3L Public Defender Applications Forum

[carmensandiego]

Just wanted to tell people to apply for Colorado PD. About half (probably more) of our new hires are from out of state. And we're definitely going to hire a good number of people.

Note: I'm not a spokesman or any supervisory position and my views are purely my own blah blah blah

Does Colorado PD hire from their 2L summer interns?

[carmensandiego]

Rising 3L here, does anybody have any information on how the Chicago Public Defender hires? Timeline? Typical class size?

Much appreciated!

2L but go to Chicago area school. Talked to my CSO about this and they said that they hire post-grad/bar results. Typically they hire law clerks who work for them too. Most of the time you will clerk for them during school year/while studying for the Bar, and they will usually tell you if they are interested in hiring you before you work for them (unpaid) for a long duration of time post-grad.

[Anonymous User]

Law clerk position opened up in Ventura County-http://agency.governmentjobs.com/ventura/default.cfm

Good weather and I suspect many criminals to rep.

[mmb236]

Has anyone gotten a rejection from PDS after first screening interview?

[Borhas]

Just wanted to tell people to apply for Colorado PD. About half (probably more) of our new hires are from out of state. And we're definitely going to hire a good number of people.

Note: I'm not a spokesman or any supervisory position and my views are purely my own blah blah blah

Does Colorado PD hire from their 2L summer interns?

yes if you do even a halfway decent job as a 2l then they'll probably hire you

[Anonymous User]

My understanding is that PDS planned to have completed their second round interviews by the end of September. This is referring to the "hiring committee" interviews with three interviewers.

[Anonymous User]

Many people going to EJW? Interviewing with a few PDs. The EJW conference 2015 thread is similar but has a mix of PD and nonPD students.

[Anonymous User]

Dinged at PDS after the second round interview. Definitely saw this coming as I felt like I crashed and burned in that hypo.

[Anonymous User]

Dinged by PDS via email

[Anonymous User]

Dinged by PDS via email

Same. Just posted about it here:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=246904

It irritates me that we have two parallel threads lol can we choose just one and consolidate so that people don't miss relevant information?
I have no preference for which, just let me know where the best place is for me to post.

[thebookthief]

Am I just massively missing something or do Texas not do any entry-level PD hiring?

[BigBananaLaw]

Am I just massively missing something or do Texas not do any entry-level PD hiring?

Texas has very few public defender offices. Indigent defense is organized on a county by county basis, with most using a (problematic) system of appointed private counsel. What PD offices there are (Dallas, Harris County, and a handful of others) are all pretty small and generally, to my knowledge, staffed by experienced defense attorneys who were at one time practicing in some other capacity, as those offices are all fairly new.

[thebookthief]

Am I just massively missing something or do Texas not do any entry-level PD hiring?

Texas has very few public defender offices. Indigent defense is organized on a county by county basis, with most using a (problematic) system of appointed private counsel. What PD offices there are (Dallas, Harris County, and a handful of others) are all pretty small and generally, to my knowledge, staffed by experienced defense attorneys who were at one time practicing in some other capacity, as those offices are all fairly new.

Ok, thanks.

I kind of thought as much

[thebookthief]

with their budget increases, does anyone know how WI are hiring entry-level?
will they have a 2016 class or do they hire as needed?

[Anonymous User]

Bookthief, I was the anon asking and I eventually ended up getting hired.

You apply online when you see an opening. I applied spring 2015 and interviewed the week after graduation. I heard back quickly, although some people who I've talked to were hired in june or around labor day. At the new training, there was a mix of people who were December grads who had been working for a few months and new hires.

Let me know if you want additional info!

I tried searching for info on here, but anyone have any insight on Wisconsin PD or Missouri?

I work for the Wisconsin SPD, what do you wanna know?

Was just curious about the application process -- if you applied through the government website, how long it took to get back to you, what it's like working there?

Yeah, you should apply through the state jobs website. If you follow the agency on facebook or twitter, you will see the recruiting announcements there too. They do their hiring year-round as openings become available. Don't expect to work in Madison or Milwaukee right away, since that's where everyone wants to be. I don't remember how long it took for them to get back to me after I applied, but I don't think it was too long, maybe a couple weeks?

There are two interviews. The first is with a panel of three attorneys. You will be asked to prepare a five minute story (about anything you want) which you will present at the beginning of the interview from memory. This is to gauge your ability to present in front of a jury, since our training process revolves around developing a compelling theory of the case and being able to enthusiastically present it to other people. Then you will do a bunch of short hypos for about 20 minutes. They are pretty easy, just give the "I support my client no matter how bad he is" answer to everything and you will be fine. The second interview took place at the office that eventually hired me. It was with my future boss plus the regional office manager. Basically they gave me a tour and asked if I had any questions about the office. So, I would say that if you make it to the second round and they invite you to one of the offices, you'll get hired.

I definitely enjoy working here. You get paid pretty well for a public defender in the midwest (I'm just shy of my two year mark and I make 53k/year). Your caseload is manageable (on average I have about 200 misdemeanors, 75 felonies, 30 involuntary civil commitments and 20 juvenile delinquency cases a year, which isn't bad at all). The resources and support are also pretty strong since it's a state agency that is somewhat well respected in the state legislature. That said, every office around the state is different. I work in a pretty chill office of eight attorneys, six of which are under 30, and my boss is amazing, so it's a fun atmosphere. I can't say the same about the rest, but most of my friends from law school who ended up in other offices seem to enjoy their work too.

This is great information thank you! I applied a few weeks ago on the state website, so hopefully I'll hear something one way or the other!

