Public Interest 2015: Thoughts, Anxieties, Experiences... Forum

[BlueLotus]

Can a public interest organization host two fellows? One of my co-workers who is entering her last year of law school, also wants our summer 2015 employer to be her sponsor (different project idea, tho). I hate to have to compete with my co-worker for a fellowship sponsorship. I want it so bad, but I also want her to be successful too! It just would be really awkward around the office if one of us got the sponsorship and the other didn't. How to navigate this situation?

[Young Marino]

Can a public interest organization host two fellows? One of my co-workers who is entering her last year of law school, also wants our summer 2015 employer to be her sponsor (different project idea, tho). I hate to have to compete with my co-worker for a fellowship sponsorship. I want it so bad, but I also want her to be successful too! It just would be really awkward around the office if one of us got the sponsorship and the other didn't. How to navigate this situation?

Perhaps speak to some of the higher ups and voice your concerns? Sounds like a tough situation to be in.

[Young Marino]

Guys I love my job as an intern at the DA's office but the only thing that concerns me about the job is the fear of them going into a hiring freeze right when I graduate. Should I work at a small firm as a clerk in the fall and start making connections that there as a back up plan or would that hurt my whole "commitment to public service" thing that most DA's offices look for when hiring?

[BlueLotus]

Guys I love my job as an intern at the DA's office but the only thing that concerns me about the job is the fear of them going into a hiring freeze right when I graduate. Should I work at a small firm as a clerk in the fall and start making connections that there as a back up plan or would that hurt my whole "commitment to public service" thing that most DA's offices look for when hiring?

I don't think one semester-long law clerk position at firm will be problematic, esp. if the firm does criminal law. You could always volunteer at the DA's office in the spring and summer of 2016. No harm in having a diversified resume.

[Kratos]

Can a public interest organization host two fellows? One of my co-workers who is entering her last year of law school, also wants our summer 2015 employer to be her sponsor (different project idea, tho). I hate to have to compete with my co-worker for a fellowship sponsorship. I want it so bad, but I also want her to be successful too! It just would be really awkward around the office if one of us got the sponsorship and the other didn't. How to navigate this situation?

from my understanding (from what the skadden fellowship lady said at my school), yes they can. but it's always good to check

[swampman]

Guys I love my job as an intern at the DA's office but the only thing that concerns me about the job is the fear of them going into a hiring freeze right when I graduate. Should I work at a small firm as a clerk in the fall and start making connections that there as a back up plan or would that hurt my whole "commitment to public service" thing that most DA's offices look for when hiring?

You should check with an attorney you trust at your office. I worked at one office that cared a TON about commitment to that particular office—the interns they hired were the ones who worked there every semester and summer. The other office I've worked at generally only hires people they know, but as long as they know you and you do good work any job opening will go to the person they think does the job the best, rather than the person who has put in the most hours.

More generally, I've done a ton of DA informational interviews and the idea of "commitment to public service" per se hasn't come up in any of them. They almost universally want people they know (or who come recommended by people they know) and who have experience working in a DA's offices, ideally with trial experience. And they obviously prefer someone who will accept a job offer and stick around for a while. But as long as you can articulate a really good reason for wanted to be a prosecutor, I haven't seen any of the disdain towards private practice/civil experience that some of the public defender/legal aid types have.

[Anonymous User]

Hey guys - I'm new to the whole fellowship process so I was just looking for some insight/general info. I'm a rising 3L and currently interning at the PD office of my dreams. Ideally, I would like to score a staff attorney position but I'm not sure how many openings the office will have. They do, however, have fellowship opportunities and I know these are equally if not more competitive. However, I plan to start the process in order to better my chances at landing a position.

My question is this: what is the consensus on offering proposals that are not necessarily original? Basically, I've worked at a number of offices prior to this one and have seem some great fellowships that I think would could be very well implemented at my current office. Is this frowned upon?

[Young Marino]

Guys I love my job as an intern at the DA's office but the only thing that concerns me about the job is the fear of them going into a hiring freeze right when I graduate. Should I work at a small firm as a clerk in the fall and start making connections that there as a back up plan or would that hurt my whole "commitment to public service" thing that most DA's offices look for when hiring?

You should check with an attorney you trust at your office. I worked at one office that cared a TON about commitment to that particular office—the interns they hired were the ones who worked there every semester and summer. The other office I've worked at generally only hires people they know, but as long as they know you and you do good work any job opening will go to the person they think does the job the best, rather than the person who has put in the most hours.

More generally, I've done a ton of DA informational interviews and the idea of "commitment to public service" per se hasn't come up in any of them. They almost universally want people they know (or who come recommended by people they know) and who have experience working in a DA's offices, ideally with trial experience. And they obviously prefer someone who will accept a job offer and stick around for a while. But as long as you can articulate a really good reason for wanted to be a prosecutor, I haven't seen any of the disdain towards private practice/civil experience that some of the public defender/legal aid types have.

Thanks for this in depth response. I got some praise from the (elected) DA today. Called me a "class act" so I guess you can say I've been doing good work.. I think I'm going to hold off on working at a private firm. Might just get that civil experience interning for a judge in the spring. I've heard 2L fall can be pretty challenging and I wouldn't want to take anything away from my studies.

[Young Marino]

Hey guys - I'm new to the whole fellowship process so I was just looking for some insight/general info. I'm a rising 3L and currently interning at the PD office of my dreams. Ideally, I would like to score a staff attorney position but I'm not sure how many openings the office will have. They do, however, have fellowship opportunities and I know these are equally if not more competitive. However, I plan to start the process in order to better my chances at landing a position.

