InternshipRatings.com

Anonymous's Rating for "United States District Court"

My internship provided me with real world experience:

Strongly Agree

My internship met the job description I signed up for:

Strongly Agree

My internship involved a lot of grunt work:

Disagree

My boss positively influenced my internship:

Strongly Agree

I felt comfortable in my work environment:

Strongly Agree

There was an established internship program at my company:

Yes

My internship was great for networking:

Yes

My hours were fair and flexible:

Yes

I received a salary / compensation:

Yes

I received college credit:

No

I received a letter of recommendation:

Yes

Comments

This past summer I served as a Judicial Intern for a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey. I learned a great deal from the Judge and for the first time appreciated the significance of all that I learned in my first year of law school.

I was at first intimidated, not only by the eminence of the Judge but also by the fact that he immediately gave me important opinions to draft all on my own. But I soon figured out that I actually did not need any hand-holding and was perfectly capable of researching and drafting opinions. Fortunately for me, the law clerks were very helpful and patient and served as invaluable resources for me. I asked them about 50 questions every day.

I researched and drafted opinions on writ of coram nobis, statute of limitations, First Amendment, and Daubert, and engaged in a comparative review of Alien Tort Statute actions. Additionally, I attended pretrial conferences, hearings, and trials. One particularly fascinating assignment was a request for injunctive relief for which I wrote a memo for the Judge regarding soil contamination at a school. This was a story that had gotten a lot of press, and one which I had been following. The Judge received the papers at 8:30 AM in advance of a 3:30 PM hearing scheduled for the same day. He handed me the papers at 9:15 AM and asked me to research the claims and have a memo for him by the early afternoon. This task was particularly exciting because I proved to myself that I could rise to the occasion in an intense situation with real-world implications. Furthermore, it opened my eyes to the varied and surprising ways that even an elementary legal position can offer one an opportunity to provide important and consequential services for the public sector.

The most important thing I learned from the experience was the unique ways in which the legal profession can enable one to make significant contributions to both the private and public sectors over the course of one’s professional career, and to benefit from his association with both. While still in private practice and before being appointed to the bench, the Judge for whom I worked was a leader in the New Jersey civil rights movement and a founder of New Jersey’s legal services programs.

Everyone in chambers ate lunch together on a daily basis. This provided a special opportunity to learn about the Judge’s varied experiences. Former clerks and interns would often come join us for lunch, which allowed me to expand my legal network and learn about the plethora of different professional legal opportunities that one can pursue. We would also regularly discuss world and national news, which for me served as an important reminder not only of the intellectual nature of our endeavor but also of the larger communities which we were serving.

I would highly recommend a judicial internship for anyone during his or her “1L” summer. It is truly a unique and intellectually engaging experience.

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