[thebookthief]

Do you mind dropping me a pm so I can explain my situation further?

Bookthief, I was the anon asking and I eventually ended up getting hired.

You apply online when you see an opening. I applied spring 2015 and interviewed the week after graduation. I heard back quickly, although some people who I've talked to were hired in june or around labor day. At the new training, there was a mix of people who were December grads who had been working for a few months and new hires.

Let me know if you want additional info!

I tried searching for info on here, but anyone have any insight on Wisconsin PD or Missouri?

I work for the Wisconsin SPD, what do you wanna know?

Was just curious about the application process -- if you applied through the government website, how long it took to get back to you, what it's like working there?

Yeah, you should apply through the state jobs website. If you follow the agency on facebook or twitter, you will see the recruiting announcements there too. They do their hiring year-round as openings become available. Don't expect to work in Madison or Milwaukee right away, since that's where everyone wants to be. I don't remember how long it took for them to get back to me after I applied, but I don't think it was too long, maybe a couple weeks?

There are two interviews. The first is with a panel of three attorneys. You will be asked to prepare a five minute story (about anything you want) which you will present at the beginning of the interview from memory. This is to gauge your ability to present in front of a jury, since our training process revolves around developing a compelling theory of the case and being able to enthusiastically present it to other people. Then you will do a bunch of short hypos for about 20 minutes. They are pretty easy, just give the "I support my client no matter how bad he is" answer to everything and you will be fine. The second interview took place at the office that eventually hired me. It was with my future boss plus the regional office manager. Basically they gave me a tour and asked if I had any questions about the office. So, I would say that if you make it to the second round and they invite you to one of the offices, you'll get hired.

I definitely enjoy working here. You get paid pretty well for a public defender in the midwest (I'm just shy of my two year mark and I make 53k/year). Your caseload is manageable (on average I have about 200 misdemeanors, 75 felonies, 30 involuntary civil commitments and 20 juvenile delinquency cases a year, which isn't bad at all). The resources and support are also pretty strong since it's a state agency that is somewhat well respected in the state legislature. That said, every office around the state is different. I work in a pretty chill office of eight attorneys, six of which are under 30, and my boss is amazing, so it's a fun atmosphere. I can't say the same about the rest, but most of my friends from law school who ended up in other offices seem to enjoy their work too.

This is great information thank you! I applied a few weeks ago on the state website, so hopefully I'll hear something one way or the other!

[Anonymous User]

Bumping the thread because

a) it is the correct one and we should be using it rather than the really old one, and
b) got dinged by BXD sans interview

[Anonymous User]

anyone have any insight into the new hampshire PD second round? i know theres a mock opening statement. also does anyone know their timeline for making offers?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know when LAS second (aka final) round invites go out?

[pdwannabe]

Anyone know when LAS second (aka final) round invites go out?

I have my first round interview with them in mid-November, so hopefully not until after that

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know when LAS second (aka final) round invites go out?

I have my first round interview with them in mid-November, so hopefully not until after that

based on their EJW answers they're still evaluating applications for 1st round interviews. they're also incredibly slow, as a general rule.

[Anonymous User]

Rising 3L here. I have an interview with a large-ish urban county (not LA) PD's office on the West Coast and unfortunately I'm mushing along on the East Coast. OCI --> selected to interview in a few weeks/months --> 'generic: we will see you here!'

1.) Should I expect this to be the only interview, or should I expect this to be one of many interviews? Is there any resource I could consult that breaks down county-by-county?

2.) Related, should I mention that I probably can't fly out there for all the interviews if there are multiple?

3.) California law has some rather explicit requirements for job postings w/public positions. Should I expect this to be a legitimate interview (and, not to preen, accept that my strong grades, law school's reputation, commitment to criminal law and results in the courtroom are making a difference) or should I expect the opposite? By that I mean 'I have these things, which are nice, but ultimately this is pro forma.' Perhaps the position is being targeted at someone in particular, who has externed, or is being targeted by such attorneys with enough experience to make any soon-to-be freshly minted JD look like nonsense? I have connections to the city, it's where I grew up, but none to the office in particular. So I suppose: is the interview even worth twenty minutes of my time?

San Diego county's hiring practices were discussed on this thread on an earlier page. It will be old info, but if you're talking about SD County you will find it useful.

Also, CA PD's offices generally give out clerk/intern/extern positions like crazy. It's not a guaranteed atty job by any means, but it's definitely a foot in the door. Especially OC and LA Counties. My impression is that San Diego County favors their interns when hiring deputy pd's more than other offices.

Do you have any more info on SoCal clerk/volunteer positions? I just moved to LA with my fiance who accepted a biglaw job here, but I'm from Seattle so I have basically zero connections to any crim law practitioners here. I've tried to get in contact with the PD offices in LA, OC, Ventura, and receive no reply from e-mails/no callbacks from the people I learn who are in charge of their intern/volunteer program. Can't even get them to look at my resume/cover letter (which has strong gpa/public defense work).

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard back after ejw interviews?

[wannabeapd2014]

Anyone else applying to the Prettyman PD fellowship? Applications are due soon. Anyone have any insight on the interview process?

I hear last years fellows got jobs at New Orleans PD, New Jersey, and Bronx. Seems like a good way to get good training and boost your chances at other offices in this competitive market.

[Anonymous User]

Maybe someone can clear this up for me, but is Bronx Defenders different from NYC (all 5 boroughs) legal aid? Or is there a Brooklyn PD, Manhattan PD, etc. too?