|
Certification of Law Student: It is recommended but not required that all Winter interns be certified by the state bar. (Student may be certified by the bar if they have taken civil procedure and evidence classes).
Orientation: The one day orientation for this program is held on the third Monday in December from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and must be attended by all Winter interns unless they have previously worked in the San Diego Public Defender's Office.
Availability: An intern must be able to work at least one day a week in either Felony Arraignment Court from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or Misdemeanor Arraignment Court from 8:30 a.m. to noon or 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.. Many Winter interns choose to work up to 40 hours a week
Assignments: In addition to assisting in the arraignment courts, interns will be assigned to work directly with attorneys in our office. The more time the intern has to invest, the greater the experience he or she will receive. Interns may shadow the attorneys, research and write motions, assist in client interviews, prepare investigation requests, participate in case preparation, participate in courtroom appearances, and perform in other public defender work.
Spring Intern Program:
Duration: This is a five month program.
When: This program begins the first Monday after January 1st and runs through the end of May.
Goal: This program is designed to give a law student exposure to the work environment in the Public Defender's office including courtroom appearances.
Certification of Law Student: It is recommended but not required that all Spring interns be certified by the state bar. (Student may be certified by the bar if they have taken civil procedure and evidence classes).
Orientation: The one day orientation for this program is held on the first day of the program from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and must be attended by all Spring interns unless they have previously worked in the San Diego Public Defender's Office.
Availability: All Spring interns are expected to work a minimum of three days each week. Many Spring interns choose to work up to 40 hours a week. A Spring intern must be able to work at least one day a week in Felony Arraignment Court from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m..
Assignments: In addition to assisting in the arraignment courts, interns will be assigned to work directly with attorneys in our office. The more time the intern has to invest, the greater the experience he or she will receive. Interns may shadow the attorneys, research and write motions, assist in client interviews, prepare investigation requests, participate in case preparation, participate in courtroom appearances, and perform in other public defender work. Some Spring Interns with more experience and who are able to work between 24 and 40 hours a week will be assigned to work on the Central Misdemeanor Unit. The Central Misdemeanor Unit interns will be performing responsibilities similar to those of the Post-Bar Volunteers listed below.
Summer Intern Program:
Duration: This is a three month program.
When: This program begins the first day of June and runs through August.
Goal: This program is designed to give a law student exposure to the work environment in the Public Defender's office including courtroom appearances.
Certification of Law Student: It is recommended but not required that all Summer interns be certified by the state bar. (Student may be certified by the bar if they have taken civil procedure and evidence classes).
Orientation: The one day orientation for this program is held on the first day of the program from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and must be attended by all Summer interns unless they have previously worked in the San Diego Public Defender's Office.
Availability: All Summer interns are expected to work at least a minimum of three days each week. Many Summer interns choose to work up to 40 hours a week. A Summer intern must be able to work at least one day a week in Felony Arraignment Court from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m..
Assignments: In addition to assisting in the arraignment courts, interns will be assigned to work directly with attorneys in our office. The more time the intern has to invest, the greater the experience he or she will receive. Interns may shadow the attorneys, research and write motions, assist in client interviews, prepare investigation requests, participate in case preparation, participate in courtroom appearances, and perform in other public defender work. Some Summer Interns with more experience and who are able to work between 24 and 40 hours a week will be assigned to work on the Central Misdemeanor Unit. The Central Misdemeanor Unit interns will be performing responsibilities similar to those of the Post-Bar Volunteers listed below.
Fall Intern Program:
Duration: This is a four month program.
When: This program begins the first week of September and runs to the middle of December.
Goal: This program is designed to give a law student exposure to the work environment in the Public Defender's office including courtroom appearances.
Certification of Law Student: It is recommended but not required that all Fall interns be certified by the state bar. (Student may be certified by the bar if they have taken civil procedure and evidence classes).
Orientation: The one day orientation for this program is held on the first day of the program from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and must be attended by all Fall interns unless they have previously worked in the San Diego Public Defender's Office.
Availability: All Fall interns are expected to work at least a minimum of three days each week. Many Fall interns choose to work up to 40 hours a week. A Fall intern must be able to work at least one day a week in Felony Arraignment Court from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Assignments: In addition to assisting in the arraignment courts, interns will be assigned to work directly with attorneys in our office. The more time the intern has to invest, the greater the experience he or she will receive. Interns may shadow the attorneys, research and write motions, assist in client interviews, prepare investigation requests, participate in case preparation, participate in courtroom appearances, and perform in other public defender work.
This program is similar to the Winter and Spring Intern programs, except that all the Fall interns are assigned to work with the felony attorneys because the Central Misdemeanor Unit has the post-bar volunteers working with Misdemeanor Unit attorneys during this time period.
Post-Bar Volunteer Programs:
Duration: There are two programs; each program lasts approximately three to four months.
Requirement: Each Post Bar Volunteer must have completed the California State Bar Exam immediately preceding acceptance into the Post Bar Volunteer program and be awaiting bar exam results.
When: The Winter Post-Bar position begins in early March and runs through the Thursday before the bar results are published in late May.
The Summer Post-Bar position begins in early August and runs through the Thursday before bar results are published in late November.
Certification of Law Student: It is required that all Post Bar Volunteers be certified by the state bar.
Orientation: There is mandatory orientation and training session for both the Winter Post Bar and Summer Post Bar positions which is held on the first day of each session from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All Post-Bar Volunteers must go through the post-bar orientation program regardless of prior experience with the Public Defender office.
Assignments: Post Bar Volunteers are assigned to work in the Central Misdemeanor Unit handling misdemeanor cases from arraignment through jury trial under the supervision of a trial attorney. Competition for these positions is intense and we expect that the post-bar volunteer give a commitment of 40 hours each week. These are not paid positions; however, the experience that these volunteers receive is priceless. Past Post Bar Volunteers have been able to handle up to three jury trials during their clerkship in which they were the trial counsel under the supervision of an experienced trial lawyer.
Background Checks & Fingerprints: All Legal Interns and Post Bar Volunteers must submit to a background check (which includes fingerprinting) at least three weeks prior to their first day of work with the office. The background check must be completed before orientation training on the first day of each program. Those interns who return for a second or third intern position do not need to complete a new background check.
The following is a tentative schedule of dates for each program:
Spring Post-Bar: March 4, 2008 to May 23, 2008
Last day for background check is February 8, 2008
Summer Intern: May 30, 2007 to August 24, 2007
Last day for background check is May 11, 2007
Fall Post-Bar: August 14, 2007 to November 16, 2007
Last day for background check is July 27, 20067
Fall Intern: September 5, 2007 to December 14, 2007
Last day for background check is August 17, 2007
Winter Intern: December 11, 2007 to December 28, 2007
Last day for background check is November 17, 2007
Spring Intern: January 7, 2008 to May 23, 2008
Last day for background check is December 7, 2007
Deadlines for submitting application/resume for Intern Programs
Winter Intern: October 11, 2007
Spring Intern: November 8, 2007
Spring Post-Bar: November 8, 2007
Summer Intern: March 9, 2007
Fall Post-Bar: March 9, 2007
Fall Intern: July 13, 2007
If you wish further information regarding an internship or law clerk position you can e-mail our recruiting coordinator, Angela Bartosik, at: Angela.Bartosik@sdcounty.ca.gov
|
