3L Public Defender Applications Forum

[Anonymous User]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

[spleenworship]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

Sorry. That sucks.

[Anonymous User]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

Are you willing to share what the interview was like?

[Anonymous User]

whoever posted above about NDS having made selections...any more info? I heard they keep the fellows app open until May, is that just a tease?

and anyone have word on number of BDS offers already out/total offers?

thanks!

[Anonymous User]

whoever posted above about NDS having made selections...any more info? I heard they keep the fellows app open until May, is that just a tease?

and anyone have word on number of BDS offers already out/total offers?

thanks!

As far as NDS I made it to later stages of hiring process for fellows. I was told decisions would be made this week. Applications were open until 1/20 I think.

[Anonymous User]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

Sorry to hear man! When was your interview, recently?

[Anonymous User]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

Are you willing to share what the interview was like?

Thanks for the condolences, guys. I had a feeling it was coming because the interview was pretty ugly. I interviewed last week.

I don't really feel comfortable talking about the specifics of the interview because they were so secretive about it, but generally.... I would know your crim pro COLD. There were some concepts I knew, but they wanted very detailed and specific recall. I was kicking myself for not prepping more. I think advanced preparation is key.

Also be careful about how you answer ethical questions - definitely a trap that keeps getting worse.

Hope it helps!

[Anonymous User]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

Are you willing to share what the interview was like?

Thanks for the condolences, guys. I had a feeling it was coming because the interview was pretty ugly. I interviewed last week.

I don't really feel comfortable talking about the specifics of the interview because they were so secretive about it, but generally.... I would know your crim pro COLD. There were some concepts I knew, but they wanted very detailed and specific recall. I was kicking myself for not prepping more. I think advanced preparation is key.

Also be careful about how you answer ethical questions - definitely a trap that keeps getting worse.

Hope it helps!

Thanks. I was planning to prepare some... I'm guessing the crim pro was federal? They don't expect PA knowledge I hope.

[Anonymous User]

Just got an email ding from Philly after interviewing

Are you willing to share what the interview was like?

Thanks for the condolences, guys. I had a feeling it was coming because the interview was pretty ugly. I interviewed last week.

I don't really feel comfortable talking about the specifics of the interview because they were so secretive about it, but generally.... I would know your crim pro COLD. There were some concepts I knew, but they wanted very detailed and specific recall. I was kicking myself for not prepping more. I think advanced preparation is key.

Also be careful about how you answer ethical questions - definitely a trap that keeps getting worse.

Hope it helps!

Thanks. I was planning to prepare some... I'm guessing the crim pro was federal? They don't expect PA knowledge I hope.

If you're not from PA or don't go to school there, it's fine. They definitely do some things differently in PA- just make sure you know how your state does it. I would always follow up with a "well in New York, this is how we do a, b, c." It was definitely an intense interview.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the last round at Legal Aid in NY is like? And what your chances are like at that round of an offer?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the last round at Legal Aid in NY is like? And what your chances are like at that round of an offer?

It is a 1 on 1 get-to-know-you type interview with Tina Luongo, deputy head of the criminal practice. It used to be said that you were almost guaranteed to be hired if you made it that far but that is not the case now.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the last round at Legal Aid in NY is like? And what your chances are like at that round of an offer?

It is a 1 on 1 get-to-know-you type interview with Tina Luongo, deputy head of the criminal practice. It used to be said that you were almost guaranteed to be hired if you made it that far but that is not the case now.

nope, not at all the case. They are sending a TON of people to Tina this year.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the last round at Legal Aid in NY is like? And what your chances are like at that round of an offer?

It is a 1 on 1 get-to-know-you type interview with Tina Luongo, deputy head of the criminal practice. It used to be said that you were almost guaranteed to be hired if you made it that far but that is not the case now.

nope, not at all the case. They are sending a TON of people to Tina this year.

Do you mind if I ask how you know things have changed this year? Do you know how much they've changed (like if your chances are....idk, 50/50 or something like that)?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what the last round at Legal Aid in NY is like? And what your chances are like at that round of an offer?

It is a 1 on 1 get-to-know-you type interview with Tina Luongo, deputy head of the criminal practice. It used to be said that you were almost guaranteed to be hired if you made it that far but that is not the case now.

nope, not at all the case. They are sending a TON of people to Tina this year.

Do you mind if I ask how you know things have changed this year? Do you know how much they've changed (like if your chances are....idk, 50/50 or something like that)?

[FlanAl]

Well they said they were going to hire 25 people in their application information but there are like 100 tina interviews, maybe more.

[Anonymous User]

Well they said they were going to hire 25 people in their application information but there are like 100 tina interviews, maybe more.

LAS also was still doing first-round interviews in mid-January, if not later. I have no idea if I'll ever hear about a second round at this rate.

Anyone know about how many opening BDS has left? I did a first round with them in January as well.

[Anonymous User]

would anyone mind sharing what the palm beach panel interview is like? TIA

[Anonymous User]

Anyone hear from Alaska? Application deadline was January 31st.

