Law School Summer Programs: U.S. Attorney’s Office
This past summer, I had the fantastic opportunity to spend ten weeks working for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Florida. I had tremendous opportunities to gain hands-on experience and take on substantial responsibility even with only one year of law school experience. Further, fighting white collar crime in my hometown community, recently dubbed the nation’s “mortgage fraud capital,” was extremely rewarding.
The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Office have awesome programs each summer that are very popular with students. I chose to go to a smaller office (only seven Assistant U.S. Attorneys) and work in its white-collar division, where I worked on a wide variety of cases including tax evasion, bank fraud, mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. Additionally, I had the opportunity to work on drug-trafficking, immigration, civil litigation, and human-trafficking cases. Working in a smaller office was very unique as I spent a tremendous amount of one-on-one time with a small group of attorneys and still had the opportunity to work on high-profile cases. Over the course of the summer, I even had three of my very own pre-indictment cases to manage and worked with the federal agencies investigating these cases, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Secret Service.
Another great thing about working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office was the amount of time I spent in courtrooms throughout the summer. The Assistant U.S. Attorneys were great about bringing my fellow-interns and me to court as often as possible, and it was not uncommon for us to be in court four or five times a day. Further, in just ten weeks I had the opportunity to participate in three trials—which can take years in the private sector to do. In one particular trial I even had the opportunity to create jury exhibits for a money laundering trial to show how the money flowed through the scheme, in addition to numerous motions and research memorandums over the course of the internship.
Being a “Fed” for the summer was more valuable in terms of experience and job satisfaction than I can explain; it felt great waking up every morning to go (help) enforce justice and the law. Additionally, I was able to learn valuable trial strategy and the importance of prosecutorial ethics from my field supervisor Doug Molloy—Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Fort Myers Division and legendary prosecutor in South Florida (see the original Miami Vice). Additionally, because of the great SPIF program at HLS, the school subsidizes expenses for students who spend their summer doing public interest work—including working at the Department of Justice or U.S. Attorney’s Office.
For those who have not considered public interest work, it is very rewarding and I highly recommend the program. Whether you want to go into the public or private legal sector, a summer at the U.S. Attorney’s Office can be outstanding training for your career.
[thanks to ktylerconk and hls in focus via cc]
Career Services Office: Truth About How Big Law Firms Hire
During the first few weeks and months of law school, 1Ls are blissfully unaware of the realities of the legal world. All that matters at that point is getting to class and being prepared. There are no worries about improving grades or maintaining grades, because there are no grades to improve upon or maintain. The ugliness that some students can exhibit hasn’t shown itself fully. Jobs are not a concern, because many law schools prohibit full time students from working, and legal employers are not allowed to talk to 1Ls until November of their first year. Except for a select few who have seen through the looking glass, many believe that whatever job they want will be theirs for the taking, and that employers will fight over who gets to hand them $2000 per week in the coming summer.
In light of this naivety, it is no surprise that when the Career Services office hauled my class into school on a Saturday in early November of our first year, attendance was robust. Sure, we were giving up half of a Saturday, but this was the vaunted Career Services office. They were all knowing, all powerful. With just a simple phone call, they could have potential employers in a bidding war over your services. Or so the story went. By sitting through this meeting, we would know just how much we could expect to be earning come May, and just how easy it would be to get those jobs.
Naturally, when so little is known about an entity, stories about it are invented to make up for the lack of real information. How were we supposed to know that Career Services is typically worthless? That we could get better advice from the homeless guy who hangs out around campus? That the only people it can actually help find a job are those people who don’t need help finding jobs in the first place? That spending your Saturday morning counting the number of tiles in your kitchen would be infinitely more productive?
After listening to the Dean of the school and the Dean of Career Services each deliver the exact same fifteen minute long speech, our guest speakers arrived. They included someone from the Prosecutor’s office, a couple of attorneys from small and mid-sized firms around town, and the hiring partner from a large and prestigious firm in a nearby city. The big firm hiring partner stuck out. He wore a $2000 suit, $500 shoes, a $200 tie, and a $100 haircut, while the other collectively looked like the bargain rack at Sears. As the other people took turns speaking, he looked bored, aggravated, annoyed, and eventually, homicidal. I could tell he didn’t belong, and my mind raced as to why he was there. Finally, it was his turn to speak. Most of the students in the room perked up. After all, the big firms, that’s where the money is. This guy is sure to give some insights, right?
I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it was brief, harsh, and completely deflated the hopes and dreams of many in that room. His message boiled down to this: “We don’t hire 1Ls, and even if we did, we wouldn’t hire any of you.”
Many people were shocked and appalled by his candor, while I was refreshed. For the first time, I could see law school for what it was. Of all people, a big firm hiring partner gave me a better perspective on life.
[thanks to poeloq and barely legal via cc]
Law School Humor: Unemployed 3L Law Student Consolation
We at Career Services would like to send out consolations to all the 3Ls who remain uncommitted to an employer at this stage of the semester.
We would like to remind you that the Juneau Alaska Public Defender’s office still has an opening this fall. This is a fantastic opportunity, people! The pay may be modest, but after a few years you’ll be experienced enough defend moose poaching cases privately.
While it is disheartening that there are more applicants than positions available, you must keep in mind that you have spent the last three years in one of the most rigorous graduate programs available. You can use the skills you learned here in any employment you find, legal or not. For example:
- Lots of legal issues out there remain unresolved. Is the flurry of contracting in today’s business community creating more employees with all the requisite worker’s compensation and OSHA regulations or is it creating Posner’s nimbly efficient labor market? The law doesn’t have to be just theoretical anymore. As a day laborer, you can get hands on experience with this and other legal issues (matriculation in Immigration Law preferred. Se habla, por favor)
- Gentlemen, draw up your own release of custody agreements when you donate your 1400+ SAT score sperm to lesbian couples. Remember, this isn’t the character and fitness bar so feel free to throw a few more inches on your height during the application process. It’s a buyer’s market out there.
- Those latin phrases we taught you won’t go to waste. Your knowledge of root words will keep you sharp. You’ll know right away that when you serve the Venti coffee at Starbucks that “Venti” actually refers to the number of ounces (20) and is not Italian for extra large like Thad, your art school student coworker, says.
Due to the massive increase in as-of-yet-unemployed law students our own Career Services office will be hiring. An Anne Frank-esque attitude of optimism in the face overwhelming hopelessness is required, but you’ll be able to afford more than an attic on a Law School salary. Come join the team! If you can’t be invited to OCI, you can at least schedule it.
