Fall 2017 -- In D.C is Where You'll Find Me.

 I'm super excited the share that for the Fall semester I will be in D.C. completing a semester long clerkship with a Federal Judge! Originally I wanted to go in the Fall of 2018 but when there was an opening for the Fall of 2017 it seemed like a much better fit considering I still don't know which area of Law I want to practice in. Syracuse offers a plethora of experiential learning opportunities from clinics to local externships to the D.C. program (which is growing to NYC, Boston and CA over the next couple of years). In fact, you need to complete so many hours of experiential learning in order to graduate. 

So why D.C? 

Well to be honest, I really just wanted a chance to get out of Syracuse. I never had the opportunity to do any sort of study abroad trip or semester in a different US City during undergrad but I always wanted to. I honestly didn't think I would be able to afford it during law school either but when the opportunity presented itself and I got the okay from my parents (they'll be taking care of my dog while I'm gone for those 5 or so months) I really couldn't say no  && let's be honest -- I didn't want to say no. 

What will I be doing in D.C.? 
The beauty of the D.C. externship program is that unlike most law students who can only work part time during the semester, I can work full time. So from August --> December I will be working around 35 hours a week. I do have to take the PR (professional responsibility) and attend a seminar course while I am there but one is an online course that meets twice a week at night for an hour or so and the other we meet about once a week. I might also take the MPRE exam (required before taking the bar) while I am down there. I still have a little bit of time to decide before the sign up deadline. But overall, I am getting a ton of hands on experience in an area of law - you really can't pass that opportunity up.

Where will I be placed?

The professor who runs the D.C program has a list of about 70 placements you can choose from. They range from clerking with federal judges, working with the immigration office, criminal defense or real estate work or even working for NASA. The opportunities are really endless. Even you interest is not on the list, doesn't mean its out of the question. I know a few students who have applied for other externship opportunities and have been accepted. 

The process has been a bit stressful -- and all at once -- when it comes to being placed. I was hoping to complete an externship with a firm that practices Real Estate law -- After completing the property course during 1L year I gained an interest in real estate law and wanted to gain more experience in this area. But unfortunately there wasn't an open position in the Fall program. But another great opportunity was available - clerking for a federal judge. He was going to be in the area and wanted to conduct an "unofficial" interview so we went ahead and did that.

My interview was smooth which I was pleasantly surprised at. The judge was very kind and personable. My interview lasted about 45 minutes long and I think I answered a total of 5-7 questions:

Why did I join the sports and entertainment law society?
What happened in Con Law?
Why did I choose to apply for this position?
What areas of the law interest me / have I decided on what area of law I would like to practice in?

and then a few standard questions for the position regarding citizenship and criminal record.
My best advice that I can give when it comes to answering questions like this is be honest but do it in a professional way. I dreaded answering the 2nd question because ever since I got my grade in the class I have been up in the air with how to handle it in terms of re-taking the class, answering the question of why this happened in interviews, how it will affect my ability to get a job later on, etc. etc. I was honest and he appreciated that. When all was said and done with the interview, it wasn't final yet. I still had to conduct a phone interview with two judges and an attorney.

I completed that yesterday and while it went well, I'm not sure how I feel about phone interviews overall - its hard to hear and I just prefer to meet people in person versus over the phone. But I did like how the interview was conducted: the attorney began  by asking a few questions relating to my law school experience -
How would I describe Syracuse's legal writing courses
What kind of legal writing have I done
What have been my favorite courses
the first judge followed by asking questions that were geared towards my current internship with the real estate attorney -
How much legal writing have I've done between my two legal internships 
Does my current internship revolve around individual or collaborative work 
Whether I plan to stay within the Real estate practice area. 
Finally the judge I will be clerking for asked a few clarification questions regarding two courses that were on my transcript -
what they were
why we had to take them
what we did for them
 Overall it must have gone well because he called shortly after to offer me the position!

Where will I be living?

There are about 15 of us total going in the Fall semester, 2 of which are my close friends. The three of us found an apartment together — we will be subleasing — which was more difficult than we had hoped. The problem isn't finding a place - there are so many places in D.C. -  it's getting a response from prospective landlords, finding places that offer short term leasing for a reasonable price (and are units that are furnished. The second challenge on top of all that was having someone go and look at prospective places because you should NEVER sign a lease without looking at the place first. Thankfully two of our close friends are in the DC area for the summer and were nice enough to look at a few places for us. This has definitely been an extremely stressful process but we finally found a place that meets all the things we were looking for. Its in a great location - 10 - 15 minutes from the city/ all of our work locations - it has 3 bedrooms, fully furnished, minutes from downtown and is less than a half a mile from the metro stops (you use these a lot in DC apparently).

It has been a super stressful process in such a short period of time but its finally all over and official, Fall 2017 in DC is where you'll find me!