How to be a Prosecution/PD Gunner? Forum

[sd5289]

Kind of. But they were both in the same section. One was the section chief and the other was the deputy chief. They gave me assignments to work on, but I had the freedom to ask anyone in my section if they needed my help.

Cool. Sounds a lot like the DA's office I was at during 1L, which I loved. Can't wait.

[gdane]

You're not going to do any in-court stuff. Mainly research and a LOT of writing. But it's great and you learn a lot of stuff.

[sd5289]

You're not going to do any in-court stuff. Mainly research and a LOT of writing. But it's great and you learn a lot of stuff.

Yeah, I have some friends who've been at other USAOs after a summer with a local prosecutor, so I was expecting that. My impression is that it's extremely rare to see any court action, so glad I got so much of it during 1L summer. I actually just finished a class focused entirely on the Guidelines (which I knew very little about since all my experience is local and state level), so I'm especially intrigued to see those in action if I can get into some sentencings.

[Anonymous User]

You're not going to do any in-court stuff. Mainly research and a LOT of writing. But it's great and you learn a lot of stuff.

Yeah, I have some friends who've been at other USAOs after a summer with a local prosecutor, so I was expecting that. My impression is that it's extremely rare to see any court action, so glad I got so much of it during 1L summer. I actually just finished a class focused entirely on the Guidelines (which I knew very little about since all my experience is local and state level), so I'm especially intrigued to see those in action if I can get into some sentencings.

I think it just depends on the office - I interned with a USA Office that allowed interns to do trials. It's obviously for very low level stuff, but it is good trial experience.

[gdane]

Damn. That's badass. I only got to sit at counsels table.

[lmr]

Have any california offices besides Contra Costa, Alameda, SF, and SD began interviewing for post-bars?

[Tanicius]

Have any california offices besides Contra Costa, Alameda, SF, and SD began interviewing for post-bars?

Not that I know of. Santa Clara is the only other office I know of that interviews, and they don't start til March.

[coldshoulder]

Anybody been through CO PD hiring?

[jess]

.

[Anonymous User]

Any CO PD folk get a placement?

[Anonymous User]

Any CO PD folk get a placement?

2L or 3L?

[anon sequitur]

2L or 3L?

Would love to hear from 2L. I haven't heard anything, stings.

[Anonymous User]

2L or 3L?

Would love to hear from 2L. I haven't heard anything, stings.

I know offers for 2L went out about a month ago, and i think most of us are waiting to hear about placements.

[Borhas]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

[wbrother]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

Could you give an hourly breakdown of a more or less typical day?

[spleenworship]

Is some of the above 50 hours because you have to get up to speed on a bunch of cases and the hours will drop as you become familiar?

[Borhas]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

Could you give an hourly breakdown of a more or less typical day?

An hourly break down is tough but I probably get in around 7:30 and leave around 7:30 w/ 15 minutes for lunch.

Morning docket takes a few hours. But there are just so many little tasks like reviewing discovery, checking if it is complete, ordering whatever is missing, making investigation requests, checking for conflicts, preparing to advise clients, meeting clients, physically organizing the files, reading and answering emails. And that's not including any trials or hearings.

[A. Nony Mouse]

How many cases did you get given on arrival?

[BlueLotus]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

is nongovernmental PI (i.e. civil legal aid) similar in terms of hours?

[Tanicius]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

is nongovernmental PI (i.e. civil legal aid) similar in terms of hours?

Less time spent day-to-day in court I'm sure. Honestly it depends on the office. A rural office might not get a lot of cases, but a legal aid society for the homeless in a city area is going to be drowning in too many cases and clients to count.

[wbrother]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

is nongovernmental PI (i.e. civil legal aid) similar in terms of hours?

Less time spent day-to-day in court I'm sure. Honestly it depends on the office. A rural office might not get a lot of cases, but a legal aid society for the homeless in a city area is going to be drowning in too many cases and clients to count.

Non-Gove PI I worked at was a 10-6 with the occasional Saturday. But I have no reason to think anything about that place was typical, including the hours.

[Borhas]

How many cases did you get given on arrival?

I dont know, I think around 60 (which is very low compared to the other new attorneys) I am still in the process of getting all the cases transferred to me from the attorney who is moving to another division. A lot of my time has been spent going over active cases and figuring out what the next steps are.

[Borhas]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

is nongovernmental PI (i.e. civil legal aid) similar in terms of hours?

I doubt it.

I should add though, that the hours are worse in the beginning. The learning curve is extremely steep. The more senior attorneys sure as hell aren't staying here past 6:30 every night. Probably because they already know how to do the things that take me 30 minutes to figure out how to do, and they can do it in 5 minutes while it would take me an hour.

[Anonymous User]

I've been working about a week at the PD's office and I think I've worked 10-12 hours every weekday and 6 or so hours on saturday.

I haven't even prepped a trial yet.

I actually have enjoyed my time, but anyone who thinks this is a 9-5 government gig will be sorely mistaken.

is nongovernmental PI (i.e. civil legal aid) similar in terms of hours?

I doubt it.

I should add though, that the hours are worse in the beginning. The learning curve is extremely steep. The more senior attorneys sure as hell aren't staying here past 6:30 every night. Probably because they already know how to do the things that take me 30 minutes to figure out how to do, and they can do it in 5 minutes while it would take me an hour.

In Contra Costa County, the beginning misdemeanor attorneys get a ton of cases and many of them end up staying til Midnight several times a week. It gets a lot better for them once they get a handle on things after a year or two, and a hell of a lot better once they graduate to felonies.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I should add though, that the hours are worse in the beginning. The learning curve is extremely steep. The more senior attorneys sure as hell aren't staying here past 6:30 every night. Probably because they already know how to do the things that take me 30 minutes to figure out how to do, and they can do it in 5 minutes while it would take me an hour.

I SO know this feel.