- By Diane Garcia
A panel of five attorneys from diverse backgrounds who practice various areas of law advised students on “How to Have a Successful Summer” April 4.
Hosted by the Career Services Office, the lunchtime talk focused on practical ways for summer law clerks to present themselves as professionals to secure recommendation letters and possible job offers.
Panelists agreed that attorneys are trying to discover if an intern is someone they would want to work with day to day, provided the work is up to par.
“In our firm, if you do well, there’s no reason to not give you an offer,” said Tuan Pham, West Coast hiring partner for Goodwin Procter.
“I have offered first-years back for another project,” said Karen Ackerson Brazille, deputy attorney general in the Health, Education and Welfare section of the California Department of Justice.
An intern can miss opportunities if not dressed properly, said USC Law alumna Diana Iketani ’97, chief recruiting officer of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. She works with her firm’s management to identify and recruit professional talent at all levels.
Iketani once had an opportunity for an intern to attend court, but the intern missed it because she wore flip-flops that day. “You should be able to meet the president of a firm on a minute’s notice,” Iketani said.
Bazille agreed: “Remember, a first impression is a lasting one.”
Alumnus Mike Lee ’06, law clerk for The Honorable Gary Allen Feess of the U. S. District Court for the Central District of California, recommended always keeping an air of formality with a judge. One intern brought a Game Boy to court and a juror complained about the noise to the judge – not a good way to be noticed, Lee said.
“In our environment, judges talk,” Lee said. “Always be aware that people are watching.”
Interns may also make the mistake of being too friendly at a firm, instead of getting work done, said Liz Bluestein, directing attorney at Public Counsel, the largest pro bono law office in the nation.
“Some interns have been too sociable and haven’t finished one writing sample,” she said.
The attorneys offered some more summer intern “Do’s”: take a pad of paper whenever talking with an attorney about a project; ask questions and repeat back the work to avoid misunderstanding; ask about timing, since everyone forgets after they graduate how long projects take; if a project takes longer, go back and ask for feedback, then incorporate changes into your writing.
Sirena Castillo, a second-year law student, said that the workshop reinforced common-sense behavior.
“It’s important that an employer trusts you, and these are ways you can make sure they can,” she said
Assistant Dean of Career Services Matt DeGrushe recommends the book The Summer Associates’ Guide to a Permanent Job Offer, written by Sharon E. Sonnett and Sabina Clorfeine, two 1997 grads,. The resource is available for loan in the Career Services Office, Room 110. For information call 213-740-7397.
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