This blog post is part of our ongoing guest Blog Series: “Opportunity Knocks.” For a full schedule, please see: http://law.scu.edu/lcs-blog/upcoming-blog-series-opportunity-knocks/
The summer after my 1L year I worked as a judicial extern for the Honorable Judge Socrates Manoukian at the Superior Court of Santa Clara County. It was a valuable experience that I would highly recommend, regardless of whether you have an interest in litigation or not.
Four useful lessons I learned as an extern for Judge Manoukian:
- First, I was able to observe attorneys in (one of) their natural habitats. I learned through watching them in the courtroom how best to present information, which tactics work (and which do not), how to communicate to a judge, and so on.
- Second, I was able to gain a deep insight into the legal process. The reality of a courtroom is very different than how one might imagine it to be from the classroom experience, and observing everything firsthand allowed me to understand the whole process far more intuitively than you get from sitting in a classroom. This is a big part of what will distinguish you from other candidates when you go to interview for your first real legal position.
- Third, I was able to practice my research, analysis, and writing skills. This was the first opportunity that I had to use what I learned in my first year of law school towards producing actual deliverables. I learned how to write a memo on subjects that do not have a clear answer in the law, as well as composing professional documents in a timely manner.
- Finally, I was able to get an understating of the “judges’ mindset”. Hearing Judge Manoukian’s reactions to various things that happened in the courtroom gave me the valuable perspective of what one should and should not do (and be prepared for) in a courtroom.
During my externship, the cases tried before Judge Manoukian dealt with mainly unlawful detainers. It was great to see what I had learned in my Property Law course being applied in the courtroom. Being a judicial extern also gave me the opportunity to observe many other cases in different departments. For example, I sat in on a murder trial, the HP v. Oracle case, and the 6th District Court of Appeal morning calendar. Getting the chance to participate in “real” law gave me a better idea of what legal fields I was most (and least) interested in.
Another perk of this externship was having the chance to attend field trips organized for the judicial externs. Some of the field trips I personally attended were a tour of: the infamous San Quentin, the 6th District Court of Appeal, the California Supreme Court, the Main Jail, and the Coronary Office. Although I personally was not (and am not) interested in criminal law, these experiences were unique and very exciting (and gave great talking points for interviews!).
All in all this summer experience was beyond valuable for me. In addition, as a 2L I found that this experience was very helpful during interviews for various jobs. At the end of the day, regardless of whether you want a transactional or litigation focused law practice, the process of litigation is extremely important to both. Being able to draw on the experiences from this summer to demonstrate an understanding of the law and how things work in the real world was very helpful.
Rebecca Lotvin
Rebecca Lotvin is a current student at Santa Clara University School of Law in the Class of 2014. In addition to externing at the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, Rebecca has worked at Autodesk and Google Inc. in various transactional, IP, and M&A projects. She can be contacted at rebecca.lotvin@gmail.com.