My question is this: what is the consensus on offering proposals that are not necessarily original? Basically, I've worked at a number of offices prior to this one and have seem some great fellowships that I think would could be very well implemented at my current office. Is this frowned upon?

If it's something you really believe in I'd definitely bring it up. However, I would first discuss it with your closest mentor at the office. You don't want to run around proposing stuff and have it heard by someone that can shoot it down quick.

[Anonymous User]

Is 8 (+ 1 page cover sheet) fine for a writing sample? This is for a fellowship sponsorship app.

[BlueLotus]

Can't believe I'm almost at the halfway mark in my internship. I am loving every moment of it.

[swampman]

Can't believe I'm almost at the halfway mark in my internship. I am loving every moment of it.

Yeah. I'm actually pretty bummed about having to go back to classes soon.

[Slytherpuff]

My internship is only okay, but I got stung by a jellyfish yesterday at the beach, so there's some excitement here at least.

[Young Marino]

Can't believe I'm almost at the halfway mark in my internship. I am loving every moment of it.

Yeah. I'm actually pretty bummed about having to go back to classes soon.

Same. I have a mid way performance report this week. Expecting positive feedback

[BlueLotus]

Spending the long holiday weekend working on fellowship apps. Will spam nearly every public interest org in my city!

[Anonymous User]

Can't seem to shake off the rookie mistakes I am making at work.

[Anonymous User]

double post

[Young Marino]

Can't seem to shake off the rookie mistakes I am making at work.

Just stick with it man. Mistakes are nothing more than opportunities to learn and I'm sure the attorneys you work with know that. I made a dumb mistake researching case law a few weeks ago and I was pretty bummed about it for a day or two that weekend but I returned to work willing to try it again and it worked out. Be as positive as possible and things will go your way

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone have tips for getting assignments and feedback from really disorganized NGOs? The whole "be persistent" thing only works if your supervisor is actually in the office on most days.

[BK88]

Checking in - In a NYC DA's Office. The workload is very light and every time I ask for more, I get brushed off. I've done a few cool research assignments and got to second seat a trial, but for the last three days I've literally been reading blogs all day and staring at a wall. Starting to get to me.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

[swampman]

Checking in - In a NYC DA's Office. The workload is very light and every time I ask for more, I get brushed off. I've done a few cool research assignments and got to second seat a trial, but for the last three days I've literally been reading blogs all day and staring at a wall. Starting to get to me.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

If you eventually want a job there (especially if this is Manhattan — they keep track of everything) lay low, ask for work often enough to seem like a hard worker, and do good work when it comes your way.
If you're willing to risk your reputation a little bit, then annoy the fuck out of people. Walk down the hall in the morning stopping at every office and ask if they have any work for you. Repeat after lunch. Ask to "shadow-write" any motions/briefs they're working on. Eventually they will give you something to do (even if they make it up just to get you off your back, it's still good experience for you). If that doesn't work, try asking paralegals if you can follow them around & help out. Learning how their end of things works can be really helpful.

If all else fails, go watch some trials.

[Young Marino]

Checking in - In a NYC DA's Office. The workload is very light and every time I ask for more, I get brushed off. I've done a few cool research assignments and got to second seat a trial, but for the last three days I've literally been reading blogs all day and staring at a wall. Starting to get to me.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

If you eventually want a job there (especially if this is Manhattan — they keep track of everything) lay low, ask for work often enough to seem like a hard worker, and do good work when it comes your way.
If you're willing to risk your reputation a little bit, then annoy the fuck out of people. Walk down the hall in the morning stopping at every office and ask if they have any work for you. Repeat after lunch. Ask to "shadow-write" any motions/briefs they're working on. Eventually they will give you something to do (even if they make it up just to get you off your back, it's still good experience for you). If that doesn't work, try asking paralegals if you can follow them around & help out. Learning how their end of things works can be really helpful.

If all else fails, go watch some trials.

I echo the this sentiment. Usually if there is nothing for me to do in my division, I go watch trials. Watching trials can be a very valuable learning experience as you gain familiarity with how the process works and you get to see how the attorneys operate

[Slytherpuff]

Most of the substantive work in my office is in a foreign language (that I'm familiar with but can't write fluently in), so I end up having to make my own assignments most of the time or take handouts from the non-legal employees. It's kind of frustrating.

[Young Marino]

A very unfortunate event this weekend has landed me in the hospital as I recover from a surgical procedure that was done this morning. I've made it through 6 weeks of a 9 week internship at the DA's office and this medical situation may cause me to miss the final 3 weeks of my internship. Needless to say, I am very frustrated as I feel I was building some great momentum. The past few weeks, I was making plea deals for the attorneys in my office and I had a pretty large role on an upcoming trial. I can honestly say that I have learned more about practicing law in the 6 weeks I've been here than my entire 1L year. How bad of an impact, if any, will this have on my chances of gaining employment with this office if I can't return to finish my internship? Obviously, I will have a doctors note to them. I'm so frustrated with this situation guys

[snagglepuss]

I'm sorry to hear that Young Marino. I hope you heal up fast. But remember even the indomitable Dan Marino fell to injury during the 1993 season. What did he do in his return in week one of 1994? He stepped on the field with one of his legs looking emaciated, called upon his unmatched competitive spirit, and led his team to victory while throwing for 473 yards and 5 TDs!!! Marino won comeback player of the year in 1994. I have no doubts Young Marino can have a similar bounceback performance.