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What did you guys do, how did you prepare, what did the judge expect? How did you keep busy? (For some reason I always worry about that with new jobs, though it usually doesn't end up being a problem. Still, humor me.) Any tips would be helpful.

It's a state district court in case that's relevant.

First, congratulations!

A good resource is Morten Lund's Jagged Rocks of Wisdom--The Memo.

And, as to the more subjective side of a judge's chambers (and a law firm), there's Lund's first book, Jagged Rocks, and also my first book, The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book: A Survival Guide.

I don't mean for this to be just a sales pitch, and it's also true that, when we're first in a law office, we don't know what we don't know. So, the general take is to be wary about taking a student's mindset into the workplace. Judges and partners are far too busy to take a lackadaisical attitude. Granted, most of us do strive to fit in, but there are many ways in which we can cause trouble without even knowing it.

If you've any specific questions, I'll see what I can do to address them.

I hope this helps,

Thane.

--
Thane Messinger
Author of:
Law School: Getting In, Getting Good, Getting the Gold
The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book: A Survival Guide

Anonymous User wrote:What did you guys do, how did you prepare, what did the judge expect? How did you keep busy? (For some reason I always worry about that with new jobs, though it usually doesn't end up being a problem. Still, humor me.) Any tips would be helpful.

It's a state district court in case that's relevant.

I'm starting my internship next week, any other suggestions?

RW65 wrote:I'm starting my internship next week, any other suggestions?

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but, nope. Read Morten Lund's two books. You'll get more out of those per pound than anything else. Seriously.

And they're very fast reads . . . should be able to knock both out at two trips to the gym.

Thane.