalist Society off your resume, especially if you are applying to a more prestigious PD office.

[anon sequitur]

I worked in a PD office, in a solidly red area of a purple state, and I had a similar experience to Displeased. A (to me) surprising number of the PDs were toward the right side of the spectrum, though not all that far to the right. Also more religiosity than I would have guessed. One of the higher-ups was pro-death penalty. To be fair, the atmosphere overall was generally solidly to the left, people in gay relationships bringing their partners to social events, default assumption seemed to be against drug prohibition, etc.

Anyway, I think that there is almost no chance that FedSoc would be beneficial, and a sizable chance it would just get your app thrown in the garbage. Which is stupid (I would be more than happy to have the pro-death penalty, pro-gun rights republican guy from my office representing me, he was smart and zealous as hell)

[kapital98]

Hello everyone! I haven't posted on TLS in while. Is this a thread to talk about Legal Aid?

I've been interning at a PD's office in Upstate, NY since shortly after taking the bar exam (a relatively big city). I was recently accepted to a full time position at a Legal Aid office in Upstate, NY (very rural area) and would be happy to answer any questions anyone has. Especially about Upstate, NY. Upstate is a completely different animal than most larger markets.

It's interesting to contrast the two markets. The PD's office pays better than my current office (~10% more) but is significantly worse when it comes to the extra parts of the job. New PD's in that office often don't get their own office and only get to use secretaries in a very limited function. In my current job, in a rural area and a small office, I get a huge office and a 1:1 ratio of lawyers to support staff. It's probably an office-to-office type of thing but there are some significant non-monetary benefits to working in a small town.

When it comes to finding PD and Legal Aid jobs: It's tough. There's no denying that. At any one time there might be 3-5 listings for PD's and legal aid combined for all of upstate. It's pretty ridiculous. Often there is only one PD position open. Those go very, very quickly. I was hoping to land a job at the PD's office I worked at. When that didn't work out I really didn't know what I was going to do. Fortunately, I had taken two other legal aid interviews, for three separate offices, and one of them panned out. There just isn't much up here and most of the spots go to people who have the proper networks. The office that hired me phone interviewed an appellate justice I had externed for. Without the Justice's support I sincerely doubt I would have gotten my current job.

If anyone has questions I'd be happy to try to help.

[The Mixed Tape]

tag

[Anonymous User]

Hello everyone! I haven't posted on TLS in while. Is this a thread to talk about Legal Aid?

I've been interning at a PD's office in Upstate, NY since shortly after taking the bar exam (a relatively big city). I was recently accepted to a full time position at a Legal Aid office in Upstate, NY (very rural area) and would be happy to answer any questions anyone has. Especially about Upstate, NY. Upstate is a completely different animal than most larger markets.

It's interesting to contrast the two markets. The PD's office pays better than my current office (~10% more) but is significantly worse when it comes to the extra parts of the job. New PD's in that office often don't get their own office and only get to use secretaries in a very limited function. In my current job, in a rural area and a small office, I get a huge office and a 1:1 ratio of lawyers to support staff. It's probably an office-to-office type of thing but there are some significant non-monetary benefits to working in a small town.

When it comes to finding PD and Legal Aid jobs: It's tough. There's no denying that. At any one time there might be 3-5 listings for PD's and legal aid combined for all of upstate. It's pretty ridiculous. Often there is only one PD position open. Those go very, very quickly. I was hoping to land a job at the PD's office I worked at. When that didn't work out I really didn't know what I was going to do. Fortunately, I had taken two other legal aid interviews, for three separate offices, and one of them panned out. There just isn't much up here and most of the spots go to people who have the proper networks. The office that hired me phone interviewed an appellate justice I had externed for. Without the Justice's support I sincerely doubt I would have gotten my current job.

If anyone has questions I'd be happy to try to help.

What allowed you to separate yourself from other applicants and get your current job? How important are local ties?

[kapital98]

What allowed you to separate yourself from other applicants and get your current job? How important are local ties?

I think there were a number of things that separated me from other applicants. First, I worked for an appellate level Justice during a 2L externship. This Justice presides over the Department my office works in. The externship was only 5 weeks long and I didn't do anything of great importance there. However, the hiring committee gave the Justice an hour long interview shortly after talking with me. The Justice was the last recommendation on my list (A decent recommendation but nothing stellar). Over the past couple years I had maintained minimal contact with her. I sent her a postcard when I was studying abroad and kept her up to date on what I was doing. By chance I ran into her at the NY swearing in ceremony and talked with her for about 5 minutes. She ended up giving the hiring committee a stellar review over the phone. She contacted me immediately afterwards and told me that she had talked to them and they seemed very interested.

Second, during the same 2L summer I had done an internship at a local Legal Aid office. While it was clear from my resume that I wanted to become a public defender it was also clear that I didn't completely avoid legal aid. My internship with the Legal Aid office gave me a very good understanding of what type of cases new attorneys handle. It also gave me a good understanding of client interaction and intake. So now, even though I'm an attorney, I have a pretty good understanding of what the paralegals and secretaries do. I did almost everything they do in my past internship.

Third, ties were huge. I already mentioned the Justice. The attorney I interned for at the Legal Aid office also knows my current boss pretty well. It was obvious from my resume that my sole intention was working in Upstate, NY. I had no intention of working in NYC or a different state. That was really important to my employers because my current office is very rural. The closest large is city is Ottawa, Canada! It's basically just farmland and the occasional college where I work. They wanted someone who is comfortable working in this environment and (presumably) won't jet the moment a more metropolitan position becomes open. Also, when you look through their pay structure and benefits package, it really rewards tenure. We have a union here. If you stick around for more than 10 years you've got it made relative to most PI jobs. After I began my job I learned that the organization has experienced a tremendous amount of turnover in the past several years (mostly young attorneys).

Finally, a little bit of luck? I didn't expect them to hire me. I was just some random guy who applied through PSJD.ORG. I went to a really good school but had a terrible GPA (and I explained why in the application). I didn't even get the position I was applying for. In the middle of the interview my current boss said, "Well, you may not get position X, would you be happy working in town Y?" I said, "Yes, absolutely. I would be happy to work there!" So I guess flexibility was also important?

In Upstate, NY, and I'm guessing most rural places, there are almost no job listings. Most counties might only have 2-4 attorneys working in a PD or Legal Aid office. That means there is very little turnover and preference goes to people with experience. I applied to the Legal Aid office where I interned and really wanted to get that job because it's close to where I grew up. They liked me and even let me apply past the due date. However, a person with more experience came in and I didn't get the job. It's tough and I know a lot of great candidates from the Class of 2014 who are still looking.

[MURPH]

If anyone knows anything about the Orange County,CA Public Defenders office, please PM me. I have an interview coming up and I'd like to chat about it.