[Anonymous User]

would anyone mind sharing what the palm beach panel interview is like? TIA

Hey, I was offered a job in PB. The panel is made up of the heads of all the divisions. You get a small (very small) fact pattern at the beginning and are given like 10ish minutes to prepare (i.e., case theory, defenses, preliminary motions, interview questions, jury selection, etc). You're then taken into the panel and you talk about what you prepared. My interview in particular tested me pretty heavily on all things crim (criminal law, procedure, evidence, and some constitutional law). Then the rest of it is a pretty typical PD interview (why public defense, why here, etc.).

[Anonymous User]

Do you mind if I ask how you know things have changed this year? Do you know how much they've changed (like if your chances are....idk, 50/50 or something like that)?[/quote]

I don't think anything has changed. My career counselor said they've always sent too many people to Tina (or earlier, Seymour). I'm not sure who perpetuated the myth of "interview with Tina= job" but I can tell you that, unfortunately for us, it's not true. I intern at Legal Aid right now (I've been there for the past two semesters) and we have interns in our department just getting first rounds. I interviewed super early (August) final interviewed in October, my references were contacted in December/ early Jan., my supervisor (the best of women) has been bugging Tina ever since and I still know absolutely nothing. With them, it's best to not expect too much out of the Tina interview or stress out about not hearing about a second round. They are moving, as always, slow as molasses.

If this sounds frustrated, it's not with you or your questions, it's about their hiring process.

[pbpd2014]

The Palm Beach panel interview was one of the more relaxed ones I had. You have 10 minutes or so to prepare the hypo, which isn't tricky or terribly difficult. We discussed the hypo at little in the interview itself, but most of it was answering the normal questions, and what I felt like was an attempt to really get a feel for you as a person and how you would do at the office and as an advocate for your clients. My impression was that they try to get a feel for more intangible qualities like thoughtfulness, maturity and self-awareness, and not just whether you know what the standard is for a search incident to a Terry stop and are willing to go hard when you cross examine a cop.

Also, anyone else who has accepted an offer from Palm Beach send me a pm so we can all get in touch. There's a small group of us forming.

[Anonymous User]

would anyone mind sharing what the palm beach panel interview is like? TIA

Hey, I was offered a job in PB. The panel is made up of the heads of all the divisions. You get a small (very small) fact pattern at the beginning and are given like 10ish minutes to prepare (i.e., case theory, defenses, preliminary motions, interview questions, jury selection, etc). You're then taken into the panel and you talk about what you prepared. My interview in particular tested me pretty heavily on all things crim (criminal law, procedure, evidence, and some constitutional law). Then the rest of it is a pretty typical PD interview (why public defense, why here, etc.).

Thanks for this, I really appreciate it!

[Anonymous User]

The Palm Beach panel interview was one of the more relaxed ones I had. You have 10 minutes or so to prepare the hypo, which isn't tricky or terribly difficult. We discussed the hypo at little in the interview itself, but most of it was answering the normal questions, and what I felt like was an attempt to really get a feel for you as a person and how you would do at the office and as an advocate for your clients. My impression was that they try to get a feel for more intangible qualities like thoughtfulness, maturity and self-awareness, and not just whether you know what the standard is for a search incident to a Terry stop and are willing to go hard when you cross examine a cop.

Also, anyone else who has accepted an offer from Palm Beach send me a pm so we can all get in touch. There's a small group of us forming.

Thanks for this as well...I hope to be joining you soon!

[Anonymous User]

Well they said they were going to hire 25 people in their application information but there are like 100 tina interviews, maybe more.

LAS also was still doing first-round interviews in mid-January, if not later. I have no idea if I'll ever hear about a second round at this rate.

Anyone know about how many opening BDS has left? I did a first round with them in January as well.

If you mean Brooklyn, the last I heard is that they will have maybe 25-30 people move on to the final interview and after that they have no idea how many people they will hire. Last year they did the full interview thing, went to EJW and I don't think they hired anyone from the class of 2013. If you go on their website you can see that they hired a TON of people in 2011 and a pretty large group in 2012 as well. Because they overloaded on new attorneys the last couple of years (I mean they like increased their office size by like 30% in 2011) they will probably not have a lot of spots. BUT I do hope that they hire people more people!

[Anonymous User]

Well they said they were going to hire 25 people in their application information but there are like 100 tina interviews, maybe more.

LAS also was still doing first-round interviews in mid-January, if not later. I have no idea if I'll ever hear about a second round at this rate.

Anyone know about how many opening BDS has left? I did a first round with them in January as well.

If you mean Brooklyn, the last I heard is that they will have maybe 25-30 people move on to the final interview and after that they have no idea how many people they will hire. Last year they did the full interview thing, went to EJW and I don't think they hired anyone from the class of 2013. If you go on their website you can see that they hired a TON of people in 2011 and a pretty large group in 2012 as well. Because they overloaded on new attorneys the last couple of years (I mean they like increased their office size by like 30% in 2011) they will probably not have a lot of spots. BUT I do hope that they hire people more people!

Yes, I did mean Brooklyn. Thanks for the info!